By ANDREA LANNOM
The Register-Herald
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Board of Education voted to reject a Kanawha circuit judge’s ruling in a case involving Nicholas County’s consolidation plan.
After about a 30-45 minute executive session, members voted in their Thursday meeting in Charleston to reject the decision. Board member James Wilson abstained from the vote.
Last week, Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom granted a request for a writ of mandamus, compelling the state Board of Education to approve Nicholas County’s Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan, or CEFP.
The lawsuit was filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court against the state board and Schools Superintendent Steve Paine. Allegations in the lawsuit included that Gov. Jim Justice and Paine worked to stop the consolidation plan and that the superintendent gave misleading information to the state board. The lawsuit also alleged political pressure was placed on officials to deny the consolidation plan.
In the CEFP, Nicholas County requested approval to amend its 2010-2020 CEFP to close Richwood High, Nicholas County High, Nicholas County Career and Technical Education Center, Summersville Middle and Richwood Middle.
The high school and technical center would be consolidated into a newly constructed comprehensive 9-12 high school at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. The middle schools would be consolidated into a newly-constructed 6-8 facility at the beginning of the school year.
Richwood High and the two middle schools were destroyed in massive flooding that inundated many areas of West Virginia in June 2016.
In Thursday’s meeting, one person spoke in favor of appeal and one against. Lisa Coleman, of Beech Glenn, commended the board for visiting the communities and hearing presentations.
“You have discerned the ill-conceived, unfair consolidation that uses FEMA recovery funds where Richwood ends up with nothing. I ask you to leave no stone unturned,” she said. “I am for appealing Judge Bloom’s order.”
Heather Glasko-Tully, of Summersville, asked the board not to appeal the ruling.
“We have five duly elected Board of Education members who represent the locality. Simply because they don’t represent personal interests doesn’t mean they failed to do their jobs. Don’t appeal and waste any more time for our children.”
The board issued a statement soon after the decision.
“From the beginning of evaluating Nicholas County’s proposed CEFP amendment, the WVBE has focused on the best interest of all students in the county,” the emailed statement said. “Our decision was based on what we thought was right and within our constitutional authority as members of the State Board of Education. As such, the WVBE has decided to appeal Judge Bloom’s ruling to the West Virginia Supreme Court.”
State Board spokeswoman, Kristin Anderson said the board voted to reject the decision and the West Virginia Attorney General’s office will file the appeal to the state Supreme Court. She said the board is aware of the deadlines for FEMA funds.
“Part of the reason the board brought it up today at the meeting is because they were cognizant of the deadlines,” she said. “The deadlines are looming so we wanted to talk about it today before the Supreme Court comes back in September.”
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