Plan to Keep Lincoln School Fails: ; State Board Votes to Shut Harts High

By Anna L. Mallory

amallory@wvgazette.com

Steven Workman took the day off from his freshman classes at Harts High School to ask the state Board of Education not to close his school.

Unless something changes, Workman will start his sophomore year next fall at Chapmanville High School and his junior year at a new high school, after state school board members voted to close Harts at the end of this school year.

“If they take away our community schools, what kind of community are we going to have?” Workman asked after a three-hour discussion, during which about 20 parents and students pleaded that Harts not be shut down.

He was one of several people in tears after the 6-3 vote to close the school.

State education officials said Harts students performed worst on state tests than students at any other school in 2005. They also said it would be expensive to keep the school open another year.

Next year, Harts students must choose attending a new high school in Hamlin or busing to nearby Chapmanville High in Logan County. That means long bus rides for students, crowded classrooms divided by partitions and an unwelcoming atmosphere, opponents of the decision argued.

The following year, a new regional high school will be finished in Chapmanville. According to current enrollment figures, that school will have 623 students, 492 of which attend the current Chapmanville High.

Lincoln school board members asked the state board to amend the county’s 10-year facilities plan to keep Harts open for another year. They also asked for a re-evaluation of the school, which now includes grades 7-12, at the end of that year.

“My biggest concern now is we’re going to have to finance this [new] school,” said Lincoln school board member Billie Frye. “We’ve got a beautiful new school we can’t afford. Our treasurer says we’ll be sunk.”

The state took over Lincoln schools in 2000 because of poor facilities, low test scores and illegal hiring. In 2004, state board members voted to build the new consolidated high school.

State board members said Thursday they saw no reason to re- evaluate Harts, which is the lowest performing school in West Virginia, according to figures from the Office of Education Performance Audits.

Just 40 percent of Harts students were proficient in English, math, science and social studies on state tests in 2005. That figure dropped 10 points from 2003, reports show.

Still, Workman did sway some board members. Barbara Fish said she wanted to keep a promise that the school stay open until the regional school was complete.

Other board members and state Superintendent Steve Paine said no record of a public promise from the board exists.

Keeping the school open just one more year would cost about $1.5 million. Teachers have been given new assignments and some students have chosen a new school, said state Assistant Superintendent Jack McClanahan.

Other schools, such as Ferrellsburg Elementary, might need to stay open, he said. When the high school closes, students from grades four to eight will enter that building. Atenville Elementary will house students from kindergarten to grade three.

The state School Building Authority already has placed about $50 million into the two new schools.

The new Chapmanville high school was scheduled to open next school year, but voters rejected a levy, delaying the process.

After Thursday’s vote, some parents said they’d be willing to leave the county rather than submit to the current options.

“If he wants to move, I’ll take him anywhere,” Doug Workman said. “Who are [state board members] to tell me where my son can go to school?”

To contact staff writer Anna L. Mallory, use e-mail or call 348- 5163.