SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — The Nicholas County Board of Education filed a lawsuit this week against the West Virginia Board of Education and state School Superintendent Steve Paine, accusing them of unreasonably blocking the county board’s consolidation plan.
The Nicholas County school board alleges there was political pressure affecting the final decision.
The county board wanted to consolidate Nicholas and Richwood high schools along with the county’s technical center into one institution. In addition, the proposal called for combining Summersville and Richwood middle schools.
The state board rejected the proposal during a June 13 meeting. The body also heard an alternative plan during that session from Scott Raines, the director of planning and construction for the West Virginia School Building Authority.
The lawsuit also named Gov. Jim Justice, alleging he applied political pressure through Paine and Justice’s chief of staff Nick Casey. Justice appointed six of the current state board members.
“The Governor and his office stayed completely out of the state Board of Education’s decision on Nicholas County,” Justice Press Secretary Grant Herring said in a statement.