CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There’s been no shortage of opinion about what to do about replacing flooded schools in Nicholas County.
Now, if you want to see what people are thinking, many of the opinions are gathered in one place.
Public comments have been collected as part of the ongoing mediation to determine how to replace schools that were heavily damaged by flooding in the Richwood and Summersville areas.
Public comments may be found here.
Comments were received between March 29 and April 24 via email and in the form of public comment cards, index cards and sticky notes placed on posters at a public workshop that was April 12.
Some commenters urged action. High school students have been in portable classrooms since floods devastated the area in 2016.
“We are ready to go,” one commenter wrote. “Let’s get this show on the road. Students don’t deserve to be punished, walking from pod to pod in the rain snow and mud.”
A lot of the comments focus on the location of a vocational school.
A mediation proposal drafted by the state school board and the Nicholas County board suggests placing a new county vocational school in the central Nicholas County area.
Under that plan, a high school proposed for the Richwood area would not include an adjacent vocational school.
“I do not feel this plan is in the best interest of every student in Nicholas County,” one commenter wrote. “Both schools should have access to a vocational center. Richwood lost two schools, which by the way could have been repaired.”
Another wrote, “I think that most, if not all, recommend Vo-Tech at both high schools.”
A mediation team of the state and local school board was led by The Consensus Building Institute.
The recommended plan includes a community school or schools to be located on the same campus within a three-mile radius of the former Richwood High School. The schools would cover pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Another aspect of the recommendation is for a middle and comprehensive high school to be “located near the geographic center of Nicholas County with an integrated career-technical education program and facility.”
The mediation team said Nicholas County families would be able to select the high school or middle school that “best meet their educational needs.” The schools would be built in such a way to allow flexibility to meet future demographic and enrollment changes.
Some commenters said they like the plan.
“The proposed plan set for Nicholas County schools is a great idea ! I hope to see this plan push further,” one commenter wrote.
Another wrote, “I would like to say that I think your plan is excellent. I agree with the plan you have set forth.”
People who want additional information or to share comments, suggestions, questions, and concerns may email ncschoolsmediation@cbi.org.