ELKVIEW, W.Va. — Herbert Hoover High School students will begin the new school year on a half-day schedule in the building that houses Elkview Middle School.
The state Board of Education approved the plan presented by Kanawha County School Superintendent Dr. Ron Duerring at its meeting Thursday morning.
MORE See new schedule for some Kanawha County students here
The Hoover building at Falling Rock was hit hard in the June 23 flood. The Elk River exceeded its banks and flooded the school’s first floor including two gymnasiums, a band room, administrative offices and other rooms. FEMA must still complete an assessment of the building.
When the school year begins Aug. 8 Hoover students will attend Elkview Middle School from noon to 4:30 each day. The Elkview Middle students will be in the building from 7:30 a.m. until noon, Duerring said.
Portable buildings will be constructed on the football field at Elkview Middle to house Herbert Hoover students.
“This is only going to be a temporary situation until we get a portable high school set up,” Duerring said.
When those are completed Hoover students will return to a full school schedule. It’s unclear when the Herbert Hoover building will be ready for students to return.
“At this time we do not have that kind of information. We are still in the emergency cleanup phase,” Deurring said.
A meeting between Kanawha County school officials and the company with the modular buildings have a meeting scheduled for later Thursday, Duerring said.
The split schedule will involve feeding Elkview Middle students lunch before they leave and feeding Herbert Hoover students lunch when they arrive. Herbert Hoover students will practice sports in the mornings and Elkview Middle students in the afternoons.
Bus schedules are being worked out, taking into consideration a number of roads were damaged by the flood.
Duerring said he’s not overly concerned about logistics.
“It’s an issue of mobilizing everybody and getting the plan together and being proactive instead of reactive when the time comes,” he said.