CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County school board approved rental and installation of portable classrooms for Herbert Hoover High School students, a milestone toward getting those students their own learning space after Hoover was ruined in last summer’s flooding.
In a five-minute meeting at noon Monday, board members approved a $6,438,796 contract with the Innovative Modular company to install and later remove portables on site at Elkview Middle School for Herbert Hoover students to use. There’s also a $45,615 monthly rental cost.
School officials hope the portables will be in place by early January, in time for the spring semester. But that depends on the pace of paperwork completion, plus any struggles with bad weather.
Herbert Hoover students have been attending classes in the afternoons at Elkview Middle, where the middle school students attend classes in the morning. The high school students also alternate their classes on odd and even days.
Herbert Hoover Principal Mike Kelley said this step will give students their own space and the hope of progress.
“This is kind of a historic time in our community. We can look at it from a negative aspect or as an opportunity. When we get those portables in there, we’re going to figure out how to make that ours and how to make that home for the amount of time we have to be there.”
He said students have demonstrated their flexibility in difficult times so far and he expects that will continue.
“The students have been fantastic. I expected them to handle this very well and they have. They’ve exceeded expectations.
Kanawha County schools facilities director Chuck Wilson said details such as architectural engineering and federal requirements to ensure funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency meant the portables weren’t approved until now.
“It’s very important to us that we are reimbursed by FEMA for the work,” Wilson said.
Wilson said more progress should begin right away, starting with a meeting with a contractor to get started this afternoon.
All the school board members phoned in to approve the contract, which was the only item on the agenda.
Last week, West Virginia officials confirmed a commitment from FEMA to rebuild five schools destroyed in the flooding, including Herbert Hoover.
Kanawha schools superintendent Ron Duerring was hopeful that the anticipated Jan. 2 completion date for the portables will be a step toward providing a stable learning atmosphere for students.
“We can get them back to a regular school day. It’s just another step in looking at land and building a new school and getting ready to move forward.”