PADEN CITY, W.Va. — The state Department of Education is backing the decision by Wetzel County School Superintendent Cassandra Porter to temporarily close Paden City High School and send its students to Magnolia High School when the new school year begins.
Porter announced the move earlier this week in connection with the school being located on an EPA designated Superfund site.
In a statement released Friday evening, the state Department Education said Porter has the authority to take the step that she’s taken.
“After reviewing the applicable W.Va. Code and the EPA Superfund Health Reports, the WVDE is confident in Superintendent Porter’s authority and the provided reasoning behind the decision to temporarily close Paden City High School and relocate its students and staff,” the statement said.
School supporters continue to point toward recent EPA testing that show any vapor intrusion into the school is currently at acceptable levels.
“EPA has conducted three rounds of vapor intrusion sampling at the Paden City High School. EPA communicated to the Wetzel County School District in May 2024 that the results consistently indicate that there is no unacceptable risk to students resulting from the Superfund Site,” the EPA statement obtained by MetroNews said. “Vapor intrusion data collected at the High School does not indicate any unacceptable risks to the students or staff using the High School.”
The EPA did not recommend the closure of Paden City High School.
But Porter, speaking to MetroNews earlier this week, said being under the recommended level and being free of any contamination are two very different things.
“There’s still a risk, the EPA is saying it’s an acceptable risk, but the school system is not wiling to take any risk when it comes to the health and safety of students,” Porter said.
The state Department of Education agrees with Porter.
“Looking beyond the EPA’s “acceptable” risk level, the reports indicate multiple environmental condition changes that could alter the current level of risk. Given the unknowns of potential environmental changes and the heightened environmental sensitivity that students in their developmental years face, this course of action is reasonable and fully supported. These risks are unacceptable when there is a readily available solution to keep students and staff safe,” the WVDE statement said.