CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Renovations, consolidations, and expansions are just a few of the words being thrown around the West Virginia School Building Authority offices as interviews wrap up for the annual “Needs” grants.
More than thirty county boards of education submitted grant requests this year with significant projects touching every corner of the state. One of the biggest is in Barbour County, where the board will soon vote on a move to consolidate the county from seven to four school buildings.
The plan would move all of the county’s middle school students into the building at Philip Barbour High School and consolidate two elementary schools in one of the former middle school facilities.
“It’s next to impossible to staff three middle schools and a high school in a small county, so we’re looking at consolidating our middle schools and moving them into the existing high school, which has plenty of room, making a 6-12 configuration for Barbour County centrally located,” Superintendent Eddie Vincent said.
Barbour County is asking the SBA for more than $6 million for the project. Vincent said that figure is necessary for them to make the county’s plan come to fruition.
“We have an idea and a plan for how it should look. The funding is the key to that because the things that we need at the high school cost a lot of money. An HVAC upgrade, a gym, and a band area upgrade—those things cost a lot of money,” he said.
Among the other proposals under consideration on Tuesday is a plan from Boone County to overhaul the restrooms and plumbing at Scott High School. According to Superintendent Allen Sexton, another renovation revealed issues they want to address.
“As a result of a current roofing project, we discovered plumbing infrastructure issues that warrant a total plumbing renovation in the building, and while we’re doing that, we want to renovate the restrooms to make them more usable and student-friendly,” he said.
With other work being done around Boone County’s schools, Sexton believes the $1 million they’ve asked the SBA for is a deal breaker for the project.
“It’s almost undoable on our own because we have several other projects going on in the county currently that we need to address as well, so with their funding we can completely address and remedy all of the moisture issues under that building, as well as give the students a better facility,” he said.
According to SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune, more than $170 million in requests were made this year with around $43.5 million in funds available. Recipients will be announced on December 15.