One of the casualties of West Virginia’s current demographics is the community public school. In a rural state with an aging population and ever increasing costs, keeping small schools open is becoming more difficult, if not impossible.
The closures are commonly driven by a three-headed monster that is difficult to overcome: declining enrollment, financial challenges and aging facilities. Additionally, state code that governs the public school system has not kept up with recent changes to provide more educational choice in West Virginia and the school state aid formula has not been updated since the 1990s.
During the 2024-25 school year, at least 20 separate school consolidations and closures were approved. More counties are considering additional consolidations and closures this year, among them Roane and Barbour Counties.
In Barbour County, student enrollment is down 20 percent since 2016, and that decline has accelerated in the years following the pandemic. The county plan is to close Belington Middle School, Kasson Middle School, and Philippi Middle School and move those students to Philip Barbour High School, making that a grade 6 through 12 facility. Also, the Junior Elementary School would be merged with Belington Elementary School.
In Roane County, a proposal is being considered to close Walton Elementary/Middle School and Geary Elementary School. The situation is further complicated by the state school board’s intervention, which has declared a state of emergency for the district that once boasted a nearly $2 million surplus in 2021, but now faces a $2.5 million deficit.
Public schools are often the identity of rural towns and communities and residents do not want to see part of their identity slip away. The consolidation process can be emotionally challenging and leave parents worried about how their children will be affected by larger classes, new teachers, and longer bus rides.
The concerns are legitimate but research indicates that students are more resilient than they often get credit for. According to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, the number of public school districts across the country declined from 117,108 in 1940 to just 13,551 in 2018. A trio of researchers at the University of Arkansas found that consolidation had null or very small positive impacts on both math and English language arts. The research also suggested that students were able to adapt to their new circumstances rather quickly.
Another 2022 study concluded that students who had been attending underperforming schools, where resources may have been limited, benefited from the consolidation with better access to teachers and resources.
Community schools are certainly worth fighting for. They are a glue that binds our rural population together and provides a point of unity in a divisive modern society.
However, research suggests that there is not a significant advantage in student outcomes to continuing to operate more smaller schools versus combining resources and personnel into fewer, more efficient operations.
It leaves boards of education and state lawmakers stuck between constituents who do not want to lose their school and their town’s identity, and the reality that consolidation may be the only option.