LOGAN, W.Va. — The mother of a student at Logan Elementary School is disappointed about the recent announcement that the school would not reopen after a fire. Shana Thompson is also unnerved by how it was done with no notice and very little communication with the parents.
She said the Logan County school system notified parents last week with a robo-call about their decision to close Logan Elementary for good. Superintendent Dr. Sonya White said the damage to the building from the February fire, coupled with the extensive needs the school had even before to the blaze, were not feasible for the county to make repairs and reopen. Still, Thompson said the news came as a shock.
“We received a robo-call, before even a press release is made. So there’s not been great transparency. I’ve asked and other parents have been begging for information about plans and options and we just haven’t been given that information,” said Thompson in a recent edition of MetroNews Midday.
Thompson said she has been attending school board meetings and asking consistently for updates on plans for the old school. She said up until last week, there seemed to be an indication the school was fixable and work to examine the process was underway. That’s why Thompson told MetroNews they were floored when the phone rang and everything was over.
“I’ve seen the reports previous to the fire. Logan Elementary did need some work, but I don’t think it was out of the picture to maintain it and keep it up to date,” she added.
The students have been attending school Logan Middle School ever since the fire and remain there today. Even with the two student bodies combined, the middle school is only at about two-thirds of its capacity. The county plans to seek a grant from the state School Building Authority to retrofit part of the building to be more conducive for elementary aged children. Thompson said although the middle school building was far newer than the aging Logan Elementtary, even it has needed updates and costly repairs in recent years.
Other schools in Logan County have faced shutdowns, or are facing shutdowns amid dwindling enrollment. Thompson said that wasn’t the issue at Logan Elementary.
“I was never anticipating that for Logan Elementary. Our numbers were steady, we’re not really declining. We had one school to close last year, Verdunville Elementary and we did absorb quite a few of those students,” she said. “That may be an issue at other schools, but not at Logan Elementary.”
Despite the public misgivings and the typical opposition when controversial decisions are made about schools, the Logan County School Board isn’t backing down and is planning the closure of the school. Thompson hoped they would in the future listen to the public and better communicate what they plan to do.
“I respect them. I do hate this has happened to Logan Elementary, but we’ll get through it together. Please, be more transparent in the future school systems. We want information and we want support for our children,” she said.