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NEW MARTINSVILLE -- With a consensus that the time had come to take drastic measures, Wetzel County Board of Education members and other school district officials crafted a motion to go before the board at its Tuesday meeting -- to consolidate the county's four high schools into two.
The motion came from a work session that included the board - President Linda Fonner, Vice President Bryan Castilow and members Christine Mitchell, Christine Nice and Jimmy Glassock, along with Wetzel County Superintendent Cassie Porter and other district officials, and the principals of the four high schools.
If passed, the motion would consolidate Paden City and Magnolia high schools into one, and to also consolidate Valley and Hundred high schools into one. If the board votes to consolidate, the plan will go before the West Virginia Board of Education by the end of 2024. If the state board agrees, the consolidation can go through for the 2025-26 school year.
The plan was created following a report on the school district's disappointing summative assessment testing results. This year, Wetzel County students earned proficiency at just a 40.63% clip in English/language arts, a 35.56% clip in math and a 25.32% clip in science. The county's 11th graders scored proficiency at a 41.54% rate in ELA, a 14.62% rate in math and a 24.62% rate in science.
The time for talking about a solution was over, Castilow said.
"It's time we stop kicking the can down the road," he said.
Wetzel County's high schools mostly struggled in its rankings among the 112 high schools in West Virginia. In math, Magnolia ranked 39th, Hundred ranked 80th, Valley ranked 90th, and Paden City ranked 104th. In science, Magnolia was 37th, Hundred 65th. Valley 79th and Paden City 106th. In ELA, Magnolia was 64th, Valley 90th, Hundred, 99th and Paden City 109th.
According to a survey conducted for the school district by the Thrasher Group, Wetzel County residents were overwhelmingly in favor of countywide improvements. The information acknowledged that educating the student population was made even more difficult due to finding certified teachers.
The board recognized the problem as twofold. First, there was an immediate need to bring the county's teacher-to-student ratio into line with certified teachers. The district currently struggles to field enough teachers in critical subjects, relying heavily on substitutes and teachers instructing remotely.
It was also made clear at the meeting that current teachers are giving all they can to their students, but with prep time and teaching multiple classes, teachers cannot meet their mission to educate, no matter how much effort they give. Burnout is a concern for principals at each school.
If consolidation goes through, both new consolidated schools will be given new names, school colors, mascots and logos. All teachers and staff at each school will maintain their jobs. The seventh and eighth graders at Paden City High school will be relocated to New Martinsville Middle School.
There was talk at Friday's work session that the two consolidated schools might not be the final step. The district could ultimately consolidate all high schools into one, though there was no consensus on that matter Friday.
Benjamin McPherson, the school district's chief personnel officer and county administrator, said the current consolidation plan would help solve the problem of each of the four high schools having too few teachers in each of their buildings. By merging, the proper number of teachers for all critical classes will be reached.