Associated Press Published

State Board Rejects Plan to Consolidate 5 Schools


School board members in a West Virginia county ravaged by the 2016 floods have voted to take legal action to contest the state board’s rejection of a plan to consolidate five schools onto one campus.

The Register-Herald reports the West Virginia Board of Education voted 7-1 on Tuesday to reject Nicholas County’s proposed change to the Comprehensive Education Facilities Plan.

After Richwood High School and two middle schools were destroyed by flooding, the plan proposed closing the three schools, Nicholas County High School and the county vocational center and consolidating them onto one campus near Summersville.

The county superintendent will receive alternatives from community members by June 28.

Federal Emergency Management Agency representative Steve Ward says FEMA cannot spend any money to rebuild schools on a floodplain.