West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind Story Archives

Students At W.Va. Schools For Deaf, Blind Move To Remote Learning After Devastating Fire; Investigation Continues

Students attending the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Romney will be on remote learning this week following a devastating fire that destroyed the schools’ administrative building early Saturday morning.

No students or staff were harmed in the fire, and no students were on campus at the time of the incident. Officials say the building is a total loss, and the city of Romney is under a boil water advisory as a precaution until further notice.

The building dates back to the 1800s and housed historic artifacts. It was also the school superintendent’s residence and where all technology servers were located that powered the campus’ internet, phones and surveillance system.

“Thankfully, this is not a building that we utilize for our students,” said West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch during a press conference Monday morning. “[But] this building has the entire campus’ internet phone system that is essential for our teachers to be able to reach our students, even while they’re on remote [learning].”

Burch said with Gov. Jim Justice’s help, Frontier Communications, which is one of the leading internet service providers in the state, responded within six hours to arrive at Romney and find a solution.

“Within 24 hours, live lines ran for our tech guys to begin setting up a new system,” Burch said. “So today, teachers have access to phones, internet, which means we can connect with the students.”

Burch said the goal was to ensure there wouldn’t be disruptions to school.

Michael Talbert, the acting assistant special agent with the Washington field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also present at the press conference. Talbert said the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing and further comment cannot be made at this time.

“I have the utmost confidence … that we will be able to bring this to a reasonable conclusion in the next little bit through our large scale fire investigation,” Talbert said. “There’s great work being done on this campus.”

Counseling services have also been offered to students. The schools serve 74 students and has 120 staff members.

Alerts about the fire on Saturday first came in around 6:12 a.m. Firefighters from several West Virginia volunteer fire companies responded to the scene, including Romney, Augusta, Springfield, Slanesville, New Creek, Fort Ashby, Burlington and Ridgeley.

Following news of the incident, Justice asked for prayers on Twitter and said, “This is absolutely heartbreaking news for the Romney community and all the staff, students, and alumni that are part of this great institution.”

W.Va. Education Officials And State Fire Marshal To Provide Updates On Devastating Fire At W.Va. Schools For The Deaf And The Blind

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Updated on Feb. 28, 2022 at 9:50 a.m.

The West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch along with investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s office are expected to provide an update on the fire at the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Monday morning at 10:30 a.m.

The press briefing will be streamed on the WVDE Facebook page.

In the latest press release from Romney Fire Company, fire department operations creased around 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon, and US Route 50 is now open in both directions.

Investigators have remained on the scene and continue their work.

Gov. Jim Justice issued a statement on Twitter Saturday, “This is absolutely heartbreaking news for the Romney community and all the staff, students, and alumni that are part of this great institution. Please join me in praying for the safety of all the first responders who are fighting this fire.”

The administrative building of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Romney, W.Va. caught fire early Saturday morning. The West Virginia Department of Education said the building is a total loss.

Updated on Feb. 26, 2022 at 11 a.m.

The West Virginia Department of Education said that all students and staff at the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind are safe after a fire broke out early Saturday morning on campus.

No students were on campus at the time of the fire. The WVDE said students were transported to their homes for the weekend.

“It is important that no students were on campus during this traumatic event,” State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch said in a press release. “Nonetheless, this is a major loss and students will have many questions when they return. We will provide the necessary supports for both students and staff, and we will work closely with state officials that are investigating.”

“We are shocked and saddened by the loss of this iconic building but are grateful no one was hurt and there were no additional losses,” State Board of Education President Miller Hall said. “Fire and emergency crews arrived immediately, and the Department of Education, Board of Education and the WVSDB sincerely appreciate their swift response.”

The WVDE said the building is a total loss.

Original Post:

There is a working fire at the administrative building of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind at 301 East Main Street, Romney.

Lt. 1-A Bryan Beverage with the Romney Fire Company said the initial alert of the fire came in around 6:12 a.m. Saturday morning and work to contain the situation is ongoing as of 10 a.m. Officials are reporting US Route 50 is shut down.

Several volunteer fire companies are on the scene, including Romney, Augusta, Springfield, Slanesville, New Creek, Fort Ashby, Burlington and Ridgeley.

There is also additional support from fire companies in Allegheny County, Maryland and Frederick County, Virginia, which are filling in for local assignments at the West Virginia stations while firefighters work to contain the fire.

Romney Fire Company’s Chief G.T. Parsons said the situation is “under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office, and units will be there for an extended amount of time.”

“Today is a sad day for our beloved community,” the Romney Fire Company wrote on its Facebook page. “The WVSDB has been an anchor of our small town for over a century. The last fire that destroyed a building on campus was on September 12, 1971 … The school and campus date back prior to 1850.”

Additional information will be released on Romney Fire Company’s Facebook page.

Eastern Panhandle Working Fires, which is a Facebook page that provides information and updates on working fires and other incidents in Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, Grant and Pendleton counties, posted photos of the incident early Saturday morning.

The post has been shared more than 5,000 times.

Ex-Superintendent of Schools for Deaf, Blind Suing State

The former superintendent of West Virginia’s state schools for blind and deaf students has filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse his firing.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Martin Keller Jr. is suing the state Board of Education and state schools superintendent Steve Paine. Keller’s attorneys, Dave Hammer and Christine Glover, say Kanawha County court filed the suit on Monday.

Glover says she hopes the filing leads to Keller’s reinstatement and that a federal lawsuit doesn’t have to be filed.

The board didn’t explain why it fired Keller on Nov. 17. He was hired in August 2015 and officials said he was the first deaf superintendent in the schools’ history that stretches to 1870.

Kristin Anderson, state education department communications director, says a responsive pleading will be filed soon.

Two Education-Related Bills Pass Out of the House

The House voted on two education-related bills Tuesday – one that would give The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind access to the School Building Authority and another aimed at giving higher education institutions more control of their own affairs.

House Bill 2123 – W.Va. Schools for the Deaf and Blind:

The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind, located in the Eastern Panhandle, have been around since 1870, starting out with just 30 students. Over the years, enrollment increased and the campus grew to 79 acres with sixteen major buildings.

The Schools for the Deaf and Blind have since fallen into disrepair, though. Administrators at the Schools say it would take roughly $1.5 million to take care of current construction and renovation needs. Unable to raise their own funds through bonds or levies to help pay for construction, repairs, or building upgrades like a county school system – the Schools sought help from lawmakers. Those efforts during the past few years, though, have been unsuccessful, but members in the House are trying once again to help the Schools find funding through House Bill 2123.

“We had this bill the last two years,” said Delegate Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, House Finance Chair, “it passed out of this body unanimously. What this does is just allow the School and the Deaf and the Blind who reach out to needy children throughout this whole state to compete for some of the funds in the SBA, or the School Building Authority, that they issue annually to fund major improvements. I urge passage.”

The first year, the bill was vetoed by then-Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, and last year, it was held up in the Senate’s Finance committee. It passed out of the House unanimously on Tuesday.

Delegate Ruth Rowan, a Republican from Hampshire County, is the lead sponsor of the bill. She says the battle has been worth it –

“Because I know these children, and I know how much they need this, so they’re worth fighting for,” Rowan explained.

House Bill 2542 – Higher Education Flexibility:

House Bill 2542 was also taken up in the chamber. Its overall goal is to give West Virginia University, Marshall University, and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine more flexibility in staffing and setting pay scales. Smaller universities and colleges in the state would have to notify the Higher Education Policy Commission of their intent to do the same.

The bill takes out the requirement that institutions have a recall list, essentially a list of laid off workers who, if their job would become available, would receive a call asking if they want their job back. The recall list becomes optional under the legislation.

Several Democrats argued the bill would open the door to age discrimination. House Education Chair Paul Espinosa countered that employees would still have the protection from the federal Civil Rights Act, Age in Discrimination in Employment Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act.

House Bill 2542 passed, 61-38, and moves across the rotunda to the Senate.

House Tries Again to Aid the W.Va. Schools for the Deaf & Blind

During both the 2015 and the 2016 state Legislative sessions, the House of Delegates pushed a bill that would make the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind eligible for funding from the West Virginia School Building Authority, or SBA. In 2015, it was vetoed by then-Governor Tomblin, and in 2016, it never made it out of the Senate’s Finance committee. Now, members in the House are trying once again this year, with House Bill 2123.

The Schools for the Deaf and Blind are located in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle in the small town of Romney. They serve Pre-K to twelfth graders from all over the state. But over the years, the campus and its buildings have fallen into disrepair.

As state-owned schools, they don’t have the ability to raise their own funds through bonds or levies like a county school system to help pay for construction, repairs, or building upgrades. They also aren’t eligible for funding from the SBA, a government agency that awards additional state dollars to counties to help pay for capital improvement projects.

House Bill 2123 is the House of Delegates’ third attempt to change that eligibility.

Delegate Paul Espinosa of Jefferson County is the House Education Chairman. His committee took up the bill Wednesday.

“One of the things that’s become very apparent is members have actually toured the facilities at the Schools for the Deaf and Blind, is that there are significant capital needs that are necessary in order to bring those facilities up to a level that is conducive to a positive education environment,” Espinosa said.

Administrators at the Schools for the Deaf and Bind estimate they need $1.5 million to update their current facilities through new construction or repairs. Over the past two sessions, lawmakers have been reluctant to just appropriate those funds straight out. But making them accessible through the existing SBA funding, Espinosa says, could be a good option.

“This just kind of addresses that gap that has been created over time where the Schools have not perhaps received the funding that’s necessary in order to address their capital needs,” Espinosa explained, “It would make them eligible to participate under the School Building Authority program.”

The House Education Committee voted to advance the bill Wednesday. It now goes to House Finance for further consideration.

House Approves Bill to Aid W.Va. Schools for the Deaf and Blind

The House of Delegates has passed a bill to aid the state’s struggling Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Romney, West Virginia.

House Bill 4147 would make the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind eligible for funding from the West Virginia School Building Authority or SBA. The SBA awards some $50 million dollars in additional funds each year to county school systems for building or renovation projects.

The Schools for the Deaf and Blind are located in the small town of Romney in the Eastern Panhandle. It’s a school that serves Pre-K to twelfth graders from all around the state, but over the years, the campus and its buildings have fallen into disrepair.

“The West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind is under the control of the West Virginia Board of Education,” explained state Board of Education President Michael Green, “The background of that is it does not [belong to] any particular county so therefore it is directly responsible to the state School Board.”

Because the Schools for the Deaf and Blind are controlled at the state level, Green says they don’t have the ability to raise their own funds through bonds or levies like a regular county school system. That’s led to problems with facilities’ upkeep, building security, and the installment of specialized equipment.

So last year, the Schools reached out to the legislature for help. In a near unanimous vote, lawmakers approved an appropriations bill giving the schools an additional $1.5 million dollars for construction and improvement projects. Governor Tomblin, vetoed that measure however, citing larger problems with the facility.

House Education Chairman, Paul Espinosa of Jefferson County says an assessment of the Schools conducted after Tomblin’s 2015 veto was successful.

“That study was commissioned by the governor,” Espinosa said, “He directed the state Board to conduct the study, and again, it pretty clearly indicated that there were significant needs.”

The newly approved bill is a new attempt to meet those needs by allowing the Schools to ask for SBA funding. It passed overwhelmingly 98 to 0 in the House Friday.

“I know a number of members of the House and Senate Education Committees, during the interims, did visit the Romney Schools for the Deaf and Blind and were able to see firsthand some of the challenges that they have. So this legislation simply would make it possible for the Schools for the Deaf and Blind to compete for SBA funding just as other counties do,” Espinosa explained.

The schools had asked the SBA for those funds in the past, but did not award any dollars because board members didn’t believe they were able to under state code.

Espinosa says he’s optimistic that both the Senate and Governor Tomblin will approve House Bill 4147 and the Schools will be able to get the funding they need.