SUMMERS COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – Tonight, the Summers County School Board met to discuss the plans to transfer the Summers Middle School staff and students over to the high school.
The superintendent requested the transfer due to health and safety issues with the school building. Some of the problems include asbestos coming from the ceiling, roof leaks, and issues with the HVAC system. The transfer would be for the 2020-2021 school year only and would allow the board to make decisions on the next steps to take to solve the issues.
“What we’re doing is moving the kids and the staff for one academic year,” said Superintendent David Warvel. “During this academic year, we are going to explore all different types of avenues to either repair the building, and there’s going to be a cost analysis on that, and if it’s too costly, then we might look at the closure. And then we have to go through closure hearings, and that’s when we have, at the board meeting, people come in they voice their opinions, and we have to listen to them and move forward in a timely way.”
The proposed transfer does keep the middle and high school students separated from staggered in-class and online learning. The intended staggered education will consist of three days of high school and two days of middle school that rotate each week.
