GAULEY BRIDGE, WV (WOAY) – Gauley Bridge Elementary School in Fayette County will close its doors for good at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
The Fayette County Board of Education voted 5-0 to close the school. Â The Board says declining enrollment, coupled with the cost of repairs to the 45-year-old building are the main reasons behind the decision.
Next fall, Gauley Bridge students will merge with Valley Pre-K-8 in Smithers. Â Plans for a smooth transition are already in the works.
“We have two excellent administrators in both of the two buildings,” said Fayette County Schools’ Associate Superintendent Anna Kincaid-Cline. “They’ll be planning activities, since the board has voted to close them, to allow students and parents and the teachers of all of the two schools to come together and do things.”
The closure will now go before the state Board of Education next month.
