Questions Raised About Reviving Webster County School Consolidation Plan

According to multiple sources close to the Webster County Board of Education, in all probability, the school consolidation plan recently withdrawn by Superintendent Martha Dean will be resubmitted in 2013 after legal defects in the plan are corrected.

According to applicable law and regulations, the plan can be resubmitted in the next calendar year, i.e., 2013. When any consolidation plan is proposed, West Virginia Board of Education Policy 6204 requires that the County Board of Education must submit the required information, conduct the required public hearings, and vote on the plan by December 31 of the calendar year prior to the calendar year in which the school closing or consolidation is to be effective.
[Note: a "calendar year" runs from January 1 to December 31 while a "school year" runs from July 1 to the following June 30].

In short, since the plan was recently withdrawn and can not be corrected and voted on by December 31, 2012, Policy 6204 now prohibits any school closing or consolidation prior to December 31, 2013. Under a strict reading of the Policy, a school closing or consolidation could occur beginning on January 1, 2014 if the plan is approved by December 31, 2013.

Even though a school closing or consolidation could occur as early as January 1, 2014 if all of the required actions and vote occurs by December 31, 2013, the same is not likely at all due to a number of other legal impediments.

When the Commentator interviewed Superintendent Dean recently, she indicated that if the plan then being considering was approved by December 31, 2012, the closing and consolidation would not go into effect until the start of the 2013-14 school year. Why? First, the high school can not possibly be renovated in time to include the 7th and 8th graders right after a December 31 vote. Second, many school personnel have legal contracts that stretch over the school year (and not a calendar year).

In short, all probability suggests that if a consolidation plan is approved next year (by December 31, 2013), it will not be effective until the start of the 2014-15 school year.

While many in the Diana area rejoiced over the news that the plan was withdrawn, they also realize that the battle to save their school is far from over. They hope that if the plan is resubmitted that it is resubmitted well in advance of any hearings and vote so that all alternatives can be considered.

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 6204 can be found at this link:
http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p6204.pdf
School consolidation/closing laws can be found at this link:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/wvcode/ChapterEntire.cfm?chap=18&art=5&section=13A#05