School Consolidation Rejection is Upheld

The West Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the state education board’s authority to reject Nicholas County’s plan to consolidate multiple schools into a single campus following flood damage. In a ruling Tuesday, the court says the state board “is vested with the constitutional, statutory, and regulatory authority to exercise its discretion” in accepting or rejecting the county plan. The Nicholas County school board proposed consolidating Summersville, Richwood and Craigsville schools into a single campus near Summersville using Federal Emergency Management Agency money from deadly 2016 floods. It would put middle and high schools on one campus with the county’s vocational education center. State board members said the county needed to get more community input and consider alternatives. A Kanawha County judge reversed the state. The top court reversed the judge.