Richwood schools’ future still in limbo

Dec. 18--RICHWOOD -- Caleb Hanna was at ease when he addressed the Nicholas County Board of Education last week.

"I'll be brief; some of us have school tomorrow," he quipped. But for communities in eastern Nicholas County what he spoke about was no joking matter.

Hanna, a Richwood High School student, explained to the board the importance of rebuilding the school in the town, instead of consolidating with Nicholas County High School in Summersville.

It's an issue that is increasing the unity in already united communities. From Craigsville to Richwood and little towns along the county's meet-yourself-coming-and-going roads, students, parents and leaders are determined to keep Richwood schools in Richwood.

For its part, the Nicholas County Board of Education said it has made no decision on the future of the schools. Three schools were ravaged by floodwaters in June: Richwood High, Richwood Middle and Summersville Middle.

The board has a couple options regarding the high schools. The first is to consolidate the county's two small high schools into a large educational center. The second is to rebuild the schools outside the flood plain. Gus Penix, the board president, said the decision will be driven by data, including the county's population and other demographics.

"We are dealing with people, not data," Richwood Mayor Bob Henry Baber said. "The students of Richwood and Nicholas County are not biological specimens or numbers to be dissected. Our students in the schools are living organisms. To use only data to determine our collective future is dangerous and potentially could be heartless and cruel."

In small communities in the eastern part of Nicholas County, the bet is the board will vote for consolidation. But Penix stressed recently the school board "hasn't even discussed anything about consolidating the schools."

As of last week, there was no deadline for a decision. Currently, Richwood High School students are located in the former Beaver Elementary and Richwood Middle students are at Cherry River Elementary.

Richwood residents said they are worried not only about their town, but the county as well. They are publicly questioning several decisions made by the board and Nicholas County School Superintendent Donna Burge-Tetrick regarding funding for building replacement schools.

Jeromy Rose, who served as Richwood's incident commander, where he worked closely with FEMA, recently cautioned the board against utilizing a 428 grant, which are basically fixed cost funding for the three schools.

"Accepting this type of funding means if FEMA and the board agree to, let's say, $20 million for all schools but the final cost is $30 million, the county will have to eat the remaining $10 million," he said. "It is the BOE's responsibility to make sure that the county gets everything it is entitled."

Rose has asked the board to consider hiring a consultant to help them in the FEMA process.

An email response Superintendent Tetrick asking who is advising the BOE on the FEMA process, stated, "FEMA has worked very well with Nicholas County Schools. We also have strong support from the governor's office and the school building authority. No complaints about the service from FEMA."

Lessons from Lee

In September 2011 Tropical Storm Lee swept through the small New York town of Owego, severely flooding an elementary school. Within days, Owego-Apalachin school officials were in contact with their insurance company and FEMA about replacing the 70,000-square-foot building.

At first, FEMA deemed the school repairable, said former district superintendent Bill Russell. "They needed to be persuaded that we needed to rebuild," he said. "It was only with a consultant that we were able to do that. Working with FEMA is very difficult, very complex. We needed people that had a clear grasp on the rules, regulations and even people" of the agency.

Even with reams of engineering studies, financial documents and environmental reports, FEMA's first offer was only $13 million to rebuild the school, he said.

After working with consultants and applying political pressure, the district was given enough funds to build a $72 million elementary school, a new Board of Education office and a maintenance facility costing approximately $120 million, Russell said. The bulk of the funding came from FEMA and the district's flood insurance, he said.

"It didn't cost our local taxpayers a dime to build these buildings," he said. Even the consultants' fees were paid for by FEMA, Russell added.

Russell said if it weren't for the consultants, the district would have accepted FEMA's low-ball offer. Instead, elementary school students are learning in a state-of-the-art school heated with thermal energy, top-notch computer labs and specially designed areas for special education students, all things the former school did not have, he said.

There is also a peace of mind coming from hiring the consultants. Russell said the team that worked with Owego-Apalachin handled the audits and financial requirements. "If you don't think the money was spent correctly, FEMA can demand their money back," he said.

Richwood has already hired two consultants to help recover from about $10 million in infrastructure damage suffered from the flash floods. Baber said it is paying less than $5,000 in consulting fee to ensure all FEMA and state audits goes without a hitch. The consultants have pointed out funding avenues the town never knew about and corrected some issues.

FEMA "is an insurance claim on steroids," said Baber, Richwood's mayor. "You better know what you don't know when dealing with FEMA. You better do your due diligence."

Some Richwood residents believe the BOE is afraid of repeating what happened earlier this year in Charleston. The Kanawha County Board of Education was charged nearly $245,000 in consulting fees for two months.

According to The Charleston Gazette-Mail, the Kanawha County school system paid $355 per hour for the 216.25 hours spent to a consulting firm.

The hourly fee plus the cost of coach airfare for a team of consultants, payment for their expenses, including meals, hotels and rental cars added up to the $244,810, the paper reported.

Civil rights violation

Rose said there are a number of drawbacks to consolidation, including destroying a fragile tax base on the eastern side of the county, thus hurting the district's own budget. Additionally, there is a significant likelihood of never passing another levy to support the schools again in the eastern part of the county. A few years ago, a $4.4 million levy passed by only 52 percent of the votes.

But more importantly, he said, consolidation would be a Title VI civil rights violation by taking a school out of an economically challenged community and "creating undue harm to students and citizens living in poverty," he said.

Rose said low-income communities, such as Richwood, are protected under Title VI from divestment through barriers to economic prosperity. The provision states no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative consequences resulting from governmental decisions, operations and policies, a law known as Environmental Justice.

A FEMA spokesperson confirmed the agency's Environmental Justice regulation. "Part of this process includes review, by FEMA and the state, for compliance with federal and state regulations, such as impacts to the environment and compliance with ordinances. The funding must be used to repair infrastructure, but can only do so if in compliance with regulations," an email response stated.

If the board does vote in favor of consolidation, their action must win the approval of the West Virginia Department of Education. That department has approved consolidation in 26 of West Virginia's 55 counties.

If Nicholas County does get the green light to combine its schools, Richwood citizens will consider a lawsuit. "We will do everything necessary to keep the schools here," said John Estep, a Richwood resident and member of the West Virginia Federation of Teachers.

Baber hopes it doesn't get that far. Instead, he hopes the board of education votes to keep the schools in Richwood. "Quit counting the muddy sticks on the ground and look up and see the trees and sunshine," he advised the board.

High schooler Hanna asked the board to consider rebuilding Richwood High School for future students. "I know small schools. That is a good thing. That's a really good thing," he said of his school, which has about 400 students. "Small schools act more as a community. Not a corporation."

During a special meeting called for Jan. 9, Tetrick will make a recommendation on the county's Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan.

-- Email: [email protected]

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