Money Doesn’t Talk in These Mergers

This is the fifth article in a series about school consolidation in Wetzel County. The articles cover topics discussed in two impact statements approved by the school board Oct. 14.

Wetzel County Schools painted a rosy financial picture about its school consolidation plan in the two impact statements it released earlier this month, but any savings would be a fraction of the budget it costs to run the school system.

The plan also appears to ignore the potential costs of doubling the length of some bus trips, adding students to New Martinsville School and busing them there, and creating new schools in old buildings.

Superintendent Cassandra Porter’s proposal calls for merging the student bodies of Paden City and Hundred high schools into Magnolia and Valley high schools. The seventh- and eighth-graders who currently attend PCHS would go to New Martinsville School.

Two impact statements break the details down into several categories, from transportation and facilities to enrollment and finances. The statements are currently open to public review and will be the topic of multiple public hearings at the affected schools next month.

The finance section of the documents emphasizes the expected cost savings of closing the two high schools. Officials estimate that the county would spend about $581,000 less per year by closing Hundred and $359,000 a year by closing PCHS.

But the combined annual savings of less than $1 million would be relatively insignificant in a school system that spent nearly $59 million in 2023-24. Plus if history is any guide, that minimal savings might never be achieved. A 2002 investigation into school consolidations in West Virginia found that they don’t typically realize the predicted savings.

A big reason Wetzel County wouldn’t save much money is that no jobs would be eliminated under its consolidation plan. Personnel costs are the largest expense at all five affected schools — $9.5 million at New Martinsville School, $3.9 million at Magnolia, $2.3 million at PCHS, $1.9 million at Valley and $1.3 million at Hundred.

The impact statements attribute the expected savings to reduced utility and maintenance costs at the closed schools, “steady or unchanged” transportation costs, and unspecified “efficient personnel management.” Those changes “will allow the county to better utilize its resources without compromising student education or services,” officials said.

The numbers don’t appear to add up, though.

The combined transportation budget for the new school that would be created in Valley’s building would be about $369,000 — the sum of what the county currently pays to bus students to both Hundred and Valley. The county did not explain how it would save money by busing Hundred’s students the 20 winding miles to Valley in Pine Grove.

Students who currently get to Hundred via five different buses would travel an average of 42 extra minutes one way. The more time buses spend on the road, the more fuel they burn and the more maintenance they are likely to need from wear and tear. Bus drivers also could log more time on the clock for academic and extracurricular trips.

The impact statement for merging PCHS students in Magnolia and New Martinsville School likewise assumes no increase in the transportation budget, even though a new bus route would be established. The proposed post-consolidation budget of about $415,600 just combines the transportation budgets of Magnolia ($331,300) and PCHS ($84,300).

The plan appears to suggest that it wouldn’t cost anything to send 51 seventh- and eighth-graders to New Martinsville School after PCHS is closed. But the new bus route for those students would take 58 minutes each way in normal weather, the county predicted.

The county also left unaddressed the costs of creating new schools within existing facilities. For starters, the schools would get new names, school colors and mascots. At minimum, that would require investments in new signage and paint for two buildings, new sports and band uniforms, and new branding for letterhead and other materials.

Valley principal Jane Beckett said at an Aug. 30 work session of the school board that the first thing coaches would say about merging the schools is, “Who’s going to pay for the uniforms?” Porter answered, “That concern would be on us to do that.”

Another potential cost is making sure the new schools satisfy the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, per state policy. The impact statements said the schools will be “fully accessible” and “fully equipped to support students with disabilities.”

“This includes evaluating accessibility features such as ramps, elevators and specialized classroom equipment, as well as ensuring that services like individualized education programs are fully integrated into the new school setting,” county officials said. But they did not specify what it might cost to do so at Magnolia, Valley and New Martinsville School.

Consolidation is on the agenda now in part because Wetzel County Schools is flush with funds. One impact statement said the county has had a “steady balance” in its unrestricted general expense fund for five years. The balance was more than $19.5 million after the 2022-2023 school year. That’s up from $9.9 million in 2018-2019.

Read our previous articles in this series:

• Wetzel County Defends School Consolidation Plans

• The Wheels on the Bus Keep Rollin’

• Fewer Students, More Merger Talk

• New Schools in Old Buildings