In West Virginia, the Beat Goes On -- Rural Policy Matters, Volume 4, Number 10 (October 2002)

The Charleston Gazette has published the latest in its series on "Closing Costs" about the harm that the state's school consolidation policies have done to kids -- and it will make rural advocates everywhere cheer. The latest installment is about "broken promises," describing how the benefits officials said would result from consolidation, including a richer curriculum and lower costs, simply have not materialized.

Just two of many revelations:

In the past decade, 300 West Virginia schools have been closed and statewide enrollment has declined by 41,000, but the number of administrators has actually increased. The number of central office administrators has increased 16 percent.

Many schools offer less, not more curriculum. In ten counties surveyed, officials promised consolidation would result in more than 100 advanced placement courses that were not offered in the past two years, and the article cites cases where foreign language offerings shrank dramatically after consolidation. In Pendleton County, where local officials promised zoology, calculus, Japanese and 22 other advanced placement classes would follow consolidation, only drama has been added.

This series is full of facts and insights that will help rural people everywhere rebut the overblown promises made to promote consolidation of schools. It has West Virginia education officials struggling to explain their policies. You can get it online at the following address: http://www.wvgazette.com/news/Closing.

Bus Rides Busted

The Charleston Gazette reports that West Virginia education officials have instructed local school boards to report whether school bus rides exceed the state's guidelines: no more than 30 minutes one-way for elementary school children, 45 minutes for middle school students and an hour for high school students. State officials are also going to review bus routes to see if the longer ones could be shortened.

More importantly, the state education department will begin examining proposals to close schools to see to it that consolidation doesn't force long bus rides on large numbers of children. According to a special report in the Gazette, thousands of West Virginia children spend over two hours a day on school buses, with more than half the state's bus routes exceeding the state guidelines.

Meantime, the state's church leaders have announced plans to take up the school busing issue, and most observers expect a major push in the next legislative session to impose strict standards on the length of bus rides.

Court to School Board: Open Up Meetings

The West Virginia Supreme Court voted 5-to-0 not to hear an appeal from the Raleigh County Board of Education. The Board had appealed a decision from the Raleigh County Circuit Court that found the Board guilty of violating the open government meetings law and not following proper procedure in the development of a ten-year comprehensive facilities plan. As a result, the Marsh Fork High School, threatened with closure, will stay open, for now.