PADEN CITY - As four of the 28 seniors in the Class of 2010, Stephanie West, Malakai Anderson, Josh Bennett and Mike Greathouse want Paden City High School to thrive in coming years.
However, the Wetzel County Board of Education soon will consider a proposal that calls for closing the school as early as the end of the 2011-12 school year, with plans of sending Paden City's Wildcats five miles north to New Martinsville to become Magnolia High School Blue Eagles.
To say most Paden City residents oppose this idea would probably be a significant understatement, as anyone driving down W.Va. 2 will quickly notice a bevy of signs bearing the phrase "Choose Paden City Schools."
Article Photos
These Paden City High School seniors hope future classes of students will join them in graduating from the hometown school. From left are Malakai Anderson, Mike Greathouse, Josh Bennett and Stephanie West.
Photo byCasey Junkins
"If they close our school, we won't have anywhere to come back to for a high school reunion," West said. "It just wouldn't be right for us to lose the school."
PCHS Principal Warren Grace, who has served in such capacity since 1992, said the proposal is part of 10-year-plan developed by a review committee that will soon present the information to BOE members.
"The review committee's 'preferred option' is to close Paden City High School," he said, noting Wetzel County BOE members must yet approve the plan for it to occur.
If board members choose to close PCHS, the plan would then be sent to the West Virginia Board of Education for final approval, Grace said.
"Once the community got wind of this idea, there was a major reaction," he said in reference to the collection of signs in support of PCHS. "The people of this community love this school."
With Paden City just about five miles south of New Martinsville, Grace said some members of the review committee believed the school district could save a significant amount of money by closing PCHS to send the students to Magnolia. Though he personally supports keeping the school open, Grace admits he has seen a drop off in students since 1992.
Currently, PCHS has just 159 students in grades 7-12, with 28 seniors, 25 juniors, 32 sophomores, 20 freshmen, 21 eighth graders and 33 seventh graders. Grace notes, however, the school sports 16 more students than the 143 it had last school year.
By comparison, Magnolia currently has 483 students in grades 9-12. Wetzel County's two other high schools, Valley High School in Pine Grove and Hundred High School in Hundred, currently claim 209 and 113 students in grades 9-12, respectively.
In terms of population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wetzel County's 16,329 residents are 2,929 fewer than the 19,258 the county claimed in 1990. Paden City's 2,599 residents are 263 fewer than the 2,862 living there in 1990. New Martinsville's population of 5,564 is 1,141 is less than the 6,705 it claimed 19 years ago.
Grace, though, said population and enrollment losses do not usually constitute school closures in West Virginia. He said Mountain State officials usually close schools because those schools have poor facilities or poor academic records.
"Neither one of those applies to this school," he said, noting the current high school was built in 1976 after the former structure burned. The school saw an addition to the building in 1988.
"We have a nice computer lab, SMART Board (interactive whiteboard) technology, and very dedicated and committed teachers," Grace stressed. "Our academic and attendance records are good here."
Though they will graduate before any changes are made, West, Anderson, Bennett and Greathouse hope BOE members agree to save their school.
"This is an absolutely terrible idea. It would make our town die," Greathouse said of the proposed closure.
"Teachers can spend more time with their students at a small school. This helps us as we move forward," Anderson said.
The four students also agreed that, given the choice between attending Magnolia or Tyler Consolidated High Schools, most of their fellow students would go to Tyler.
"Most people would definitely go to Tyler," Bennett said.
Grace said that because Paden City overlaps between Wetzel and Tyler counties, students have the option of attending PCHS or Tyler Consolidated.
"I believe most students would go to Tyler Consolidated if this school is closed," the principal said.
BOE Vice President Robert Patterson said Wetzel County currently has a reciprocal agreement with Tyler County for students. However, Patterson believes he and his fellow board members could, should they choose, force Wetzel County students to go to school in Wetzel County. The vice president stressed, though, that he and fellow members have discussed no such plan.
Though PCHS is listed as the smallest school in the entire Ohio Valley Athletic Conference this year, the Wildcats football team has managed to win its fair share of games this season. The team has experienced this degree of success with just 17 players. One of those players, Anderson, is the team's starting quarterback, leading the Wildcats in both rushing and passing.
The mighty Magnolia Blue Eagles, as a much larger school than PCHS, have ripped through most of their opponents this year, and are looking to make a long run in the Class AA playoffs.
It is probably safe to say that many of those who are able to play for PCHS would be relegated to lesser roles if forced to play at Magnolia.
"There are students here who get the chance to excel in athletics that they would not get at a larger school," Grace said.
Along with Patterson, the Wetzel County BOE consists of president Michael Blair, as well as members Willie Baker, Amy Jo Dieffenbauch and Linda Sue Ritz. All five members list New Martinsville as their place of residence.
Patterson stressed that no decision regarding the fate of PCHS can be made before the board would hold a series of public hearings, including at least one in Paden City. He said the board would schedule the hearings for "sometime early next year."
Though he said he does not yet have enough information to form an opinion on whether PCHS should close, Patterson said "the move throughout the state is to consolidate."
"The committee has made a recommendation to close Paden City High School, and bus those students to Magnolia. But we still have to hold public hearings and vote on the plan before anything like that would happen," he said.
Dieffenbauch and Ritz each indicated they would need to see the full plan before deciding if they like it.
"I will need to know all the facts, and hear what other board members and committee members have to say," Dieffenbauch said.
"After I see the plan, I can form an opinion," Ritz added.
Paden City residents Kathy Smith and Marge Myer hope school officials decide to allow PCHS stay open.
"Some people say they don't have enough kids going there. But all four of my kids went there, and they got a good education," Smith said.
"My grandchildren go there. I don't want them to have to go out of town to go to school," Myer added.