NEW CUMBERLAND – New Hancock County Schools Superintendent Walter Saunders said there are no plans to close or consolidate schools for the next school year, but current members of the Hancock County Board of Education feel conditions in the county and state are such that it could happen in the future.

Saunders said any discussion about school closures was speculation, adding that it won’t happen this year.

“We are working through the reduction in force process, and all schools will open for the 2026-27 year,” he said.

Hancock BOE member Jim Horstman said there have been rumors circulating around the county that the district will be forced to close schools. He added that he had not been told anything directly from the superintendent about closures and consolidation.

Horstman and fellow board member Chris Gillette said that, in their opinion, the district’s declining population was an issue that needs to be addressed. They said that since 2017, the district has lost about 1,400 students, including 357 who left to take advantage of the state’s HOPE Scholarship program, which enables K-12 students to build an individual learning experience instead of attending public school full-time. The scholarship allows qualifying students to receive financial assistance that can be used for tuition, homeschool curriculum and other qualifying expenses.

While there was discussion during the 2026 West Virginia Legislative session about limiting or capping the HOPE Scholarship, nothing came to fruition and the scholarship was fully funded in the 2026 state budget.

Gillette said that when you combine the reduction in staffing numbers with a decreasing population and the increasing popularity of the HOPE Scholarship, there likely will be no choice but to close or consolidate schools.

“You simply do not have the funding to operate eight school buildings,” he said. “The HOPE Scholarship just received millions of dollars from the state, and you will have 20 or more layoffs each year, if not more, due to declining enrollment and parents homeschooling their children. I think you have to just to survive.”