ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — Harman community members were in a celebratory mood Tuesday night after the Randolph County Board of Education voted against superintendent Shawn Dilly’s recommendation to close Harman School.
“Oh, really ecstatic. I’m really, really glad that Harman can stay, Harman students can stay at their school,” said Harman parent Trish Bucher. “It is, it would’ve been a very devastating blow for them to have to travel those mountains and come into Elkins. I’m just so glad that we can have our school still open. Yes!”
Following a meeting lasting a few hours, the board voted 4–1 to keep the school, which appeared to be on the chopping block for the last few months, open for its population of roughly 125 K–12 students.
12 News did not get an opportunity to speak with Dilly, who left Tuesday’s meeting shortly after the vote. In a prior conversation with 12 News, Dilly stated that consolidations in the county were inevitable and said he believed the best-case scenario for parents was a delay.
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School board members declined to offer comment when approached after the meeting.
During the meeting, Dilly and other county education officials outlined Harman’s current circumstances. Right now, it is in the third year of Communities in Schools, or CIS, a state program that assists disadvantaged schools. When the state board of education reviews the school at the end of the current school year, if Harman has not improved its standing, it could declare the school to be in a state of emergency, take it over and potentially change personnel and make other decisions in an effort to meet state requirements.
“Feeling really good. Uh, but, it, it’s somber also because we realize there’s a lot of work ahead, and we’re committed because we want to see our communities succeed, our kids succeed and the board of education succeed,” said Dan Bucher, a Harman parent and grandparent.
The Randolph County Board of Education will meet again Wednesday evening at 5:30 at Tygarts Valley High School to discuss the future of Pickens School, which has a much smaller enrollment of a few dozen.
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