| FAYETTE SCHOOLS AT RISK OF TAKE-OVER - State auditors are returning to the Fayette County school system to evaluate if problems in previous audits have been corrected.
Office of Educational Performance Audits executive director Kenna Seal has announced that an audit team is scheduled for a re-visit.
A 2006 audit found problems in hiring and financial practices, low student achievement and poor leadership.
In 2007, the WV Board of Education declared a state of emergency in Fayette County.
Officials said an audit conducted earlier in 2009 found that many issues have been addressed.
The system was granted conditional accreditation in February.
Fayette voters just turned down a bond that would have closed several high schools to build a county consolidated high school.
PADEN CITY HIGH HANGING BY THREAD - The Wetzel County Board of Education will soon consider a proposal that calls for closing Paden High at the end of the 2011-12 school year.
The move would send the students five miles away to New Martinsville - Magnolia High School.
The consolidation is widely opposed by the community.
The closure is part of 10-year-plan developed by a review committee that will soon present the information to BOE members.
Currently, PCHS has 159 students in grades 7-12, with 28 seniors, 25 juniors, 32 sophomores, 20 freshmen, 21 eighth graders and 33 seventh graders. The school has picked up 16 new students.
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.
State officials generally push to close schools because those schools have poor facilities or poor academic records, sometimes using an economies of scale model linked to enrollment.
The current high school was built in 1976 after the former structure burned, with a new addition in 1988. Thee facilities are in good shape.
"We have a nice computer lab, SMART Board (interactive whiteboard) technology, and very dedicated and committed teachers...Our academic and attendance records are good here," said school principal Grace.
School board president 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.
Paden City area residents have been involved in a vigorous pro-active movement to save the community school.
STATE TAKEOVER OF GRANT SCHOOLS - The West Virginia Board of Education has voted to takeover all of Grant County's schools.
The Office of Education Performance Audits released a report outlining specific problems facing the Grant County system and recommendations for starting to fix them.
A 130-page report say there are "serious deficiencies" in Grant County schools, including a failure to make adequate yearly progress for the last five years.
State education officials say the county is suffering from a leadership breakdown involving the local school board.
The report also cited a lack of advanced placement and honors classes at the high school.
"I can tell you right now that there are some serious concerns in Grant County," said Steve Paine, state superintendent, "Specifically with leadership issues that emanate from the local school board and issues that emanate from previous leadership."
Paine says the Grant County school board is not following the lead of interim county school superintendent, Dr. Sharron Harman. Paine says the relationship is "fractured" and something must change."
The state School Board is currently involved in take-overs of Mingo, Lincoln, McDowell and Preston counties. Improvement plans are also under review in Fayette and Randolph counties.
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