| "It was a great victory for community schools," said Challenge WV Executive Director Thomas Ramey.
The closure of Paden City High School has been taken off the ten year plan by the Wetzel County Board of Education.
Some Paden City area residents burst into tears when the announcement was made by the board, many involved in a community-wide effort to save the high-performing school.
Board members Michael Blair, Robert Patterson, Willie Baker, Amy Jo Dieffenbauch and Linda Sue Ritz voted unanimously during their Monday meeting to remove the provision to close Paden City.
Superintendent William Jones said, "That is how board members felt they should vote."
During a March 25th public meeting at PCHS, Rodney McWilliams, a 1984 PCHS graduate and president of the Paden City Foundation Inc., was a key player in keeping the school open.
McWilliams expressed his thanks for the communities activism.
"We accomplished what we set out to do. We will continue to support this school as we have for the past 60 years."
"If you can sustain the schools, you should. The school is a vital part of a community," said board president Blair.
See PADEN CITY PARENTS STANDING TOGETHER - Award Winning School Facing Closure
| 
