The fight over a little elementary school in the Man area of Logan County is headed all the way to West Virginia's highest court.
The West Virginia Department of Education and the Logan County Board of Education have filed an emergency petition, known as a writ of prohibition, with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. They're asking the justices to step in and stop proceedings in Logan County Circuit Court, where a judge has temporarily blocked school officials from moving ahead with closing South Man Elementary School.
How We Got Here
Earlier this month, Circuit Judge Sabrina Deskins granted a temporary restraining order sought by a South Man parent, Lauren Browning, and community member Donna Thibault. They asked the court to hold off any closure until legal challenges over the state's school aid funding formula are settled and until the 2027 legislative session, which is expected to take a hard look at that formula.
The judge's order called off a public hearing on the closure that had been set for November 4 and stopped the county board from holding the closure vote it had planned for Thursday, November 12.
Logan County school leaders have been weighing whether to consolidate South Man into Man Elementary School. Any closure would also need the approval of the state Board of Education. Hugh Dingess Elementary and Justice Elementary are also under consideration for closure. School officials have said all three schools have fewer than 100 students and need repairs to bring them up to code.
What the State Is Arguing
In their petition, the state and county boards argue that state law gives them the power to close and consolidate schools, and that the circuit court's order keeps them from following that law. They also framed the case as a matter of separation of powers, saying the Legislature writes the laws governing schools and the state board sets the rules for running them.
Timing is a big part of their argument. The circuit court has indicated it can't hold a hearing until December 8, which the state school board says is too late to make a closure decision for the 2027-2028 school year. The petition says that if the decision is pushed back, taxpayers will pay about $1.3 million for each additional year the school stays open.
The Bigger Picture
This isn't just a Logan County story. School officials told lawmakers this week that West Virginia public schools would need a $410 million increase in state aid to stabilize their finances, and money troubles have set off a wave of school closures across the state. The ACLU of West Virginia filed a lawsuit in September asking the state Supreme Court to require lawmakers to fix the funding formula.
Logan County Superintendent Sonya White has said the county has lost more than 1,500 students over the past decade, a drop of more than 25 percent.
For families in Man and up and down the Guyandotte valley, though, this is about more than numbers. A small community school is often the heart of the holler, the place where generations learned to read and where neighbors gather. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether the process to close South Man can move forward. We'll keep you posted as this one develops.