Two Nicholas County Elementary Schools Face Possible Closure as Families Push Back

In the hills of Nicholas County, two small schools sit at the heart of their communities, and right now families there are fighting to keep them. A proposal on the table would close Zela Elementary and Birch River Elementary and send their students to the new Summersville Pre-K through 8th grade school being built at Glade Creek, which is set to open next fall.

A final decision is expected at a special meeting on November 10.

Parents Pack the Hearing

Public hearings on the plan were held Monday night at Nicholas County High School, and folks showed up ready to speak their minds. One parent after another asked county school leaders to keep both buildings open.

One Zela parent pointed out that their school is already the result of three earlier closures, Kessler's Cross Lanes, Otter Creek and Dixie elementary schools, and said their side of the county has long felt left behind.

The biggest worry is the bus ride. Zela Elementary Principal Andrew Thomas told the crowd that some of his students already spend two hours a day on a bus, and that the added trip to Glade Creek could push some children close to three hours a day. By his count, that adds up to at least 450 hours on a bus over a single school year, with some kids facing a ride of about 90 minutes each way.

Why the County Says It's Needed

Superintendent Scott Cochran said the closure plan is his proposal, and he laid out three reasons for it: Zela and Birch River have the lowest enrollment in the county, the lowest building use, and the highest cost per student of any schools in the district. Each now has fewer than 100 students.

The bigger picture is a familiar one across West Virginia. Cochran said Nicholas County's public school enrollment has dropped by 789 students since 2016, a decline of about 20.7 percent, and the county has lost about $2 million in state funding as a result. He said the cost of running and maintaining the buildings has stayed largely the same even as fewer students walk through the doors.

District leaders say consolidating the two schools could free up around $1.8 million for student resources.

Not the First Time

This isn't the first go-round. In 2024, the Nicholas County Board of Education considered closing these same two schools and ultimately voted against it.

This time, the decision rests in different hands. Nicholas County Schools has been under state control since 2025, so the call belongs to State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt, not the five-member county board, which does not have authority to vote on the closures while the state is in charge. Her decision is expected to be announced at the November 10 meeting.

For families in Zela and Birch River, that leaves less than two weeks of waiting to learn whether the schools their kids know and love will still be there next fall. We'll be watching this one closely, and we'd love to hear from Nicholas County folks about what these schools mean to you.