Pleading for Pickens
Students ask that school remain open
The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley Brianna Greenway, left, and Lucy Lacocque were among four Pickens K-12 School students who attended Tuesday night’s Randolph County Board of Education meeting to ask for their school to remain open. At right is Clara Lehman of Pickens.
Parker Curry, a sophomore at Pickens K-12 School, spoke to Randolph County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shawn Dilly, left, and the Board of Education during Tuesday night’s meeting at the Central Office.
The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley Brianna Greenway, left, and Lucy Lacocque were among four Pickens K-12 School students who attended Tuesday night’s Randolph County Board of Education meeting to ask for their school to remain open. At right is Clara Lehman of Pickens.
Parker Curry, a sophomore at Pickens K-12 School, spoke to Randolph County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shawn Dilly, left, and the Board of Education during Tuesday night’s meeting at the Central Office.
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ELKINS -- Residents and students from the town of Pickens pleaded with the Randolph County Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Shawn Dilly to not close the Pickens K-12 School during Tuesday's regular BOE meeting.
A contingent of Pickens citizens attended the meeting, and several spoke during the Public Comments section. Earlier this month, Dilly released a schedule of public hearings and two meetings during which the BOE will vote on closing schools in Pickens and Harman.
Three students from Pickens K-12 made their way to the podium first to speak. Lucy Lacocque, a fifth-grade student at the school, spoke on behalf of the three students, which included her twin sister Sophia and fourth-grader Brianna Greenway.
"Since my first day of kindergarten at Pickens school I have loved riding the bus," Lacocque said. "My friends and I have even nicknamed our bus driver, who says good evening when we get on the bus in the morning, and good morning when we get on the bus in the evening. It makes us laugh and he gets me safely to school in less than 30 minutes.
"It's a beautiful and short ride through Helvetia and into Pickens, but if Pickens school closes, I will have to ride the bus for one and a half hours in the morning and the same in the evening, which would equal three hours of bus riding each day."
Using her math skills, Lacocque presented the BOE and Dilly with some figures.
"I figured out the math and about three hours on the bus each day multiplied by 180 days of school equals 540 hours or 22.5 days on the bus each year, and that's just sad," she said.
"If Pickens School closes I will have to wake up at 5 a.m. to eat breakfast, get ready, and get on the bus by 6 a.m. Who would want to do that?" she said. "A bus ride at this length would be bad for my health, I would have to sit a lot and I won't see the sunlight in the winter… Because I won't be getting home until around 5:30 p.m., I will have to do my homework, eat dinner, and get ready for bed early enough for the next cuckoo clock at 5 a.m. This would not allow me to participate in 4-H and other after-school activities – I would hate that and it makes me very sad to think about it."
Parker Curry, a sophomore at Pickens K-12, was next to take the podium. Curry, who is a Master Sergeant with the Civil Air Patrol and the Editor of the school newspaper, the Pickens Post, said Pickens is a close-knit community that thrives on the values of togetherness, resilience and academic excellence.
"I would like to talk about why it's crucial to keep our school open, and why investing in Pickens is a better choice for both our students and our county," he said. "Pickens School is not just a building, it is a lifeline for our community.
"With the nearest town an hour away, the proposed bus plan would not only be costly, but would also potentially endanger students on treacherous mountain roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, long bus rides tend to lead to stress among students, hindering their learning capabilities. I would like to ask you all today if it is truly worth risking our children's safety for the sake of administrative convenience."
Curry went on to describe some of the things that make Pickens School unique.
"We may be small but we are mighty," he said. "The bonds that we have formed here are irreplaceable, the friendships that have blossomed from kindergarten all the way through high school are simply remarkable. In Pickens we are family, not just rosters or numbers…
"By the closing of Pickens School you would be taking away the very foundation that has allowed us to grow and thrive. Pickens School is not just about getting a quality education, it's a vital, cultural and social hub for our community. Its removal would affect our unique way of life that we have cultivated here."
Jonathan Lacocque, who is the father of Lucy and Sophia, was the last to speak during the Public Comments section.
"I can see the incredible challenge you have before you, given the state funding formula, shrinking population,and lower student enrollment," he said. "But I want to express my sincerest concerns with this proposal for closure…
"It's my hope that we can move away from school closure and work together on finding ways to adjust budget expenditures without derailing the academic lives and safety for all Randolph County students."
At the end of Tuesday's meeting, Dilly and the BOE agreed to postpone the upcoming scheduled meetings/hearings having to do with the potential closure of the Harman K-12 School and the Pickens K-12 School.
Seven hearings were scheduled to take place in November at various Randolph County schools, allowing residents to weigh in on the proposed closings. Dilly said he would announce the new dates for January in the near future.
The next Randolph County Board of Education meeting will be at the Central Office on Nov. 6 at 5:30 p.m.