ELKINS — Just three days before the first hearing about the proposed closings of two local schools was scheduled to take place, the Randolph County Board of Education announced Friday it is pushing all the public hearings and votes back to January.

On Friday morning, Randolph County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Shawn Dilly announced on the BOE’s website and Facebook page that the public hearings and votes on whether to close the Harman and Pickens K-12 schools are now scheduled for the second week of January.

“Randolph County Schools is committed to ensuring transparency, compliance, and thoroughness in all matters affecting our students, staff, and community,” Dilly wrote. “A recent inquiry brought to the attention of the Randolph County Board of Education raised concerns regarding the notification requirements related to the school closure process.

“While we have made extensive efforts to communicate throughout this process, we believe it is in the best interest of all stakeholders to postpone the hearings and scheduled votes. This decision reflects our commitment to adhering to all statutory provisions with the utmost accuracy and diligence.”

“We appreciate the community’s patience and engagement as we work to address this matter responsibly and thoroughly,” Dilly said in the announcement. “Your input remains invaluable as we move forward in this process.”

The Inter-Mountain attempted to reach out to Dilly for comment Friday but numerous calls made to the BOE’s central office were unanswered. No voicemail option was available to leave a message.

The first public hearing for the Harman School closing was scheduled to take place at the school on Monday, Dec. 9. The rest of the public hearings and the votes on closing the two schools were all set to take place by Dec. 17.

Now, the first public hearing, for Harman parents, staff, residents and anyone else who wants to offer comment on the proposed school closure, will be from 5:30-8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6. This hearing will take place at the Elkins High School auditorium, however, and not at Harman School, where it was previously slated.

Also changed is that, instead of taking place over two days, all the public hearings and votes to close each school will be done in one day, at the same venue.

The public hearing for those who wish to comment on Midland Elementary’s involvement in the proposed closure will run from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 6. followed by a public hearing on Elkins Middle School’s involvement from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the public hearing for Elkins High School ‘s involvement from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Immediately after hearing four hours of public hearings, the Randolph County Board of Education will vote on whether to close Harman School at 9:30 p.m. Jan. 6. All the hearings and the vote will take place at Elkins High School.

Two days later, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, the entire process will repeat, this time in relation to the proposed closing of Pickens School.

The first public hearing, for Pickens, will be from 5:30-8 p.m. Jan. 8. It will not take place at Pickens School, as previously planned; it will now be held at the Tygarts Valley Middle/High School gymnasium.

The public hearing for those who wish to comment on George Ward Elementary’s involvement in the proposed closure will be from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 8. The public hearing on Tygarts Valley Middle/High School’s involvement will follow from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The BOE will vote on whether to close the Pickens School from 9-9:30 p.m. Jan. 8. All the hearings and the vote will take place at Tygarts Valley Middle/High School.

According to a Notice of Public Hearings posted on the Randolph County School’s website, “If, at the time a hearing is called to order the Board determines that the location is of insufficient size to accommodate all who desire to attend, the hearing will be recessed and moved to a new location of sufficient size to accommodate all those who desire to attend. If that happens, the new meeting location will be posted at the original meeting location. 

“If a public hearing is not completed by 11 p.m., it will be recessed, to be continued on a date and at a time designated and announced by the Board just prior to the hearing recess, to be continued day-to-day until concluded. The public hearings, as well as any reconvened session of the public hearings, shall end at the conclusion of each hearing’s business or at 11 p.m., whichever occurs earlier.” 

According to the Public Notice, “The Hearing Procedures are: For a period of 30 minutes prior to the commencement of a public hearing, persons may and are encouraged to register at the hearing location for the purpose of making statements, offering testimony, and questioning school officials concerning the proposals. Each hearing will begin with an oral summary by a representative of Randolph County Schools of the reasons and supporting data in connection with the proposed action by the Board. Speakers will then be recognized in the order in which they registered. Each speaker shall be limited to 5 minutes unless, in accordance with Board Policy 0169.1, the President reduces that time limit to provide all persons wishing to speak the opportunity to do so.”

The rescheduling of the hearings was met with suspicion by some Friday.

Jonathan Lacocque, part of the Pickens Local School Improvement Council, reached out to the Inter-Mountain after hearing that the dates were moved.

“About a week ago, our PLSIC President Diane Betler sent an email to Dr. Dilly and the board stating that they had not followed the regulations on closure, which dictates that they must have a notice posted at the school 30 days before a hearing,” Lacocque told The Inter-Mountain. “They had not done that, so we wanted to kindly let them know in case that changed things on their end on how things should proceed.”

Lacocque said he and other PLSIC members feel the rescheduling is a response to their letter.

“I think the response essentially is that they have now canceled all the hearings and changed them, and moved them to one date at Tygarts Valley,” he said. “So no longer will the board, superintendent and staff be going to Harman or to Pickens for the closure hearings, which is frustrating…

“We hoped they would have been able to travel to Harman and Pickens for the hearings. It’s important for them to do that for many reasons, a few of which being that not all of the board members have seen the schools. If they are voting on closing a school, they should obviously visit it, so they can understand how long it takes to get there and what the roads are like.”

Lacocque said he heard some of the board members at this week’s BOE meeting discussing the potential repercussions if they can’t balance the school system’s budget.

“At the end of that meeting, several of the Board members started mentioning how they would break the law on either choice they make,” Lacocque said. “Yes, they are going to go against state code and law if they don’t balance the budget, but if they close Pickens they are likely to break two laws. One is the same law they say they are going to break if they don’t close it and balance the budget, and the other is the transportation code and law in putting students on the bus for longer than is allowed.” 

Lacocque said when the county tried to close Pickens School in the 1990s, the state struck down the board’s approval of closure because of state law regarding transportation. 

“As community members we are worried that we are going through all of this process, and even if they pass to close these two schools, the state may vote against them.”