COALTON — More than 100 parents, students and community members turned out for a “Save Our School” meeting Thursday evening at the Coalton Volunteer Fire Department.

The meeting was organized by longtime local businessman and former state legislator Mike Ross, who said the turnout for the meeting was “amazing.”

“We had a really good turnout for the meeting. More than 100 people showed up,” Ross told The Inter-Mountain. “We even had some folks come from Harman, who are still fighting to save their school despite the Board’s recent decision.”

The Randolph County Board of Education will vote on closing Coalton Elementary School and Midland Elementary at the end of a public hearing Oct. 28, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

On Oct. 8, the BOE voted 4-1 to close Harman K-12 School and 5-0 to close North Elementary School.

“We are going to have a crowd there on the night of Oct. 28,” Ross said. “We are going to have a lot of people there to speak out against the closure of the school. We are not here to create a fight, we are here to help solve a problem. And moving our school out of Coalton is not going to solve any problems.”

Ross said Ed Daniels was the lone board member to attend the special meeting in Coalton Thursday evening.

“(Daniels) talked to everyone there and said he is continuing to look at the 10-year plan that the District has, to see if some changes can be made to help keep Coalton open.

Ross added that Joyce Allen, a retired school teacher, spoke out against the closing of the school during Thursday’s event.

“She said that taking these little kids and making them ride that far from their homes for school isn’t right,” Ross said. “She thought they shouldn’t have to spend as much time as they will be spending on a bus if the Board votes to close Coalton.”

If the school is closed and students are bused to Elkins, Ross said all of the parents involved are going to have a tough time doing what they normally do.

“We have a lot of working parents in Coalton and they have to work,” Ross said. “They have to meet a schedule to not only go to work, but to make sure their kids get to where they need to be. Sometimes that’s hard to do now. Just imagine what it’s going to be like if they have to get them ready much earlier in the morning to get on the bus and later in the evening to come home.”

Ross said the entire school in Coalton, including the gymnasium and cafeteria, is in excellent condition. He added that the gym and cafeteria are used by the community during most weekends for non-school events.

“We have a bunch of rooms in the upstairs of our school that are not even being used. We might see about working with (the Board of Education) to make them usable,” Ross said. “Maybe we can bring some kids to Coalton instead of taking them out of Coalton.”

Ross said he plans to organize another gathering before the Oct. 28 public hearing, adding a date and time for the meeting will be announced within the next several days.

On Tuesday afternoon, Randolph Superintendent Dr. Shawn Dilly canceled a public hearing to determine the fate of Pickens K-12 School about 90 minutes before the school closure hearing was to take place. Dilly wrote on social media that “new information related to funding” had been received that “may support keeping Pickens open for an additional year.”