Declining student enrollment may cause more Randolph closures

Lambert: Keeping current number of Randolph schools will be "extremely difficult, if not impossible"

ELKINS – Declining student enrollment in Randolph County could possibly lead to further school closings, the county’s top education official said.

Superintendent Dr. Derek Lambert told the county Board of Education during Tuesday night’s regular meeting that it may be impossible to maintain the current number of schools in the county, adding that he wanted to discuss where the school system currently is financially and how it moves forward.

“Over the past several weeks, the central office team has been working to begin developing a plan that allows us to continue putting students first, while also being responsible with the resources that we have,” Lambert said.

Lambert told the BOE that the school system is looking at a projected loss of 240 students this school year, which translates to roughly a $2 million reduction in funding, or approximately 30 staff member positions.

“I want to be very honest about what that means,” Lambert said. “While there were significant cuts made last year under Mr. (Terry) George’s leadership, finding another 30 positions to reduce, while maintaining our current number of schools, is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible.”

The BOE voted to close Harman K-12 School and North Elementary School at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, with both schools officially holding their final classes and closing on June 5. The closures are projected to save the district roughly $1.7 million.

Lambert said that any decisions moving forward should not be made by the Central Office alone.

“I have spent a lot of time listening to people throughout the county and based on those conversations, I am working on creating a Community Advisory Committee,” Lambert told the Board. “I want that group to help me gather information, look at options, and provide input as we work through some very difficult decisions.”

Lambert said he had recently learned that Randolph County has a policy allowing the superintendent to create a Community Advisory Board. He added that he plans on extending invitations to community members to join.

The superintendent told the BOE members that he currently doesn’t have a formal plan in place, and that he doesn’t want to pretend that the Central Office has all the answers to the school system’s issues.

“What I can tell you is that we are working toward several possible plans and looking at what each one would mean for our schools, our employees, our communities, and most importantly our students,” Lambert said. “There are going to be some difficult conversations ahead.

“There may not be an option that everyone agrees with. But I believe we have an obligation to be honest about where we are, listen to our communities, and make decisions that put Randolph County Schools in the best position possible to serve our students. Not just this year, but for years to come. Our goal is to simply not just cut. Our goal is to find a sustainable way forward, while protecting the quality of education we provide to the students of Randolph County.”

Lambert then discussed the enrollment count for the county with the Board members present – Rachel Burns, Ed Daniels, Peggy Young Ross, Denise Campbell and Randy Long.

“You’ll see that last October we had 3,364 students and we had 199 Hope Scholarship students and 209 home school students,” Lambert said. “As of Oct. 1st, 2026, we have 3,125 students enrolled, which is a reduction of 439 students. We have 429 Hope Scholarship students and 210 home school students.”

Lambert said that, at the next BOE meeting, he will provide the Board of Education with further information and plans to move forward.

“Those will be just step one of looking at potential options,” Lambert said. “I plan on taking those options and getting input, obviously, from the Board. And I do plan on getting input and suggestions from the Community Advisory Board, but also our principals and our staff members in our schools as we move forward.”

The next regular Randolph County Board of Education meeting will be on Oct. 20 at 5:30 p.m.