It is beyond insulting, and borders on offensive, that one of the same tools the Republican super-majority in the WV Legislature has forged in its effort to sledgehammer to death public education in this state — “Charter Schools” — is the same tool Delegate Coop-Gonzalez suggests using to “fix” the “problem” of rural schools and in particular to address the proposed closure of Harman Schoo l(“Charter school in Harman?” — Nov. 14).

Both schools, both Harman and Pickens, need to remain open as public schools, to serve their rural communities, and to provide for future economic growth in Randolph county and the surrounding region. To close them at this juncture shows shortsightedness in the extreme. As more and more people seek the serenity of rural places to set up small businesses, raise their families, or to retire, and as the tourism assets of Snowshoe and nearby facilities are further developed, these rural schools, and many like them, need to be supported.

Legislative attention needs instead to be given to the funding formula problem created at the state level and the bleeding-out that has occurred at all West Virginia public schools because these same actors in the WV Legislature in recent years sought to get rid of public education and replace it with privatized models of education. Instead of the ethos that created public schools in the first place in this country in the 19th century, Coop-Gonzalez and others supporting these privatization measures are calling for the continued de-funding of our public schools rather than giving ALL students equal opportunity to learn by providing the financial resources needed so that county or state boards of education are not forced into thinking the only decision possible is closure and consolidation.

Many of the citizens objecting to these proposed closures have pointed out that it is simply not feasible to transport students to other Randolph County schools, given the distances and the terrain. Others in these communities and beyond have also observed how students at both schools are receiving a top-notch public education, so why should we not, as a state, find the money to continue to keep small rural schools open? It can be done.

Two final points. I’m happy to share research that shows how having an asset like a rural school may influence young families’ decisions on whether to move to a particular rural area or not. I would also share the personal point that, as a farmer who learned as a young person some of the skills I still use on my own farm in Tucker County — skills I learned from those who were part of the public school system in Randolph County way back then, whose families, many of them, have remained in these rural communities all these decades later — closing these rural schools is a break from tradition West Virginians cannot afford to make.

Deborah Stiles, Ph.D.,

Former Director, Rural

Research Centre, NSAC,

Tucker County