I’ve been a resident of Harman for nearly 60 years. My wife, my three children and myself all graduated from Harman School. I’m writing to you because of your decision to close Harman School; a beautiful school with a sense of pride that no other school has. A school that remains today because of a supportive and hardworking community that built it back after the 2017 flood.

Do your realize what your decision will do to our part of Randolph County? Yes, Harman School is a part of Randolph County, and it and its people deserve the same respect as any other school in the county. Schools are the backbone of any community, but even more so in a small town like Harman. If Harman School is closed, it will destroy our entire way of life and will permanently scar the children forever.

K-12 age children’s well-being will be put at unnecessary risk due to extra-long bus rides to and from a different school in good road conditions, let alone four snowy mountains during the winter. They will have no time for extracurricular activities, time for homework, family time, or rest.

I worked for Harman, WV DOH for approximately 25 years. I can attest that the closure of Harman School will be a failure simply because of the bus routes. There are children that love nearly 30 minutes from Harman School, let alone to Elkins. Then in the wintertime, you have the following mountains to battle due to their icy, slick, cold and dangerous conditions: Kelly, Shavers, Middle and Rich Mountains.

Speaking of the Harman DOH, I’m certain they don’t even have the proper amount of staff or equipment to maintain roads leading to Elkins, especially early in the mornings. Will Elkins WV DOH supply equipment and workers to be sure that these roads will be open and safe for Harman buses to drive our children? I assume not.

Harman students aren’t accustomed to being “just an number.” They have personal relationships with all their classmates and teachers. Harman isn’t just a school, it’s a family. For some children, it’s the only family that they will ever experience. Shame on you for wanting to take something so life-changing away from anyone, let alone a child.

Children from Harman will be forced to attend a school where they don’t want to go and where they aren’t wanted. If Elkins community members wouldn’t send their children to Harman, then why would one think it is a good idea to send Harman students to Elkins? The hypocrisy is astounding.

Those who support this closure have made it clear that they don’t care about what this will do to our community, and most importantly, to the children and their families. It’s evident that those who are in power have tunnel vision on one factor: money. Greed is the reason for all these destructive decisions.

Versus uprooting a large number of children and their families, why don’t we investigate the last several years of financials to determine why, and who, is responsible for the county school system’s monetary dilemma?

Why should innocent children have to suffer for grown adults’ poor decisions? Closing schools and destroying communities are not justified for filling a corrupt agenda.

For what it’s worth, I, my family, friends and everyone I know in the community beg you to have mercy on Harman School, and all lives that would be negatively impacted if the closure of our school is finalized.

Rex Vance

Harman