Fayette County Schools Reconfiguration and Realignment Response to Questions: 1. What will happen to Collins Middle next year? Will the students stay split up for three more years? Yes, in the current short term outlook the students will continue to follow the current scheduling program that is in place. 2. Can anything stop this plan? Yes, prior to implementation, if the proposed amendment to the CEFP is not accepted by the West Virginia State Board of Education, then we would be unable to seek funding from the SBA. 3. What needs to happen to make this a 100% done deal? Approval of the CEFP amendment and funding from the SBA. 4. How will apathy towards education be addressed? How do we improve the desire to learn? Improving the desire to learn will come from raising the expectations we have on staff, students and parents. An enhanced curriculum and a highly qualified staff will make a significant difference in attitude. 5. What is the time frame for closing schools? Closure hearings would be held in the late summer and early fall of 2016. The projected opening of the proposed new school would be the fall of 2018. 6. What are the plans for Rosedale? At this time there are no actions planned related to Rosedale. 7. Have you considered the traffic flow into the area of the proposed school? Yes we have, we will approach the Division of Highways to construct an exit from Route 19 into the area and redesign the traffic flow to develop a one way exit. 8. Where will the new school be located? The proposed site is located on the property located near Oak Hill High School. The county owns that property. 9. Will the plan change the time for the start time for elementary students? Yes 10. Will the new school in Mount Hope be a PK-8? No, the plan calls for a new elementary school.
11. Why did you not include Valley High School in the plan? The three schools located in the Valley attendance area were judged to be sustainable for a minimum of 20 years. 12. Will PK-8 classes be instructed by certified teachers? Yes, if available. Subject specific instructors will be used in grades 7 and 8 according to policy. 13. Does the plan include a football field for Valley High School? No, the plan addresses only academic facilities. SBA funding can t be used for athletic facilities. 14. How much will teacher pay increase with the new school? Teacher pay scales are not affected with the plan. 15. Will there be rooms designated for gifted education? Classrooms are assigned based upon need and student enrollment. 16. How is it feasible to close Meadow Bridge High School when the campus is staying open? The campuses of Fayetteville and Midland Trail are staying open as well. The schools at these locations are being reconfigured into PK-8 schools for the purpose of realigning our curriculum to maximize our efforts to improve student achievement. In addition to those concerns are the student achievement scores of the high school students. Proficiency levels in Math and English/Language Arts are well below the state average. The section of the building heated by the coal fired furnace will be demolished to reconfigure the facility as part of a PK-8 school. 17. How will staff be reconfigured? Seniority or qualifications? All staffing in the realigned schools will be completed as specified in state code. 18. Is there an interim plan to relocate Fayetteville High to Oak Hill High? No 19. Who will name the new school? The suggested procedure would be for the students to select the new name and mascot for the school. 20. What is the board willing to do to increase sports in the schools at all levels? The proposed realignment does not address athletics. IF the proposal is successful it will be funded by the SBA, which does not fund athletic facilities. Once the realignment is completed individual schools will determine the athletic programs sponsored at each school.
21. What will be the longest bus route to exceed 60 minutes for the Meadow Bridge area? A total of 80 minutes for the longest bus route to the new high school location. Bus Number 21. Actual pick-up and drop off times have not been established at this date because the beginning and ending schedules for a school day have yet to be established for the new school. The routes that exceed 60 minutes are in the Meadow Bridge attendance area. Simulations of bus routes have been performed by the transportation department to determine the actual duration of the bus route. 22. What building renovations will be required to bring Midland Trail, Fayetteville, and Meadow Bridge up to code to house grades PK-8? Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms will need to have restrooms installed. Some adjustments will need to be made to existing restrooms. Furniture will need to be adjusted. 23. How will the renovations be paid for? Renovations will be performed by the maintenance staff and will be part of the maintenance budget for that time frame. 24. What will it cost to maintain the new high school? Approximately $285,000 annually, for fixed costs and maintenance. 25. How will the Backus Mountain bus route be adjusted? One bus, Number 1312, will travel from Red Springs to the top of the mountain and exit the mountain on the Layland end and travel to Oak Hill from Prince. The bus will not be making any U turns in the route. Bus 21, will pick up students below Red Springs towards Meadow Bridge and then on to Oak Hill area. 26. Will the new bus routes be safe? All routes are designed using the guidelines of State Board Policy 4336. The routes are designed based upon student population. 27. Will bus routes be doubled to accommodate elementary students? Yes, all county routes will follow the same guidelines for transporting students. Secondary and elementary routes will be separated to provide consistency throughout the county. 28. Why are out of county students denied enrollment in the Meadow Bridge area? Some out of county request for elementary students have been denied based upon available space in the elementary programs. No denials have taken place at the secondary level. 29. What would be the cost of renovating a PK-12 school at Meadow Bridge compared to renovating a PK-8 school? Renovating the school to maintain a PK-12 is approximately 10,840,650 compared to an approximate cost of 100,000 to convert to a PK-8 school. The renovations would be funded within the general maintenance budget. 30. What would be the cost of the demolition of the coal fired boiler section of Meadow Bridge? We have not secured estimates on that project at this time.
31. When making this proposal for including students in the Meadow Bridge attendance area, did you give equal weight to economies of scale, student s health and safety and other demographics? Yes, Meadow Bridge currently does not meet the economies of scale nor will the new realigned PK-8. 32. Is Fayette County going to pay for buses and bus drivers to pick up students in the Meadow Bridge attendance area and take them to Greenbrier, Summers, or Raliegh County? That has not been determined at this time. No clear data exists to answer this question at this time. 33. How do you guarantee our children s safety having the worst weather in the county and the farthest bus rides in the county? Road safety condition are evaluated to determine if it is safe to transport students to school. All areas of the county are assessed when making a determination to cancel school. 34. What will the class sizes be at the new facility? Class sizes are projected at approximately 25 students per class, some will be smaller based upon enrollment. 35. What new classes will be taught at the new school? That is to be determined, however, additional offerings in Advance Placement, Dual Credit, Lab Sciences, Foreign Language as well as additional CTE courses. 36. How many teaching positions will be lost at Meadow Bridge? That is yet to be determined, approximately three positions will be lost on a county wide basis. 37. What activity buses will be available in the Meadow Bridge area? Activity buses will be added to the Meadow Bridge, Midland Trail, and Fayetteville areas. The cost will be included in the transportation budget. 38. How much money will Fayette County lose in state funding if the majority of Meadow Bridge students select to attend schools in other counties? That can t be determined until the new school opens and enrollment figures are taken. 39. How many hours of sleep are required for bus drivers? Eight as stated in State Board Policy 4336. 40. Why did you not consider the topography, road conditions, and travel time for students in the Meadow Bridge area in your proposal? Those factors were given consideration as were student achievement indicators.
41. What would be the cost for a building for Fayetteville, Oak Hill and Midland Trail? That scenario was not considered when making the proposal. 42. Why not spend the savings from that building on renovating Meadow Bridge High School? Facilities were not the only factor used in making the proposal for reconfiguration and realignment. 43. Did you consider safety as well as social factors in making your proposal? Yes, transportation, social and student achievement factors were all considered. 44. Where will budget cuts come from? How can it be said that money has not been misappropriated? Budget restraints are currently in place so the county can maintain the recommended two to three percent budget surplus suggested by the state department. That surplus will be used to supply the match needed for an SBA project. 45. Did you review the situation for yourself or just drink the consolidation kool-aid? Is it appropriate for students to travel to Oak Hill for school? Why can t the students attend school a reasonable distance from home? I did review all schools involved in the proposal. Facility sustainability, transportation and student achievement were all evaluated in the process. 46. Why were Meadow Bridge citizens left out of the discussion of the county proposal? Why did you not have community meetings to receive input into the plan? Community meetings were not conducted during the process. I did speak with leading citizens from all areas of the county regarding the past record of attempting to develop a bond to improve schools. It was very evident that a bond would not be successful at this time. 47. You helped save Harman School in Randolph County, why are you not willing to help save Meadow Bridge? The citizens of Harman organized fund raising activities to pay for the renovation of the school. The total was approximately 250,000 for the project. The cost for Meadow Bridge far exceeds that figure. Factors other than facilities were used to develop the proposal.