ROMNEY, W.Va. (AP) — Education officials are looking at whether the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind should be relocated instead of renovated.
Architectural firm ZMM Inc. of Charleston, which developed the schools’ master plan, is determining what it would cost to build new schools in another location.
Some state Board of Education members asked during their January meeting whether relocating the schools would be more cost effective than renovating them. The board is expected to discuss the proposal again at its February meeting, West Virginia Public Broadcasting (http://bit.ly/WwMM9R) reported.
The schools have been in Romney since 1870. About 120 students from 30 counties are currently enrolled.
“Clearly if we move somewhere then the items in our plan that call for renovation and restoration of two historic buildings would not be part of the costs,” Superintendent Lynn Boyer said. “But by the same token if we stay here we don’t have to buy land.”
She estimated a new campus would require 20 to 30 acres. The existing campus is nearly 80 acres.
If the schools are relocated, the new site must be in or near a town that’s large enough to allow students to learn how to live and navigate outside the campus, Superintendent Lynn Boyer said.
“We couldn’t just go look for the cheapest acres of land and just go there,” Boyer said. “There would be no advantage to going if all we were doing is moving someplace and the children have nothing but their classrooms and their dorm rooms. That’s not meeting the mission of the schools.”
Blind students would need at least minimal public transportation and sidewalks.
“Children who are deaf, or hard of hearing, have to have enough of a community around them that they can begin to understand how they, as deaf adults, eventually will manage,” Boyer said. “How will they bring their own interpreters into a situation for instance? How will they communicate their needs to a restaurant, to a job opportunity?”
Officials also need to determine whether more students would enroll if the schools were moved to a more central location in the state.
“It’s a hard, hard question,” Boyer said. “We’re at a time when many counties believe they can serve their children and do. We know that there are counties that try very hard but because of their own resources are not able to provide the kind of services that we can provide.”
She plans to present information to the board on the cost of relocating the schools, where children who are blind and deaf live and how many attend the schools.
———
Information from: WVPR-FM, http://www.wvpubcast.org/news.aspx
Latest news
W.Va. Schools for Deaf, Blind may be relocated
- Latest news
-
-
New septic system rules will tax county health department
New state laws on septic systems will require increased on-site work for Allegany County Health Department staff and could lead to an eventual increase in septic system inspection fees, department officials said last week.
-
Mineral County commissioners keep ambulance authority bylaws
The Mineral County Commission voted down a proposed change to the county ambulance authority bylaws that would have allowed the ambulances to expand nonemergency transports.
-
Family has long connection to local YMCA Matriarch hopes to keep tradition in family
Vickie Murray Aman has been working at the Riverside YMCA for the past 44 years. She is the matriarch of a family who has had a longstanding relationship with the local Y.
-
County plans to regulate piercings and change rules for tattoo parlors
While Allegany County regulates tattoos, it does not currently regulate body piercings, but the county health department is planning to change that situation soon.
Legitimate tattoo and piercing shops are cooperating in the update, county health officials have said. -
Residents adopt American chestnut trees
Cradling her small American chestnut tree as if it were a newborn baby, Nancy Bean was ready Saturday afternoon to return to her Backbone Mountain home where she would grab a shovel and plant a part of the country’s heritage.
-
I-68 downtown ramp to reopen Monday
The exit 43C ramp from eastbound Interstate 68 to downtown Cumberland will remain closed through Monday morning to allow crews to repair the concrete driving surface.
-
Mineral deputy, K-9 partner named top team in W.Va.
Mineral County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Smith and K-9 Kira were awarded West Virginia K-9 Team of the Year by the West Virginia Police Canine Association earlier this month.
-
Organizers hope canoe championships put Garrett County on map
Deep Creek 2014: International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships is the largest inbound sporting event scheduled in the United States in 2014, according to Todd Copley, executive director of Deep Creek 2014.
-
Organizers hope canoe championships put Garrett County on map
Deep Creek 2014: International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships is the largest inbound sporting event scheduled in the United States in 2014, according to Todd Copley, executive director of Deep Creek 2014.
-
PSC approves Keyser sewer rate hike, customers due refund
The West Virginia Public Service Commission has approved a sewer rate increase for Keyser for all service after June 24 and a refund of 1.01 percent of the money collected from each customer under the interim rates.
- More Latest news Headlines
-
New septic system rules will tax county health department
