Upshur County Schools has officially released a plan to close Rock Cave and Tennerton elementary schools at the end of the current 2025-2026 school year. In the second phase of the proposal, Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School and Buckhannon-Upshur High School would combine into a single school.

Superintendent Christy Miller released the two-phase plan at Tuesday’s Upshur County Board of Education meeting. Upshur County is currently under state control, meaning any final decisions would be made in Charleston, likely before the end of the year.

Under the proposal, Rock Cave students would be transferred to French Creek Elementary School and Tennerton students would go to Buckhannon Academy Elementary School. Both schools have room for the new students without major modifications.

Additional construction would be necessary at B-UHS to absorb the 734 current middle school students, and Miller said Upshur County would need to apply for School Building Authority funding to complete those changes.

Miller said the plans are ‘fiscally responsible’ given declining enrollment and dwindling funding for public schools. Rock Cave has just six kindergarten students registered this year, she noted.

The Hope Scholarship, established by the West Virginia Legislature in 2021, also plays a role, according to the superintendent. This year, 150 local students will receive the scholarship, which provides taxpayer funding for students who attend private school or are homeschooled. That will decrease the Upshur County public school system’s budget by about $1 million a year.

Here is the full text of the proposal released Tuesday:

Superintendent’s Update – August 12, 2025

Enrollment numbers as of today = 3219

Facilities Update and Plan to move forward:

Plan A: First Phase

• Close Rock Cave Elementary at the close of the 2025-2026 school year and transfer students to French Creek Elementary.
• Close Tennerton Elementary at the close of the 2025-2026 school year and transfer student to Buckhannon Academy.

Considerations for Plan A:

Rock Cave’s enrollment has dropped to 74 for the 2025-2026 school year. The kindergarten registration for the 2025-2026 school year stands at 6 students. There are approximately 26 students from Rock Cave that are currently approved to attend French Creek included in the current enrollment numbers. Those students can easily be absorbed into French Creek Elementary with no additional construction required.

Capacity at French Creek Elementary is equal to 337 students with a current enrollment for 2025-2026 at 212.

Buckhannon Academy’s enrollment for 2025-2026 stands at 478. Tennerton Elementary’s enrollment is 293. This would give a total enrollment at Buckhannon Academy at 771 with capacity using all floors in the building is 1054.

Construction costs would include a new boiler and chiller for the building that was constructed in 1920 and 1968. We would also need to roof the gymnasium in the 1920s portion on the second floor. There would be additional clean up and rearrangement of classrooms to keep all of the same grade levels together in the building. An SBA grant would be submitted to cover some costs with county contribution for the rest.

Plan B: Second Phase

Buckhannon Upshur Middle School would be closed and transfer all students to Buckhannon Upshur High School.

Considerations for Plan B:

Buckhannon Upshur Middle School enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is 734 and Buckhannon Upshur High School is 966 for a total of 1,700. Capacity is 1522 which would require additional construction considerations to provide a separate learning and office space for middle school students.

A separate application for SBA funds would be required to complete this project.

Why these considerations:

1. Student participation in the Hope Scholarship is at 150 students this year with an increase expected each year once it is open to all grade levels without the rule of being in school for 45 days. We will seeing a decrease of over $1,000,000 for FY 27 based on the number for this coming school year.
2. This board as all county boards need to begin to become more fiscally responsible with funding that is provided to educate students in the public school setting. The decline in enrollment year over year does not warrant maintaining the same number of buildings in Upshur County Schools. While funding will need to be secured to make this consolidation occur, over the long run savings in maintenance and upkeep as well as providing an updated learning environment for students will be a positive.
3. The proposed plans for closure and consolidation at the elementary level will provide better utilization of space and allow for opportunities to expand as the years progress. Academy as it is known to most has the space available as it stands today to absorb Tennerton students and make it a more centralized location with 2.3 miles between the locations.
4. French Creek sits approximately 4.2 miles from the current Rock Cave building adding some travel time but again affording more opportunity and cost savings over time.
5. Questions have been raised about Hodgesville and Washington District. We did consider both of these options and have learned that recommended transportation times would be exceeded and because Washington District was awarded funding to support a new HVAC system through ESSER funding, that building must remain open and operational for a minimum of 10 years.

Next steps:

• Develop a timeline of required activities with deadlines to share with the public and the school communities impacted.
• Secure meeting dates and meet with impacted schools PTOs, LSICs and Faculty Senates
• Conduct required closure hearings, etc.
• Secure all documents required for consideration of closures and consolidations
• Secure application to SBA meeting the September deadline for submission to be eligible for funding in December of 2025.
• Hire an architect for planning and services for construction at Buckhannon Academy Elementary.
• Secure required changes to the current Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan developed and approved in 2020.
• Secure approval from the state department of education prior to December 31, 2025 to move forward with the plan.