The gym was packed. Even with extra chairs, it was standing room only as parents, teachers, students and community members filled Rock Cave Elementary School Thursday night for a public hearing on the proposed closure of the school and its consolidation into French Creek Elementary.

One after another, dozens of speakers stepped to the podium to address the three men from Charleston who will be tasked this week with deciding the fate of the school. They had five minutes each. The hearing lasted four hours.

The message was clear: Don’t close our school.

Upshur County Schools is currently under state control for financial mismanagement that occurred during the COVID years, which means three officials appointed by the West Virginia Department of Education will cast the deciding votes: Jeffrey Kelly, Uriah Cummings and Micah Whitlow. All three attended the public hearing.

A vote on the proposed closure is scheduled for this Thursday, November 20, at 5:30 p.m. at Buckhannon-Upshur High School. If the appointees approve the closure, the proposal then goes to the West Virginia Board of Education in Charleston for a final vote.

The five elected Upshur County Board of Education members have no say on the measure due to the state takeover.

Board president Jan Craig opened the Rock Cave hearing by outlining the rules.

“No decision on the proposed closure will be made tonight,” Craig said. “The proposed closure of Rock Cave Elementary School and consolidation of its students into French Creek Elementary School will be the subject of a board meeting scheduled for November 20, 2025, at 5:30. At that time, the board will conduct all deliberations in open session, and a vote will be taken in open session following the board’s deliberations.”

Superintendent Christy Miller opened both hearings — one at French Creek and the second at Rock Cave — with the same message: declining enrollment and reduced state funding make the current path unsustainable.

“Like many counties across West Virginia, Upshur County Schools continues to experience a decline in student enrollment,” Miller said. “State funding is directly tied to enrollment. This trend has a significant impact on our budget and our ability to maintain programs and services.”

She provided enrollment figures. French Creek Elementary was built for 328 students and currently serves 221. Rock Cave Elementary was built for 154 students and now serves 71.

“For the current school year alone, we have seen an additional loss of 183 students (across all Upshur County schools), which translates to approximately $1.6 million in reduced funding,” Miller said. “This will require further difficult decisions as we prepare the 2026-2027 budget.”

The superintendent had initially proposed also closing Tennerton Elementary School, but that was dropped because the county felt it couldn’t fund the renovations necessary to house those students elsewhere.

Miller acknowledged the emotional weight of the decision.

“School closures are never easy. They are decisions no board or superintendent wants to make because we understand the deep, emotional and historical connections our schools hold for families, staff and communities,” she said. “These schools are more than buildings. They represent memories, traditions and a sense of belonging. Generations of families have walked these halls, and we do not take that lightly.”

One question asked multiple times concerned the county’s unrestricted fund balance and why that could not be tapped to keep Rock Cave open. At the conclusion of the public hearing, Cummings, the School Financial Operations Officer with the state Department of Education, explained the state’s feelings on that matter.

“There is currently an influx of funds within the unrestricted fund balance of the county. However — just some history, and maybe some of you already know this — from 2016 through 2019, the county was operating in a deficit, or like $0, which means there was no money at all in the county to be able to put towards these things that we’re talking about,” Cummings said.

He said COVID relief funds temporarily boosted the county’s finances. But another factor looms larger — the excess levy rejected by county voters.

“The county also had an excess levy in effect throughout that period of time as well, which has failed. And actually, 2025 was the first year the county didn’t have those excess funds that equaled about $3.5 million,” Cummings said.

The result: the fund balance that existed in 2024 dropped by about $2 million when the county closed out 2025.

“We’re already seeing the trend of that unrestricted fund balance declining. So when the question is asked, ‘How much money is needed to keep Rock Cave open?’ There’s really not a number,” Cummings said. “What the county is trying to decide upon is, how do we slow down that snowball effect? Because that’s currently what we’re in the midst of, year over year. The county is trying to find a way to keep some of what was being covered under the excess levy, while also trying to maintain services.”

He noted the state recommends counties maintain a fund balance of 16.67 percent of operating revenue. Upshur County now falls below that threshold.

“We have that recommendation in place in case of emergencies and so forth. You just don’t know what’s going to take place throughout the course of the year,” Cummings said.

Lauren Celender, a third-grade teacher at Rock Cave, challenged the financial justification.

“I know this decision with school closures is all about money, and I’m understanding of that, but the bigger picture to look at is the fact that our building is in good shape,” Celender said.

She pointed out that most Rock Cave staff would transfer to other positions in the county rather than being eliminated.

“Financially, closing our school is not going to save money. Our staff will be transferred to new positions, so that money would not be saved. A lot of our staff is shared with different locations. Therefore, that money would not be saved,” Celender said.

She questioned other spending decisions.

Directors’ salaries and salaries for various positions at the board office are over $900,000. Why are we paying out that much money to directors and people who work at the board office? Why can’t we make cuts there?” Celender asked.

“Last year, our county spent over $200,000 on Jimmy Casas’s company for motivational speakers. Did anyone question that money? That could have gone to substitutes, educational materials, or been saved for future issues.”

Shanah Carpenter, a second-grade teacher, made the same point.

“Why would you close Rock Cave Elementary? Your answer would be, of course, to save money. Will a closure actually save money?” Carpenter asked. “The largest savings in the impact statement are proposed savings in personnel costs. These will not likely happen. Most staff, if not all, will have jobs at other schools in the county. It will not cause a reduction of other teachers, equaling savings in salaries, because our county does not have enough teachers now.”

Teachers emphasized Rock Cave’s academic achievements.

Celender said the school was identified as a CSI (Comprehensive Support and Improvement) school for low test scores when she arrived. Last year, because of improved scores among third, fourth and fifth-grade students, the school was released from that designation.

“This was because, despite all the challenges that we face, all of our amazing teachers still persevered,” Salinger said.

She cited her own classroom results.

“Last year, my third-grade students outperformed the county and the state in math, and my students outperformed the county and the state in reading,” Salinger said. “Before anyone states we have smaller class sizes, so of course our scores are better, that in fact is not true. When one student does not do well, it affects our numbers more.”

The school also leads the county in attendance, speakers noted repeatedly.

“Rock Cave Elementary School has the highest student attendance in Upshur County,” said Delora Brown, a former student who sent her own son to the school.

“With that, a good quality education exists when you have parental involvement and dedicated teachers,” she said. “Rock Cave Elementary School has been providing an exemplary education for decades.”

Brown said her son graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School with a 3.5 GPA and went on to attend private college in North Carolina.

“You cannot achieve this aforementioned quality of education without teacher commitment, parental involvement and small enough classrooms that allow the teachers to work one-on-one with the students,” Brown said. “Your proposal would increase classroom size. Students will have longer bus rides, and they will not receive the individual attention that children need.”

Multiple speakers raised concerns about French Creek Elementary’s parking lot and bus transportation times.

Autumn Loudin, a parent and volunteer at Rock Cave for nearly nine years, said the situation is dangerous.

“My concern about French Creek’s parking lot sounds dramatic, but it is about safety, and people’s lives are literally at stake,” Loudon said. “Most of us saw how both schools’ parking lots were completely filled to the brim on Halloween. During evening pickup at French Creek, the line almost always ends up on the main road, making parents park elsewhere until the lines die down, and families are often forced to park off-site during events.”

She questioned whether the school could handle more students.

“What happens when the new owners of the old plumbing place refuse to let families park there? What if the post office or Dollar General or the school’s neighbors start having vehicles towed? It is the school’s responsibility to provide safe parking for its staff and families — not to rely on the generosity of its neighbors,” Loudin said.

Abigail Jeffries pointed to discrepancies in the impact statement regarding bus times.

“Page 19 specifically states the routes will not exceed the 45-minute recommended guidelines outlined in Policy 6200. But then directly below, in the tables below, all but one of the routes from the schools coming together are well over 45 minutes,” Jeffries said.

Betty Heater raised a specific concern about her son, who has seizures and requires medication.

“I was told last year that he could not ride a school bus with the narcotic that he has to take if he has a seizure,” Heater said. “If French Creek is his school next year, I’m not going to be able to transport him. So you’re going to need a bus driver, because they said the medicine can’t be with other kids on the bus because it is a controlled substance. And he’ll need an aide.”

She worried about his safety in larger classes.

“He’ll be in fifth grade, and I’m hearing that’s going to be 100 percent capacity. He doesn’t have normal seizures. He has focal seizures, so he doesn’t shake. He just stares off,” Heater said. “Being in a class with 30 or 35 kids, they may not catch his seizure in time. He has to have medicine within four minutes.”

Speakers emphasized Rock Cave Elementary’s role as the heart of the community.

“Rock Cave Elementary is an indispensable part of the community. Our SUBA parade starts here, and there’s nowhere else in southern Upshur that can be safely used for this event,” Loudin said. “Also, one of the only Easter egg hunts in southern Upshur is held at this school. For some, the parade and the egg hunt here are the only parade and egg hunt that a lot of Rock Cave students are able to go to, and in the last few years, that’s been my family’s truth.”

She noted other community uses.

“Closing the school would also be taking away one of the only places that offers exercise in our area. Teenagers use the basketball court. Our pavilion is used for birthday parties. Our playground and walking path always have kids or people getting their steps in,” Loudon said. “Closing the school is truly stripping these children and all of us in southern Upshur County of one of our biggest community anchors.”

Mary Hyre, who worked for the Upshur County Board of Education for 35 years, described what happens when a community loses its school.

“I personally have seen what happens to a community when it loses its school. Once the school goes, a steady decline starts. The school is the focal point of the community,” Hyre said.

Hyre represented two community organizations that support the school: the Stargazer Garden Club and the Rock Cave Eastern Star chapter. She described the backpack program, Easter egg hunts, scholarships, the greenhouse and trees planted on the school grounds.

She pointed specifically to the greenhouse fund.

“If you decide to close this school, there is still money in that fund, and I feel that that greenhouse needs to be moved to French Creek Elementary, along with the children, if that is your decision,” Hyre said. “And if you come up short on the money, you give me a call.”

Several children also addressed the board.

Madison Loudin, a student, spoke about the school’s meaning.

“Rock Cave school isn’t just a place, it’s a community that holds memories, friendships and traditions that can’t be replaced,” she said. “Over the years, it has brought people together, provided opportunities for local families, and served as a source of pride for everyone involved.”

She urged the board to consider alternatives.

“Instead of closing it, we should look for ways to improve and support Rock Cave with community efforts, fundraising or new ideas for growth. We can keep this special place alive for future generations,” Madison said. “Rock Cave is more than just a name. It’s a part of who we are, and it deserves to stay.”

Lilly Loudon demonstrated her math skills to show what the school had taught her.

“I want to show you how much they taught me by doing division. Twenty-one divided by three equals seven. 50 divided by two is 25,” she said, working through the problems. “See how I remember that? Not calculated. I actually did the problem for real.”

She defended her teachers.

“I love the teachers; they are so nice. Anytime they’re mean, it’s just because you did something wrong. So please reconsider shutting down Rock Cave,” Lilly said.

James Tunning shared a letter from his daughter Summer, now a high school freshman, who attended Rock Cave while in foster care.

“When I started to go to Rock Cave school, I was scared and nervous, but all the teachers got me through it. Rock Cave is the only school I trust,” the letter read. “I found my best friend there, and everyone got the support they needed. I would like the chance to walk the halls of Rock Cave Elementary School whenever I graduate.”

Tunning said his daughter couldn’t read or spell her own name when she arrived in second grade. By eighth grade, she had a 3.5 GPA.

“We told her it was about a month ago that they were going to be closing,” Tunning said. “She was looking forward so much to walking the halls here when she graduated.”

Autumn Loudin closed her remarks with a plea.

“Upshur County residents, through no fault of everyone here, have had a difficult time trusting the board of education because of the past issues. Keep Rock Cave open and give Upshur County a reason to trust Upshur County Schools again,” she said. “I ask you to make a decision that puts our children’s education and safety first. Give this county time to figure out how to cut costs in a way that benefits our kids the most and keep Rock Cave open.”

Carpenter asked the state to slow down.

“I am asking that you stop the proposed closing of Rock Cave until the state and county together can make a plan, supported by stakeholders and the community, on what to do,” Carpenter said. “I had lots of questions that I have sent. Never got answers. I don’t think that this is the way things need to be done.”

At the end of the Rock Cave hearing, Miller addressed several concerns raised by speakers.

“We have looked at traffic at French Creek,” she said. “I want to assure you of that, and the suggestion of making sure that we take care of those issues prior to moving the students there, we do have a time frame that we can do that.”

She also said the system is aware of the impact their decision can have not just on the school, but the community as a whole.

“We do understand that, because we do know that that does remove dollars from businesses,” Miller said. “It also can impact your property values, etc. We are very acutely aware of that.”

The superintendent also addressed concerns about districting and families who request their children attend a school other than the one they would normally be assigned. That, in turn, can negatively affect the overall student population at a school like Rock Cave.

“We have been looking at that,” she said. “Both the transportation director and I have been looking at routes, and also looking at where parents have requested that students go to out-of-district schools. So we are looking at those redistricting lines again.”

She acknowledged the difficulty of the situation.

“This is not easy. It’s not easy on any of us,” Miller said. “Every dollar that was saved, we will be putting back into the entire school system. It’s not going to go anyplace else to help us with our continuing issues.”

The vote on the proposed closure is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, at 5:30 p.m. at Buckhannon-Upshur High School. The board will also meet on November 18 at 6 p.m. at the high school in regular session.