“I’m sorry. They just closed your school.”

Those were the words from a mother to her young son at the end of an Upshur County Board of Education meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes Thursday, during which the West Virginia Department of Education approved the closure of Rock Cave Elementary School.

There was no vote. Jeffrey Kelly, representing the state, simply read a statement approving the closure.

“Michelle Blatt, State Superintendent of Schools, in her acting capacity as the Board of Education in Upshur County, hereby approves the closure of Rock Cave Elementary School and its consolidation into French Creek Elementary School,” Kelley read. “This closure is scheduled to occur at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.”

The five Upshur County Board of Education members could only watch in silence, stripped of their power by the state for events that occurred before any of them were elected.

The decision now moves to the West Virginia Board of Education in Charleston for a final vote. Kelley said individuals would be permitted to address the board at that meeting, scheduled for December 10 at 9 a.m. in Charleston.

If approved by the state board, Rock Cave Elementary will close at the end of the current school year.

Thursday’s decision came after weeks of community pushback, including a four-hour public hearing at Rock Cave Elementary where speaker after speaker urged the state to reconsider. It also capped an intense three-month period from the plan’s announcement in August through Thursday’s action.

The Rock Cave closure is part of a larger reshaping of Upshur County Schools. Superintendent Christy Miller initially proposed also closing Tennerton Elementary School and merging it with Buckhannon Academy Elementary, but that plan was abandoned in October when the county determined it could not fund its share of a $19 million renovation project necessary to accommodate those students.

In the future, the plan calls for the merger of Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School and Buckhannon-Upshur High School into a single facility, though that would require a separate application for School Building Authority funding.

Miller has said declining enrollment and reduced state funding make the current path unsustainable. This year alone, Upshur County Schools lost 183 students across all schools, translating to approximately $1.6 million in reduced funding.

The Hope Scholarship, which provides taxpayer funding for students who attend private school or are homeschooled, plays a significant role. This year, 150 local students will receive the scholarship, decreasing the county’s budget by about $1 million annually, school officials have said.

The county also faces financial pressure from a failed excess levy that previously brought in $3.5 million. When that levy ended in 2025, the county’s unrestricted fund balance dropped by about $2 million in a single year, according to comments from state officials last week.

At the Nov. 13 public hearing at Rock Cave, Uriah Cummings, who serves as School Financial Operations Officer with the state Department of Education, explained the state’s position on using fund balance reserves to keep the school open.

“From 2016 through 2019, the county was operating in a deficit, or like $0,” Cummings said. “We’re already seeing the trend of that unrestricted fund balance declining … 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.”

But the decision is about more than numbers on a spreadsheet. For the Rock Cave community, the school represents the heart of southern Upshur County.

Students were among the most compelling voices to speak throughout the process.

Madison Loudin spoke about what the school means to her community.

“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. “Rock Cave is more than just a name. It’s a part of who we are, and it deserves to stay.”

Parents raised specific safety concerns about the consolidation; teachers challenged the financial justification for closing the school. Several speakers emphasized the school’s role as a community anchor.

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,” Hyre said. “The school is the focal point of the community.”

At the Nov. 18 board meeting, the community made one final push. Delora Brown questioned why the state-appointed officials, rather than the elected local board, were making the decision.

“I feel that you guys don’t have, for lack of a better word, a dog in the fight,” Brown said of the state-appointed officials. “We voted for our people to speak for us. When this is all over, the interim board will go their separate ways, and we are stuck here holding what decisions are being made.”

At Thursday night’s meeting, Miller formally presented her recommendation to close the school.

She acknowledged the testimony from the public hearing, the delegations that spoke at subsequent board meetings, and the emails and written statements submitted by community members. All of that testimony was sent to and reviewed by the State Superintendent of Schools, she said.

“The decision to recommend closure is not made lightly,” Miller said. “It is made out of responsibility — responsibility to our students, to the safety and integrity of our facilities, to the effective use of taxpayer resources, and to the obligation placed on Upshur County Schools by the State Board of Education to correct long-standing deficiencies and improve educational outcomes.”

Miller cited four main reasons for the closure: significant enrollment decline that makes it difficult to deliver a full range of services; facility condition concerns; the ability for students to benefit from broader instructional supports at French Creek; and operational and staffing challenges that place strain on the school system.

“Although a school building may close, the commitment to serving the students and families of this community remains unchanged,” Miller said. “The transition plan, should this recommendation be approved, will focus on supporting students, families and staff every step of the way.”

The decision now rests with the West Virginia Board of Education. If the state board approves the closure, Rock Cave Elementary School will close its doors for the final time at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, and its students will be transferred to French Creek Elementary.