Published: May 01, 2008 09:43 am         

Mineral schools don't meet W.Va. space requirements

KEYSER, W.Va. - Based on West Virginia School Building Authority guidelines revised in June 2007, only three schools in Mineral County have enough space for their current student populations.

Superintendent of Schools Skip Hackworth presented the members of the board of education with a chart that compares the current space available at 12 of the county's schools with the space that the SBA would require if the schools were built today.

Statistics did not include the Mineral County Technical Center or the Alternative School.

Only Elk Garden Primary, Frankfort Middle and Keyser High School have adequate space.

The two schools with the largest deficits were Frankfort High, with 46,685 square feet less than required by the SBA, and Keyser Primary-Middle, with a deficit of 43,162 square feet.

"Frankfort High School is 46,685 square feet shy of the space needed to build a high school today," Hackworth said. "And that's including the addition to be completed this summer."

Frankfort measures at 80,848 square feet, which will increase to 89,848 square feet once the new science wing is completed this year.

It was originally built in 1976 for a student population of 600; the current population is 641.

Based on that population, were the school to be built this year, the SBA would require 136,533 square feet.

Board member Kevin Watson, who represents the Frankfort District, expressed his amazement Tuesday.

"That is really something," he said.

Hackworth described the 43,162 square-foot deficiency at Keyser Primary Middle as "half a building."

That school is 98,850 square feet. If it were to be built today, the SBA would require 142,012 square feet in order to accommodate the student population of 1,198.

Although it was originally designed to house 1,330 students, Hackworth said the addition of kindergarten classes and special education classes have created much of the space shortage.

Board member Bob Shook reacted to the statistics for Burlington Primary, which is the county's oldest school still in operation.

Originally built in 1938, the current size is 10,804 square feet. If it were to be built today, the SBA would require 22,496 square feet.

"You might as well say Burlington is missing a whole school," Shook said.

The board's Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan is designed to begin addressing a number of these issues, including building a new Keyser Primary School and renovating the present one to house only middle school students.

It also calls for renovations at Burlington Primary, Frankfort Intermediate and Wiley Ford Primary.

The SBA awarded $9 million to Mineral County on April 21 for the project, contingent upon the passage of the $15.8 million bond issue by voters on May 13.

Should the bond issue not pass, Hackworth said the SBA "has already identified which counties will benefit from this money."

"Some kids in the state will benefit from that $9 million," he said.

"I certainly hope it's our kids," Shook commented.

Contact Liz Beavers at lizbeavers@yahoo.com.