Neighborhood Schools

Decaying First Ward School in Elkins was a model for school architecture when built in 1909;
now it represents the fate of many old West Virginia schools.

Our neighborhood schools are in peril. According to Challenge West Virginia, a statewide organization committed to maintaining and improving small community schools, West Virginia closed 324 schools between 1990 & 2002, with a higher percentage (6.8%) of funds ($129 million) going to busing students than any other state. Many old schools have been resurrected through adaptive use to become community centers or for other public uses, but scores of others sit vacant and abandoned because rehabilitation is either deemed too costly or they are ill-suited for reuse in communities with dwindling populations. The most desirable alternative to closure of our important neighborhood institutions would be to keep them open and functioning as schools, a scenario that is not always possible in the face of declining student enrollments and mounting maintenance costs. It is therefore important for civic leaders, government officials, developers, and local residents to pull together and seek creative and compatible alternative uses for these landmark buildings. In so doing, we can hope to avoid the abandonment and demolition of neighborhood schools that are crucial to maintaining the health and vitality of our communities.


First Ward School in 1945

Copyright © 2005 Preservation Alliance of West Virginia