Governor offers an alternative to school plan: ; Lincoln officials considering consolidation of 4 high schools

philk@wvgazette.com

Opponents and proponents of Lincoln County school consolidationwere buzzing Tuesday after Gov. Cecil Underwood proposed a distancelearning pilot project he suggested could be an alternative toconsolidating the county's four high schools. The state Board ofEducation seized control of the county school system in June, citingmore than 200 deficiencies, including low test scores, illegalhiring practices and school buildings in disrepair.

Plans to consolidate Lincoln County's four high schools into anew $18 million school are proceeding, including a hearing scheduledin Harts on Tuesday evening.

During presentations in Harts and West Hamlin on Monday todistribute more than $1.6 million in state grants, Underwoodproposed a pilot project that would provide classes transmitted bysatellite or over the Internet as an alternative.

He plans to call for a meeting that would include representativesof the state school board, Lincoln school board and the governor'sOffice of Technology.

"Looking at options is good government practice," said Dan Page,the governor's spokesman. "He thinks this deserves a goodexamination."

Page added, "The governor believes this is an option that needsto be fully developed. It could be a reasonable alternative towholesale consolidation. He'd like to see it happen."

Prior to his speeches Monday, a sign outside Harts High Schoolwelcomed the governor with the message, "Thank you, GovernorUnderwood, for stopping forced consolidation."

Harts parents and teachers met Tuesday night to discussUnderwood's comments.

"We've been praying for this a long time," said Gwen Ramey, aformer Harts High history teacher. "We wanted to get him to thinkabout it. We didn't know he was going to do it."

Lincoln countian Michael Tierney, however, dismissed Underwood'sannouncement as election-year pandering.

"Underwood's promise seems so blatently off-base," he said.

"That's what you say in Lincoln County if you want to getelected," said Fred Pace, managing editor of the Lincoln Journal."It just gives ordinary people false hope."

State Superintendent of Schools David Stewart, who joinedUnderwood at the presentation at the new West Hamlin ElementarySchool, said the governor did not mention consolidation at thatstop.

Stewart said the governor's proposal would not halt plans toconsolidate the high schools, a plan approved by Lincoln schoolboard members the week before the state Board of Education seizedcontrol of Lincoln schools.

"We're going to stay with the plan as adopted," Stewart said."We're apparently caught in the middle of something here, but we'regoing to work that plan."

Stewart said he supports distance learning projects to provideclasses that otherwise would not be available in rural areas, butsaid that could not be an alternative to consolidation in LincolnCounty.

"In my mind, the need for consolidation goes beyond that," hesaid. "It goes to efficiencies of operations, and that thefacilities need to be improved greatly."

Senate Education Chairman Lloyd Jackson, D-Lincoln, also was atWest Hamlin on Monday, but said he couldn't comment about theproposal.

"The first I learned of it was yesterday," he said Tuesday. "Ihaven't talked to anybody [in the administration] about it."

He added, "With the state board having taken over the reins herein Lincoln County, they would have to be very involved in whateverthe governor intends."

To contact staff writers Phil Kabler or Eric Eyre, use e-mail orcall 348-1220 or 348-5194.