Marshall County is in a battle to save Union Junior High school. Union
was named an exemplary school last year - it has some of the highest test scores in the county and all four Marshall County "Golden Horseshoe" winners last year were Union students.
The mayors of Benwood and McMechen [towns which the school serves], as well as the police chief of Benwood, are challenging the county board of education's
March decision to close Union as a cost-cutting measure.
There have been two law suits filed. One, against the Marshall County
Board of Education on procedural issues, was heard before Special Judge Fred
L. Fox who dismissed the lawsuit in April without hearing any arguments. The
case was appealed to the WV Supreme Court, which halted the closure of Union
School until it can hear the case. Union Junior High is open
this school year.
The petition against the state Board of Education and the School
Building Authority says the agencies should not have approved the paper work
concerning the closure because the county board and state board did not
follow the proper procedures. That suit was deferred by Kanawha County
Circuit Judge Paul Sakaib pending the outcome of the Supreme Court's
decision.
