The state seized control of the McDowell County school system in November 2001, after inspectors with the WV Department of Education Office of Education Performance Audit found violations of education laws and regulations in the school system.

After taking control, State Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Stewart appointed Dr. Mark Manchin to the position of county superintendent. Manchin is the son of former State Treasurer and Secretary of State A. James Manchin.

Within a short period of time following the seizure, the new administration revised the county's Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan to include the closure of Northfork and Welch Middle Schools. Administrators have further ordered the closure of Panther Elementary School and indicated their intent to consolidate Big Creek and Iaegar high schools.

All of these decisions have been made without holding public hearings and without a vote of the elected McDowell County Board of Education.

On August 16, 2002, WV Univeristy Professor of Law Robert Bastress filed the lawsuit on behalf of several McDowell County citizens and organizations. The lawsuit asserts that state officials have improperly closed some of the schools and plan to improperly close others.

The issue in the case is whether the state is required to follow the school closing procedures prescribed by state law and state regulations, when the state takes control of a county school system. Additionally, the plaintiffs argue that the actions of the state violate Constitutional guarantees of the right to Due Process, the right to a "thorough and efficient" system of free schools and the right to petition government for a redress of grievances.

The case has been assigned to the docket of Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker.