Dials told the Williamson Daily News Tuesday that he is very excited over the fact the State School Building Authority of West Virginia, at a special meeting Monday in Charleston, pledged about $29 million over three years to complete a high school to merge Burch, Williamson, Matewan and Gilbert High Schools and the Mingo Vo-Tech Center.
Mingo County's school system will get back $16.4 million it once had for the project but never spent. Mingo officials will also receive $6.3 million in both 2009 and 2010.
Gov. Joe Manchin was quoted in a Charleston newspaper that he had received letters of support for the Mingo project from the legislators representing this county.
State Schools Superintendent Steve Paine said the decision providing funding for the school closes a chapter on the Mingo County debate. In the past decade, the Mingo school system has been twice taken over by the state Board of Education and currently remains in control of the Mingo system.
The consolidated school project has been a controversial subject in the county.
Charles S. "Butch" West, Williamson attorney and president of the Mingo County Board of Education, said Mingo County officials will not have enough money to complete the new comprehensive high school. A staunch leader of opposition to the project, he cited the fact that the original cost of the school complex was set at $73 million.
"The only way enough funds can be obtained to make up the difference in what is available and what is needed is if they have a successful bond levy," West declared. "I think Mingo County will not approve any bond levy with regard to the new school."
West said he looks forward to the day the state Board of Education returns control of the Mingo County school system to the county, "and I think that should be done as soon as possible. Since the state board took control of our system, our children's test scores went down."
Projects in Marion, Braxton, Greenbrier, Mineral and Preston counties got top priority from SBA members at the Monday meeting.
Funding for all five depends on the success of local bond issues.
The SBA's executive director, Mark Manchin, called Monday's work a great investment in the state economy, because up to $333 million in state and local money would be spent on schools over the next few years if local bond issues pass.
In all, the SBA doled out $88 million in state money for next year and allocated another $74 million for future years.
Dials strongly supports the new school project and said time must be allowed for the architects to finish the design for the school complex. For a time, he noted, the Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan (CEFP) was "up in the air" because of concerns over sufficient space for construction of the school.
"But now, children of Mingo County will benefit from all this," said Dials. He pointed to the many advantages the new school will provide students of Mingo County. He said it will have a design to accommodate current and future educational needs, and will have flexibility to take care of all students, including those in Special Education and the handicapped students.
"It will be a great day for Mingo County when the school is built and ready for occupancy," said Dials.
He does not have a target date for construction but said site work is ongoing on the location of the new school, which is near Newtown on a reclaimed mine site. Compaction and other work must be completed while architects complete their design for the high school. He said there will be many decisions necessary by school officials before the board can bid for a contractor for the project.
"But we hope to have a groundbreaking and get some of the work started this summer," said Dials. "That's my goal. It will take all of us working together to get our project accomplished."
West said the state needs to give the county school system back to Mingo County "so we can run our board in the way it is supposed to be operated." Under current conditions, the local board can approve such routine matters as minutes of its meetings and proposed educational trips by students. All other matters are preapproved by the state board and reviewed by the local board.
He expressed his continuing opposition to putting the school atop a remote mountain.
"I am opposed to putting our children in danger by putting that school in the location that has been chosen," he said.
"Contrary to what they say, there is still a a fire burning in the old Red Jacket mine," West stated. He said that advocates of the school project act as if that problem has been solved "but it hasn't. I have documentation from the Division of Environmental Protect that they spent $1 million trying to extinguish that fire, and they could not do it. The place poses a real and immediate danger to our children."
The board official admitted the site chosen for the new school is located along the new King Coal Highway and provides a beautiful sight, "but there is danger. There is no police, fire or ambulance service available in the immediate area of the school."
West said Mingo County students will continue to cross Tug River to the new comprehensive Belfry High School as long as the board of education continues to threaten the safety of Mingo's children.
"Gov. Manchin addressed that problem recently and said it was regrettable that Mingo County children were going across the river into Kentucky to get an education," West reported.
The board president said there are 6,000-plus signatures on a document opposing the new school. "If our legislators continue to support the school project in the face of overwhelming opposition, they do so at their own risk of getting defeated in the election," said West.
Dials said he is committed to getting the CEFP plan completed and believes the attitude will be different once the public becomes acquainted with the offerings of the new school.
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