Students Of Flooded Nicholas Schools To Use Portables

By Ryan Quinn A Nicholas County school board member said Tuesday night that students who were set to attend three flood-damaged public schools will start the upcoming school year on Aug. 19 with full school days in various other buildings until they can move to portable classrooms. A.J. Rogers, who's also executive director of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators, said he's not optimistic that the current Richwood Middle, Richwood High and Summersville Middle buildings will ever reopen following the late June flooding, though he noted the full school board has yet to make a decision on whether to build new schools or repair the existing facilities. He said the estimated damages total about 100 percent of Richwood Middle's appraised value, 70 percent of Richwood High's appraised value and a little over 50 percent of Summersville Middle's appraised value, though he noted the evaluation of Summersville isn't yet complete. Gus Penix, president of board, said the market value of Richwood Middle is about $1.6 million, and the repair cost is estimated at $2.3 million, meaning an over 100 percent damage assessment.