Pressure to build a new Marsh Fork Elementary School lies in the hands of the state School Building Authority after the Raleigh County school board voted 3-0 with two abstentions Tuesday to submit a request to the SBA for a new school.

School board president Rick Snuffer and members Jack “Gordie” Roop and Larry Ford voted for the request. Members Patricia Waddell and Cynthia Jafary abstained from voting.

“I just hope the School Building Authority will see the merit in the project and be willing to fund it,” Snuffer said.

Two weeks ago, the school board suggested contacting Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship to see if the coal company would help fund a new school. The current school is about 300 feet from a Massey coal silo. The Richmond, Va.-based company wants to add a second silo nearby. The school also sits downhill from a coal waste pond.

Snuffer said Blankenship phoned him Monday. The conversation resulted in no promises, and Blankenship didn’t volunteer any financial support for a new school.

“We had a very civil discussion,” Snuffer said.

“He said he supported a new school, but they didn’t offer any monetary support.”

Blankenship mentioned the possibility of offering “in-kind services” to the board, Snuffer said.

“He talked about possibly some site prep. Donating some dozers ... If there was a piece of property they owned, they talked about, and I don’t think there is, but he said if there was, they could possibly look at that. I was hoping they would be willing to commit more resources to the project,” Snuffer said.

Snuffer says regardless of Massey’s support, or lack there of, the county needs to move forward.

“I think it’s too important to the children down there. A lot of parties have been involved in this and there’s been a lot of finger-pointing. When it comes down to it, I was so proud tonight that all forces joined because it’s for the children.”

Jafary, who abstained from voting, said she felt there were “other critical needs in the county” that could have been addressed.

“I don’t think a lot of people understood that this is not the only time we get to submit a bid to the SBA to build a building, and I didn’t feel we were ready to submit a bid to the SBA for Marsh Fork,” she said.

Jafary says Raleigh County would have to purchase land for a new school.

She added the board doesn’t have a working agreement with Massey, either.

“Everyone’s saying Massey should help us, but we really don’t have a working agreement or a working relationship with them. That’s why I chose to abstain from the vote,” she said.

Prior to voting, board members listened to members of the 40-person audience speak in favor of a new school. No one signed up to speak in opposition.

“Regardless of whether we get donations from outside companies or whatever, our children deserve a safe and healthy learning environment away from the politics, away from the coal companies,” Debra Jarrell said.

“I urge each and every one of you to submit Marsh Fork Elementary as the needs project to our state school board and do the right thing.”

Marsh Fork Elementary physical education teacher Dennis Dye said the idea of getting a new elementary school made him “feel like a kid again.”

“Think about it,” he said. “What will it do for our community? Think what it would mean for the people down in our area, that you’re thinking about us. That you care about us. That you care about the kids ... I think you’d be doing the right thing if you did that. Please vote for a new school.”

Dye asked Marsh Fork Elementary teachers in attendance to raise their hands if they were in favor of a new school.

About 11 did so.

Ford said a vote for the Marsh Fork project was not a vote against the other schools.

“We’re hoping that at some point in the future we’ll be able to have a bond/levy to take care of all the other issues that are certainly in need in this county.”

Superintendent Charlotte Hutchens says the board will make the submission before the Nov. 2 deadline.

The SBA will conduct interviews next March 15-16 regarding counties’ needs projects.

Raleigh County should know sometime in April whether the SBA will fund a new Marsh Fork school.

— E-mail: jayres@register-herald.com