WELCH — Work on the new Coalfield Elementary School in McDowell County is nearing a completion.
The new school, which is replacing the former Kimball, Welch and Fall River schools, will have an initial enrollment of about 465 kids when it opens on Sept. 2, according to Assistant McDowell County School Superintendent Amanda Peyton.
While the weather has caused some delays, work on the new $24 million school is nearing the finish line. The Pre-K through 5 facility will be located on Tom’s Mountain in Welch, not far from the existing Mount View High School.
Peyton said a team of contractors and sub-contractors are currently working both inside and outside of the school. She said work also was underway on a state-of-the-art playground for the new school.
“The school itself will be equipped with the latest technology,” Peyton said. “And just pulling together teachers from those three schools. We are just really excited about the ability to make a difference.”
Peyton said the new school also will have a full-sized gymnasium, adding that the facility will incorporate new initiatives that maximize the classroom experience.
Work on the new school began in 2023. It was funded by the West Virginia School Building Authority with local funds also being utilized on the project.
Peyton said the new school will be home to the Coalfield Mountain Lions.
“The students named it and picked their mascot,” she said.
Brad Hardy, the former principal at Kimball Elementary, will be Coalfield Elementary’s first principal.
A decision has not been made at this time by the McDowell County Board of Education on what to do with the former Kimball, Welch and Fall River facilities.
“That will be up to the board,” Peyton said. “We’ve had some interest in some of them.”
One future possibility is rehabilitating the former Fall River Elementary and then relocating the McDowell County Career and Technical Center to that site, Peyton said. But such a project would also require funding assistance from the SBA.
The older schools had problems, including a lack outdoor green space at Welch Elementary, which is located close to the road, and past flooding at Kimball Elementary. That school also was located close to railroad tracks.
With the new school located on Tom’s Mountain in Welch, Peyton said flooding shouldn’t be a problem.
“We certainly hope not,” she said. “At Welch Elementary, we had limited space beside of the road. We didn’t have the green space to play on.”
The new Coalfield Elementary School has been in the planning stages for more than a decade. It will be located near the existing Mount View high and middle schools, also on Tom’s Mountain.
McDowell County School Superintendent Dr. Ingrida Barker was not available for further comment Tuesday, but she said in an earlier interview that the new school would feature forward-thinking technology, state-of-the-art facilities, flexible classrooms, a media center and a cafeteria complete with a student performance area.
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