Inter-Mountain photo of school counselor Edgar Kelley Mark Allen stands in a room full of people as he awaits his turn to speak at this week’s Randolph County Board of Education meeting. Allen, who works as a counselor for Randolph County Schools, opposed the recommendation to close Pickens K-12 School.

ELKINS — A Tygarts Valley High School staff member spoke against a proposed closure of Pickens School at this week’s Randolph County Board of Education meeting.

Randolph County Schools counselor Mark Allen spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting Tuesday night. Allen works at both Tygarts Valley High School and Pickens and opposes closing Pickens School.

“I am here on behalf of the Pickens School and the Pickens community, but more importantly, I am here to advocate on behalf of the students I employ.” Allen said. “I am also here to support you as you make a wise and thoughtful decision regarding the proposed closure of Pickens School.”

Allen, BOE and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Shawn told Dilly that he attended RIF hearings on behalf of his co-workers last year.

“I challenged the former superintendents and board members at the time to do better, and I truly believe we can and must do better.” Allen said Tuesday. “I’m pleased to see that the current chief is trying to do something to right the ship. Dr. Dilly, please know that there are people, including me, who are praying for you to succeed in your career.

“But with these serious financial challenges facing our borough and a long-awaited gym for the Tygarts Valley, it seems to me that the proposals and ideas have been implemented too quickly. “I don’t think there are bad guys or bad actors, but I also believe things aren’t done with enough thought and community involvement.”

Allen said he believes the upcoming hearings on closing Pickens School are unfair because they are contingent on an application to the state School Construction Authority, which will renovate Tygarts Valley Middle/High School, including building a new gymnasium. A change to the application, if approved, would lead to the closure of both Pickens and Harman K-12 schools. Dilly recommends transferring students from Pickens to George Ward Elementary School and TVM/HS in Mill Creek.

“The decision to close Pickens School is not a fair closure hearing. Pickens and Harman schools both faced an $18 million SBA funding offer.” he said. “Risking those SBA dollars is not something any of us want to do.

“The government unfairly puts you and us in a position where we must apply economies of scale to children and their educational pursuits. While economies of scale work in car production, they do not work in educating children. It doesn’t work, especially in rural America, where the distance to places like Pickens requires a two-hour bus ride one way. “Pickens and Harman schools should not be penalized for being small and isolated, and they certainly should not be penalized for SBA dollars.”

While Allen says having a new gym in Tygarts Valley would be a great thing for everyone, he doesn’t want Pickens School to close its doors because of it.

“Doing the right thing has been taken to a whole new level with this situation, and I’m struggling with what to say tonight because I’m in a unique position.” he said. “I’m sure having (a new gym) will tick a lot of boxes for everyone and I really hope we get that opportunity.

“But I am prepared to say that this should not be done at the expense of the physical or mental safety of any student. So I run the risk of being alienated tonight by some people who believe Pickens School should be closed in order to receive SBA funding. “I probably would have been one of those people, but after going to Pickens School and experiencing the wonderful things in that community, I completely understood the uniqueness of their location and how important it was for the school to remain open.”

Allen said he goes to Pickens School once a week for work and encounters many close contacts, from animals to poor road conditions. He also talked about the public school bus tour the Pickens Local School Improvement Council funded from Mill Creek to Pickens last week.

“Surely the field trip from Tygarts Valley to Pickens should have sealed the deal” he said. “Thank you for doing this, Dr. Thank you Dilly and Ed (Daniels), you have earned great respect from me and others in the community. I’m asking you all to do the right thing and withdraw Pickens from the shutdown offer. I know the community is willing to work with you to find other solutions… I’ll use an old football terminology that says you have to make a bet and start over. I think we have to take a gamble and start over.

Public hearings and a BOE vote on whether to close the two schools will be held in December.