HUNTINGTON -- The site review committee that researched more than a dozen locations in and around Huntington for a proposed middle school is scheduled to report its findings at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to the Cabell County Board of Education.

The committee was charged with grading the locations on specific criteria to determine the best possible site for a consolidated Beverly Hills-Enlsow Middle School in case the board approves the consolidation.

Click here for a look at possible sites for a new middle school.

Whether to consolidate the two schools and the location of a new school have sparked debate in the community, after school officials identified county-owned land near the Career Technology Center as the likely site. A special meeting in February drew more than 100 people who recommended alternative sites, argued for and against consolidation and urged that a new school should be built inside Huntington city limits.

That prompted the formation of the site review committee. At an Aug. 5 board meeting, Superintendent William Smith identified the top three sites as:

• The land owned by Cabell County Schools at the Career Technology Center.
• Veterans Memorial Field House on 5th Avenue, which is owned by the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District.
• Marshall University property located next to/ within proximity of the Tech Center.

Whether the public will hear the details on those properties or others at Tuesday's meeting remained unclear as of Friday.

Smith said he wants the board to go into executive (closed) session to review the committee's information and recommendations.

Smith said the committee may give the board two or three possible locations, but he added that more information, such as site preparation, School Building Authority requirements, cost of acquisition, availability and other costs, will be required before a final selection is made.

"The final site selection or a ranking may take place on Tuesday in open session," Smith said via e-mail. "However, the board may elect to keep the possibilities private until a fair price can be set to start negotiations."

Mike O'Dell, assistant superintendent of operations, who was one of the members of the committee, added that he expected the board to go into executive session because three of its members have not been privy to the information thus far. And they haven't met with treasurer Jody Lucas to determine how much money the county is willing and able to spend for site preparation and/or land acquisition.

"We still haven't met with the entities, and the board members need to hear it first," O'Dell said. "We need to talk money and whether we can afford it."

O'Dell said after the board sees the full report Tuesday, it will be made available to the public.

But board president Ted Barr said he won't vote to go into executive session because he doesn't feel it is warranted. He said, at this point, there's no reason not to disclose the committee's findings to the public, especially because the issue has created a public outcry. The board will decide whether to hear the findings in a public forum or executive session.

"I don't know if going into executive session will change anything," Barr said. "I think we'd be well-served to have it presented in a public setting."

Barr said the board and public already have been told what the committee considers the top three sites.

"So now, maybe it's at the point where we choose and pick which site we want, which site has merit, which site doesn't have merit. But I don't conceive anything being said that would change my mind (about going into executive session). They're all public properties."

Marshall University declined to comment on the school system's interest in the Marshall site, and Jim McClelland, director of the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, could not be reached for comment.

Besides O'Dell, the site review committee consists of board members Bennie Thomas and Suzanne Oxley, a ZMM architect and representatives from both schools. Their jobs the past few months have been to evaluate 14 possibilities, including whether to simply redistrict to meet specific enrollments at the affected schools.

Besides the three sites identified as the leading one, other sites included: CSX property, current Enslow or current Beverly Hills middle schools properties, Toyota business property, Rotary Park, Marcum Terrace, Summit Ridge, Maupin Road property, St. Mary's property that used to house Big Bear, and Cabell County Schools' Central Office (former Huntington East High School).

"None (of the sites) are as ideal as we'd like them to be, but that is what's available," O'Dell said.

Although Cabell County Schools would not release the final evaluations of each site before Tuesday's meeting, it did release the evaluation criteria.

They included size; geographic and enrollment centrality; availability/ease of acquisition; cost of acquisition; availability of public water, sanitary sewer and natural gas; proximity of suitable electricity; site buffering; expandability of site; major byway access; cost/ease of site preparation; susceptibility to flooding; site aesthetics; and proximity to recreational facilities.

"Some (sites) pretty much eliminate themselves, like renovating the Enslow building, because the SBA would never fund that," O'Dell said.

The only source of funding is the SBA, and the organization has strict guidelines for approving grants. At worst, Enslow would have to have more than 300 students, but its population last year was 256 students, and it's been in decline for some time.

O'Dell said Cabell County's SBA representative has seen the three top sites and given feedback. While he couldn't be specific, he said the representative told him the SBA could probably live with any of the three.

All the work put in so far is only to make a recommendation, and officials have repeatedly said it doesn't mean consolidation is a done deal. However, O'Dell said that while the board has the final vote on consolidation, combining Enslow and Beverly Hills was identified nearly 10 years ago when officials put together the comprehensive educational facilities plan, which is done every decade.

"Consolidating those two schools was in the CEFP, as was consolidating West and Cammack," he said.

Still, O'Dell said school officials need to be ready to write and submit a grant application if the board chooses a site and votes to consolidate.

No matter the outcome, at least there is money to upgrade Beverly Hills. The SBA in May awarded Cabell County a $499,410 grant that, combined with $150,000 in local funds, will pay for first-floor bathrooms, a sprinkler system and an elevator.

If consolidation is approved, the school system can only keep the money if it dedicates Beverly Hills to be used for students. O'Dell said as officials sit down to work on the CEFP for the next decade, they will dedicate the school for future use, likely a consolidated elementary school.

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