Large schools?

A lot of complaints about schools in West Virginia have to do with consolidation. Every time someone proposes consolidating two schools, someone else complains about how schools are getting to be too large.

So let's ask, how large -- really -- are some of the schools in Cabell County? I decided to compare high school sizes in West Virginia and in Ohio.

For the 2006-07 school year -- the last for which comparable data are available -- Cabell Midland and Huntington high schools would not rank high on the Ohio enrollment list. In those years, Midland's official enrollment was 1,841. HHS's was 1,633. The largest high school in Ohio those years was Oak Hills High, with 2,907 students. All in all, Ohio had 31 high schools larger than Midland and 56 larger than HHS.

What about middle schools?

The largest middle school in Cabell County in 2006-07 was Barboursville, at 773. The largest in Ohio was Mason Middle School, with 1,532 students. Ohio had 75 middle school larger than Barboursville.

And elementaries? Village of Barboursville, 644. Largest in Ohio: Mason Intermediate Elementary, 3,408. Number of Ohio elementaries larger than Village of Barboursville, 121.

For the record, I don't think it's wise to put 1,532 middle school kids in one place at one time. And I'm not sure about putting 2,907 high school students together, either.

I myself do not find Huntington High to be such an intimidating place. I've visited it several times, and my daughter appears to do well there. She's not at the top of her class, but she's doing okay. I don't know how my eighth-grade son will do at HHS. He's a different kid altogether from his sister, and a smaller school environment would probably work better for him.

That to me is the weakness of the consolidation movement in West Virginia. It benefits one group of kids while cutting options for a group that needs them.