Superintendent Shane Highley released new details regarding the proposed Tyler Consolidated Elementary School during the most recent meeting of the Tyler County Board of Education.

Highley announced that the new school was formally submitted and approved as a Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan (CEFP) amendment in February 2025 as the county’s number one priority project. The total projected cost for construction, which includes the building, roadwork, bridge work and earth moving, is $82,399,000.

Several additions highlighted in the updated facilities plan reflect expanded services and modern design features. Among them is an on-site health clinic to be operated by Marietta Memorial Health System. Tyler County Schools will provide the space, while the health system will staff and manage the clinic at no operational cost to the school system. The clinic will allow students to be diagnosed and receive prescriptions on campus, increasing access to healthcare services during the school day.

Plans also include a staff daycare facility, addressing what school officials describe as a critical childcare shortage in Tyler County. The daycare is intended to support recruitment and retention of young employees with families. In addition, the program will create hands-on learning opportunities for Career and Technical Education (CTE) students as part of their career preparation.

A full-size gymnasium is also included in the design. The space will support elementary physical education programming as well as county youth athletics. Currently, youth teams must travel to Paden City and pay rental fees for practice and games. The new facility would allow activities to remain local and more cost-effective. The gym will also meet West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2510 requirements, which mandate adequate space to allow at least 30 minutes of physical education three times per week and sufficient room to divide classes for multiple instructors.

Each grade level will be organized into instructional collaborative pod spaces with a shared central area. While this design increases the overall building footprint, officials say it reflects modern best practices in school design and instruction. The layout is expected to reduce travel time within the building and allow interventionists and support staff to serve students more efficiently.

The proposed Student Success Center will provide a centralized location for student services, housing Communities In Schools staff, counselors, social workers and other mental health professionals. School leaders noted that a similar model has been successfully implemented at the middle-high school level.

The CEFP amendment approval allows the project to move forward in the state planning and funding process. Additional steps, including final design development and construction timelines, will be addressed in future Board of Education meetings as the project progresses.