Do you have a vacant school in your community? Let the APC know about it.

BY TAYLOR BENNETT, COMMUNITY BASED POLICY COORDINATOR, THE HUB

Your input is needed!

The Abandoned Properties Coalition (APC) is addressing the challenge of vacant school buildings in West Virginia communities, and we are in need of your expertise.

Do you have a vacant school building in your community? Have you ever wondered what you can do about it?

Once a school building is decommissioned, it can sit empty for decades without someone to effectively plan for its reuse or maintenance. These buildings have the potential to become dilapidated and unsafe. However, decommissioned schools also hold incredible potential for a productive new use.

School buildings can play a vital role in the revitalization of our neighborhoods.

With their size and design, school buildings can be reimagined for a multitude of new purposes – like housing or commercial uses (or both!) – that can help meet the needs of the surrounding community.

The APC is creating a strategy to support communities as they look for ways to address this issue. The first step in creating this strategy is to determine the size and scope of the challenge West Virginians are facing – primarily, identifying and cataloging the decommissioned school buildings in the state.

Do you have a vacant school building in your community? We are asking for your response to a 5-minute survey to let the team know about it. We also need your help to let other West Virginians know about this survey.

Here’s how to get involved: 

• Click here to take the survey if you know of a vacant school that we should be tracking.
• Have an email list? Share the survey so that we can have the best information possible.
• Like to connect with your community on social media? Share this survey on your platforms.
• Want to put this information into action? Join the APC’s Vacant Schools Team and connect with a team of rock stars who are already making a difference.

For more information or to join the APC’s Vacant Schools Team, email Taylor at t.bennett@wvhub.org.