ROANE COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — The Roane County Board of Education has a lot to consider when making their vote on either closing and consolidating Geary and Walton K-8 schools into Spencer K-8 or keeping both open.

One big obstacle they're looking at is the bus routes.

"I have no idea how long that kid's going to be away from their house before they get on the bus," the Roane County Schools director of transportation said. "I don't know what the parents' arrangements are going to be with the students and there's no way for me to calculate the additional travel time it's going to take for those students."

According to West Virginia code, bus rides one way for elementary students should not exceed 30 minutes. Middle and high school routes are not to exceed an hour one way, but there are ways for county school boards to get waivers.

"There are policies in place that require schools when they consolidate to reduce the bus rides," Roane County Schools superintendent Michelle Stellato said. "You can get a waiver up to an hour bus ride for an elementary student."

There are currently 28 bus routes running, but at one point there was 43. Each route they run was calculated to see what they would have to modify or remove if the consolidations happen. It was determined that the consolidation plan impacts over 100 students' bus routes.

"The biggest impact of doing this and having them only run one hour means it can't go to everybody's house anymore," Stellato said.

A question remaining is, how will those students get to and from school? That is an issue that's still being discussed.

"There are children who have to find a way,"Stellato said. "And guess where those children are? In the deepest parts of our county, who may not have transportation, may not have a way to get to the bus stop. That's real. Those are real problems that we're gonna have to tackle."

They are looking into compensating students who live over two miles past where the busses stop running. They said currently, it's $1.60 a day and they have 30 students who are past that two-mile mark.

"Hopefully a parent, if they had to bring their kids out, will not have to use over a gallon of gas," the Roane County Schools director of transportation said. "I realize they're going to have to go out, bring the kids to the bus, so they can go back home and do the same thing in the afternoon."

The Roane County Board of Education will vote on the consolidation on Nov. 6. The next public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 5pm and will be held at Spencer Middle School.