Apartments to Be Built In McDowell County For Teachers, Other Professionals

A partnership aimed at improving schools in McDowell County, West Virginia, said it will build 28 new apartments in the impoverished county for teachers and other professionals.

Reconnecting McDowell's board of directors voted Wednesday to demolish two downtown buildings in the county seat of Welch to make way for the new housing. Gayle Manchin, the president of the State Board of Education who chairs the partnership, estimated the project will cost around $5 million.

Reconnecting McDowell, which is led by the American Federation of Teachers, has highlighted a lack of housing for teachers in McDowell County as a key obstacle to improving schools there.

Manchin and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten were unveiling the plan at a news conference in Welch.