CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than a dozen school districts in West Virginia will receive part of $150 million in supplemental funding recently approved by state lawmakers for school construction projects.
The state School Building Authority voted Wednesday to begin allocating $87.5 million of the new funding.
The money is in addition to the $111 million the SBA handed out to 19 other school districts in Dec. 2023, which was the most funding awarded by the SBA since 2011.
Gov. Jim Justice chaired the SBA meeting at the state Lottery Headquarters building in Charleston Wednesday and applauded the additional funding. It was a request he made during his State of the State address earlier this year.
“These extra dollars now help us to go back and get all the projects. At the end of the day, that’s monstrously important to those folks that have been passed over,” Justice told reporters following the meeting.
Justice said the move by the SBA will show the U.S. Department of Education that the state is spending more on education. The state is seeking a waiver because its public education funding dipped after the COVID pandemic.
Justice reassured that the state is not in danger of a $435 million claw back from the federal government.
“There’s not going to be a claw back unless people go back on their word. I feel all the assurances that that’s not going to happen,” he said. “Really and truly at the end of the day, what the federal government wants us to do is commit money to education.”
.@WVGovernor chairing the state School Building Authority meeting in Charleston this morning to award $150 million in new construction funding @WVMetroNews pic.twitter.com/YAWqLtb5RF
— Carrie Hodousek (@CarrieHodousek) April 10, 2024
State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt told members of the state Board of Education Tuesday she believes the state will be able to meet the waiver requirement with the new SBA funding and by showing it has increased spending connected to another 5% pay raise for teachers and school service personnel and by hiring reading aides for the second year of the Third Grade Success Act.
The SBA approved the remaining MIP (Major Improvement Projects) and NEEDS projects that were not funded by the authority in the past funding cycle. The remaining $27.1 million will be applied to future SBA funding requests.
Cabell County Schools Superintendent Dr. Ryan Saxe was among the superintendents to receive funding for his district. One of their awarded projects includes $16.9 million toward the construction of a new Ona Elementary School.
“That school has ADA issues, it doesn’t have a sprinkler system and of course it’s an old building. Being able to have modern amenities and modern learning spaces for students is really going to be impactful,” Saxe told MetroNews.
Saxe said he’s grateful that state is investing in Cabell County’s school infrastructure.
“This award today is going to impact close to 3,000 students as soon as these projects are completed, but really it’s going to have an impact for generations of students especially from the Ona Elementary area,” he said.
More than $437,000 is going toward Mingo County Schools for school safety enhancements at Tug Valley High School. Superintendent Dr. Johnny Branch said these improvements are necessary to keep students safe.
“It means safety for our students. Families can feel at ease that their students are protected at school,” Branch told MetroNews.
The Tug Valley High building is about 35 years old and enhancements are needed, Branch said. Part of the installation includes controlled access to the front entrance.
“There will be a waiting area and controlled access to the school office, so you won’t be able to just walk into the building after being buzzed in and move around without supervision,” he explained.
Previously approved grants for Berkeley and Wood counties for a total of $35.2 million were also approved by the SBA.
A full list of the projects funded Wednesday are listed below:
Randolph County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Elkins Middle School partial roof replacement — $1.7 million
Morgan County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Berkeley Springs High School HVAC replacement — $3.9 million
Tucker County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Tucker County High School partial roof and HVAC replacement — $6.4 million
Cabell County Schools
NEEDS Grant: New Ona Elementary School — $16.9 million
MIP Grant: Cabell Midland High School STEM class, additional cafeteria — $1 million
Wayne County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Buffalo Pre K-8 addition — $20.6 million
Monongalia County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Monongalia County Technical Center STEM addition — $4.4 million
MIP Grant — Mountain View Elementary School safe school entrance — $887,919
Brooke County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Brooke County High School interior/plumbing renovations — $6.2 million
Raleigh County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Woodrow Wilson High School academic careers tech water line replacement — $2.6 million
Webster County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Glade and Webster Springs Elementary Schools safe school entrances — $3.5 million
MIP Grant: Webster Springs Elementary interior renovation — $991,802
Lewis County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Lewis County High School HVAC replacement and interior upgrades — $11.2 million
Hardy County Schools
NEEDS Grant: Moorefield Middle School HVAC renovation — $5.3 million
MIP Grant: Roane Elementary skylight replacement — $242,140
Pocahontas County Schools
MIP Grant: Pocahontas County High School electric wiring upgrades and new gym floor — $1 million
Mingo County Schools
MIP Grant: Tug Valley High School safe entrance — $437,533
Summers County Schools
MIP Grant: Summers County Career and Technical Center roof renovation — $684,896