CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A bill to that would establish a pilot program for regional school districts in West Virginia, that critics said was short on crucial details, is on hold for the moment. The House of Delegates Rules Committee placed HB 3387 on the House’s Inactive Calendar.
The bill was on the amendment stage in the House of Delegates. It is meant to address challenges faced by some county districts in accessibility, funding, and efficiency. However, critics are concerned the bill lacks necessary details and erodes local autonomy.
“For the action it takes, the bill is very short and very simple. If we’re going to undertake a pilot program then we need to sit down and study this and decide how things are going to work, with the different intricacies of personnel and finance, all those kinds of things,” said Del. Mark Dean, R-Mingo, during an appearance on Metronews Talkline.
House Bill 3387 proposes a regional school district pilot program through the state Department of Education. It would allow for consolidation of schools and financial decision-making at the regional level for up to three contiguous counties, that are or anticipated to be under emergency control of the state Board of Education.
The school board would have the authority to propose rules for legislative consideration to prompt the unification process and the eventual phasing out of the involved county school districts.
Decisions made by the leadership of the new regional districts would take precedence over existing county board decisions within the pilot area.
Mingo County could be directly impacted by the bill.
Earlier this month, the state School Board approved the takeover of Mingo County Schools. Neighboring Logan County was put under a state of emergency in 2022. The two counties could have been directly impacted by the legislation.
“Nobody wants to see their local power taken away. We strive to give local power and I see this as a way of removing that local power and that’s just not something my local people are a fan of,” said Dean.
Supporters of the bill, including House Education Committee Chair Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, believed it addressed a growing issue in the state.
“There are several districts that are having some significant problems, as reported by the state Department of Education.Some of that may not be public at this point — though I may have just made it that,” Ellington said during a committee hearing on the bill.
“There are several schools that are probably going to be taken over — the counties taken over by the state. As you have seen in the news just recently, Mingo County was one of those. It is my understanding that there are several others that arein similar conditions, and this is a vehicle to at least give counties that have similar geographic areas and similar problems the ability to unify and hopefully solve that problem.”
Although Dean said he is not opposed idea of consolidating districts as the state’s population continues to decrease as a way to make school systems more effective and efficient, such as drastic change needs to be well thought out.
“You have things like if one county has an excess levy and another doesn’t. What do you do about land contracts? Who takes control and ownership of things? That’s why we have to take a look and make some decisions beforehand,” said Dean.