CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Roane County Schools has a major financial problem and has for the second time in the last four months asked to receive an advance of state funds to cover expenses.
The state Board of Education declared a state of emergency in the county Wednesday and will send a state Department of Education team there to come up with an action plan to address the financial issues.
“You guys are bankrupted. You’re absolutely bankrupted,” state School Board member Greg Wooten told Roane County school officials before Wednesday’s vote. “The real question is–is it a Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) can you reorganize? Or is it a Chapter 7 where you say, ‘We just can’t do it,'” Wooten said.
A review of the system’s finances issued as part of a report Wednesday shows the local school board has done little to address the issues.
“The lack of Roane County Board of Education actions to balance the budget. Declining enrollment, failure to approve a consolidation plan, a lack of sufficient personnel action, and other operational decisions have resulted in a significant projected budget deficit for fiscal year 2026,” the report said.
State Department of Education Office of Accountability Director Alexandra Criner told the state BOE that Roane County Schools has an average building utilization rate of 45 percent, one of the lowest in the state. The county employs 8 professional and 9 service employee positions over the state funding formula. She also said the county has gone over budget in the construction of a new Spencer Middle School and it’s possible some expenditures for the school in excess of $1 million were made without board approval.
The Roane County system had close to a $2 million budget surplus in 2021only to project a $2.5 million deficit now. State BOE member Paul Hardesty said that’s a shocking shift.
“That’s $4.3 million swing in five years in a small county with a small population,” Hardesty said. “Was everybody asleep at the wheel in Roane County?”
The county received a $300,000-plus advance in state funds in March to cover expenses and asked this week for another $397,000 to meet the July 14 payroll.
Roane County School Board President Jeff Mace said unfortunately the local school board didn’t recognize how bad things were.
“I don’t believe that we were completely aware of the magnitude of where we were at,” Mace said. “Even as recent as of this current budget preparation there were some discrepancies.”
The local school board decided last November against a proposal to consolidate Geary and Walton elementary/middle schools. Former Roane County Superintendent Richard Duncan told MetroNews at that time the board wanted to keep consolidation for the last resort if nothing else helps.
“The board felt strongly that we should not consider any closures or consolidations at this time, use that as a last resort only, and try to look for additional things we can look do within the schools and in the system to cut down on costs, to realign staff, to find other ways to meet those funding other than actually closing a school,” Duncan said.
On Wednesday at the state board meeting, Hardesty told new Roane County Superintendent Michelle Stellato that he hopes she knows what she’s getting herself into. Hardesty said it’s like someone has tied her hands and feet together and told to swim.
Stellato, who has been on the job for five days after serving as assistant superintendent for the past two years, told the state board Wednesday she and others are committed to making the cuts that are necessary to right-size the system.
“I hear what everyone says. I do echo the sentiment that we are in a dire position in Roane County but what I want to make everyone aware of is that we are going in with eyes wide open,” Stellato said.
The state board will get an update on the state of emergency at its August meeting.