West Virginians have deep concerns about the state of the public school system, according to the most recent edition of the MetroNews West Virginia Poll.
Forty-six percent of respondents in the latest edition of the poll describe themselves as dissatisfied with the public schools.
Just 34% say they are satisfied, and 21% said they are neutral.
Perception depends a great deal on whether respondents had direct, regular contact with schools in their community.
The poll showed that among registered voters with children in grades K-12, 40% are satisfied overall with the quality of public education.
As a matter of degree of satisfaction, parents with children in grades K-12 are twice as likely to be highly satisfied with the quality of public schools than voters without children in the state’s school system (13% for parents vs. 6% among those without children in school).
“Across the demographic and political spectrum, there is a belief that public education in the state is not at a high standard,” said Rex Repass, chief consultant of Research America, which conducts the West Virginia Poll sponsored by the High Technology Foundation.
“While there have been some improvements in recent years — for example, the state is no longer rated last or next to last — West Virginia continues to be ranked in the bottom 10 or bottom 5 among the states.”
Repass said years of improved test scores in primary and secondary schools will be necessary to affect the public perceptions of public schools. That would also require increased focus by the state’s educators improving PSAT scores and the number of national merit finalists per capita in the state.
One bright spot, he noted, is that in other studies West Virginia’s public schools tend to be rated among the safest in the country.
West Virginia’s scores held steady on an education assessment called the Nation’s Report Card — but remain below the majority of states in academic performance.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress was administered last school year to a sampling of students who were in 4th and 8th grades at the time. Those students are now in 5th and 9th grades.
West Virginia still has room for improvement, but is making progress in some areas to return to levels achieved prior to the covid-19 pandemic.
Many West Virginia counties are struggling with rapidly declining student enrollment, which is leading to financial distress and school closures.
The nonprofit think tank West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy recently concluded that inadequate state K-12 education funding is having clear effects including community school closures and consolidations, vacant positions due to uncompetitive pay, and dwindling course offerings and extracurricular activities in some parts of the state.
Results released this week by the West Virginia Poll also asked respondents to assess their satisfaction with private schools in the state.
Most, 51%, said they are neutral on that question. Thirty percent described themselves as satisfied with private schools, and 20% said they are dissatisfied.
Finally, the West Virginia Poll elicited a divided response about the Hope Scholarship for students outside the public school system.
Families who opt to use the Hope Scholarship for non-public school expenses receive an amount that changes each year. Most recently, it’s been about $4,900. Families may use the money for supplies like textbooks, flashcards, whiteboards or even computers.
As the number of families opting to use the Hope Scholarship has grown, so has the cost to the state. The program is taxpayer funded.
Respondents were asked, “As you may or may not know, in a few years the West Virginia Legislature is considering distributing approximately $300 million to the Hope Scholarship program for the education of K-12 students who attend private schools or are home-schooled.
The question continued, “Some people say this a good use of state funds while others say distributing more money to the Hope Scholarship program will hurt public school funding in the state. Which point of view to you agree with most?”
Forty-three percent of respondents said the Hope Scholarship is a good use of funds.
Thirty-seven percent said the program is a bad use of funds.
Twenty-one percent said they are not sure.
Looking more deeply into responses, a majority of parents (51%) of children in grades K-12 support the concept, Repass said.
When broken down politically, less than half (47%) of Republicans support the idea vs. 41% of unaffiliated voters and 39% of Democrats.
Repass said if the overall cost of the program continues to grow, lawmakers will feel pressure to defend the allocation of taxpayer dollars.
“If the state Legislature decides to allocate additional funding to the Hope Scholarship program for private and home schooled students, to gain public support it will be critical to support the decision with facts supporting the academic benefits,” Repass said.
He noted that the state’s constitution guarantees a “thorough and efficient” system of free schools for all children with the Legislature being responsible for providing it. The state has historically ranked last or next to last in teacher salaries. Overall school funding per student has barely kept pace with other states in recent years.
“One could argue that the state has not provided a ‘thorough and efficient’ system of free (public) schools for all children,” Repass said.