Legislation to establish an emergency fund for financially strapped county education systems seems unlikely to make it through the state Senate as-is.
Instead, senators may lay the bill aside for a while and either continue to work on it or take an even broader approach to school system funding in West Virginia.
The bill was originally aimed at providing a cushion for Hancock County, which has had an ongoing financial emergency. Early in the legislative session, the House of Delegates passed the bill in a single day, viewing the situation as urgent.
COMMENTARY by DAVE WILSON: Story of Hancock County Schools doesn’t add up.
A discussion of HB 4574 over about an hour Tuesday in the Senate Education Committee wound up with no resolution. Instead, senators took no action at all on the bill before ending the meeting.
Afterwards, in a quick interview with MetroNews, Senate Education Chairwoman Amy Nichole Grady said the committee wants to take a closer look at the underpinnings of the bill before moving ahead.
“This committee wants to take the time that’s needed to make sure we have all the answers before we move forward with something and make sure it’s something we really, truly want to do and not just take a stab at something we’re not sure of,” Grady said.
House bill 4574 would establish a temporary shortfall supplement fund, making loans available to counties with reserve balances below 5% to ensure they can meet payroll and essential costs.
As efforts to maintain accountability, the legislation mandates strict financial reporting, requires the implementation of electronic tracking systems, and sets conditions for repaying the state.
A second bill, House Bill 4575, designates an initial $8 million from the state’s surplus to establish the fund.
Senators in the education committee asked questions about the need for the bill and how it would work. But they also asked far broader questions about how state school funding works and how many other school systems might be in danger financially.
“It’s a big decision,” Grady said. “Holding off on doing anything with that based on the information that was given, I think, is the best thing to do right now.”
Grady noted assurances that staff in Hancock County are in line for stable paychecks for the next several months, taking some of the urgency away from the legislation.
Hancock County has been described as being roughly 140 employees over what the state school funding formula could support. State officials have said the county used federal covid relief dollars for ongoing expenses and then did not wean off adequately when that funding dried up.
Altogether, state officials have said Hancock County’s troubles include a $5 million cash shortfall, a $2 million high school overspend and a $1 million turf project with dollars from the county board’s general fund.
The state Board of Education moved earlier this month to take over Hancock County schools and fire top personnel.
Senator Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, asked many of the questions about school funding during the education committee meeting. Afterwards, he said he favors a broader approach to school funding.
“My concern is we’re piecemealing some legislation on a bigger problem,” Tarr said in an interview, noting that he’d sought to learn more about how many other counties are currently under state control or on the brink.
“We need to solve the bigger problem, and the bigger problem is how we’ve done public education in West Virginia. If you keep doing this piecemeal-sized stuff, it’s going to be harder and harder to solve the big problem because it’s going to change.”
He said the Legislature and the Governor’s Office need to embark on a cooperative effort to examine and reform school funding in West Virginia. This is roughly one quarter of the way through the regular 60-day session.
“I think it would take the governor championing that to get it all the way through the Legislature and also to educate the people of West Virginia because he’s got the biggest bully pulpit,” Tarr said.
State schools Superintendent Michele Blatt provided much of the testimony about the bill and about education funding in West Virginia.
At one point Senator Charles Clements, R-Wetzel, asks her if she likes the bill that the committee was considering.
“Are you happy with this piece of legislation?” Clements asked.
“I don’t know that I’m happy with it, because I would love to been able to find a way that you know that this wasn’t necessary,” Blatt said.
“I think the issue just ran into because of the fiscal year, not knowing what the beginning of that year looks like, you know, it just came to the point that we were going to need some kind of a stopgap, and need some assistance.”
Clements responded by saying, “Well, let’s hope those other counties don’t get to this point.”