ELKVIEW, W.Va. — The West Virginia Association of School Administrators has rolled out the new “I Love WV Public Schools” campaign.
Campaign supporters said it will highlight the benefits of public schools and point out some of the disparities created by private, charter, and non-public institutions that take advantage of the Hope Scholarship.
A kick-off news conference was held Tuesday at Herbert Hoover High School.
West Virginia Association of School Administrators President Will Hosaflook, the Jackson County school superintendent, said they are working to give members of the public their complete story about the good things happening in public schools.
“We are going to get the word out,” Hosaflook said during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “There’s a lot of misinformation coming out from our elected officials and Facebook groups—there’s a lot of misinformation that we need to correct.”
Hosaflook said many times when lawmakers and members of the public review test scores, they don’t have all of the information. When scores show 38 percent of students meeting a college standard, often it’s thought the balance of those students are meeting standards. Hosaflook said the students not included in that 38 percent are successfully pursuing an in-demand vocational certification or trade.
Public school enrollment has dropped more than 15 percent since the pandemic, and the numbers of those hitting the exits continue to climb. Those in public education and families need to be a part of finding the solutions to spur growth, according to Hosaflook.
“I think we’re losing 5,000 more public education students this year for whatever reason—moving out of state or alternative school choice options,” Hosaflook said. “It is a concern for everyone, and we need to have a seat at the table to try to figure it out.”
Mingo County Schools Superintendent Joetta Basile said the campaign is about promoting the students and families in public education and pointing out differences. Private and charter options don’t all have to follow the same set of codified standards (Chapter 18 and 18a of West Virginia state code) as is required for the public institutions in all 55 counties.
“Public schools have a lot of accountability measures, and I don’t think those are bad,” Basile said during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Midday.” “I don’t think those are bad; I just think all schools—private, Hope scholarship schools, and things like that—need to have the same rules in place.”
Hosaflook said an overhaul or just getting rid of the code sections would make the rules equal when it comes to staffing, funding, and evaluations.
“We need to be on a level playing field, and it would be easy to fix,” Hosaflook said. “If we had the public charter school law in the West Virginia code, 18 and 18a just give us that ability—wipe out 18 and 18a.”
Lawmakers spent a substantial amount of time during the most recent interim meetings to amend the school funding formula. Lawmakers were unable to reach consensus on the type of drastic changes proposed, but they do plan to revisit the issue in the very near future again.
“Lawmakers are looking at the funding formula; they’ve had some interim sessions and things,” Basile said. “No changes yet, but we’re hopeful change will come.”