CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Democrats in the West Virginia House of Delegates continue to call for education reforms.
During a news conference Monday at the State Capitol, several House Democrats took the opportunity to respond to Sunday’s Joint Standing Committee on Education meeting that discussed the state’s school aid funding formula.
Democrats are advocating for Gov. Patrick Morrisey to convene the legislature for a special session in September to address issues in West Virginia education. Morrisey’s Policy Director Curtis Capehart outlined “principles important to the governor” during Sunday’s meeting related to education.
Public schools in West Virginia have seen tens of thousands of students depart the system over a 12-year span from 2012 to 2024, concerns over how to adequately fund special education have amplified, and state Board of Education Chairman Paul Hardesty has sounded the alarm about West Virginia education’s trajectory earlier this summer.
More than a dozen schools closed their doors last year and there’s widespread concern that more closures are coming.
House Democrats have proposed three bills to address the education issues: a modification to the funding formula, more guardrails on the Hope Scholarship Program, and increasing the minimum starting salary for teachers.
Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, said she wants the legislature to collectively work towards solutions. She’s the Minority Chair of the House Education Committee.
“What we’re calling on is for our entire body to come together to produce a comprehensive plan that will allow us to strengthen our public education,” Hamilton said. “Our public education system is under attack.”
Hamilton said legislators want children to thrive, not just “meet minimum goals.” She said she’s tired of West Virginia’s poor performance in education and indicated the Hope Scholarship program “is not sustainable.” She noted that the solution will require bipartisan support.
“It’s going to take all of us coming together, working together across the (political) aisle to address the issues,” Hamilton said. “To ensure that all of our children, regardless of their zip code — whether it’s Berkeley County to the southern coalfields — have access to quality education.”
Meanwhile, Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, directed the blame to the Republican-led legislature. He said they failed to properly update the school aid funding formula during the regular session earlier this year.
“In spite of all the lip service that was paid to it, in spite of all the talk that went into updating the School Aid Funding Formula, when the clock struck midnight on the last day of session, they failed to do so,” Pushkin said. “Now, our students, our families, and our communities are paying the price.”
Pushkin said he was hopeful that Capehart would provide more details during his Sunday address to the committee. He said that Capehart’s speech fell short of his expectations.
“All we got were some platitudes, we got some philosophizing, some pontification, what we didn’t get was a plan,” Pushkin said. “The governor has been in office for over a year and a half. Our schools are failing. We saw 14 schools close in the last school year. We’re set to see 20 more possibly close (this year). We are in a crisis mode.”
Pushkin mentioned that the legislature already has a proposed solution from global “think tank” Rand Corporation. He said that he inquired to Capehart about his thoughts on the Rand proposal.
“He (Capehart) said he would like to get a chance to read it,” Pushkin said. “Well, guess what? We had it in January. It’s not that long. He could have read it 12 times since January, actually more than that. He didn’t pick it up because they simply don’t care. They are unserious about a very serious issue.”
On Sunday, Capehart said the investment in public schools hasn’t matched student outcomes.
“West Virginia ranks near the national average in terms of per pupil spending, but our education results do not,” Capehart said. “Many states spend substantially less per pupil than West Virginia does but nonetheless have significantly better outcomes.”
Capehart disagreed with calls from some legislators that more funding was needed. He suggested that a reevaluation of how the funds are directed would be more prudent.
“This demonstrates that injecting more money into the system, simply spending more, is not the answer,” Capehart said. “Instead, we should devote our time and energy to ensuring that funds are being allocated in the most effective and efficient manner and places possible.”