West Virginia officials have asked the state Supreme Court to hold off until next spring to consider a lawsuit over West Virginia’s school funding formula, suggesting that could give the Legislature time to handle the issue.
A lawsuit filed in September by attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union-West Virginia asks the justices to mandate that the Legislature and state officials reform the entire public school funding system to eliminate statewide funding inequities.
A filing this week by the state Attorney General’s Office, representing leaders in the legislative and executive branches, asks for a delay in consideration until next April and allowing time for lawmakers to focus on school funding during the 60-day regular session.
“Petitioner asks this Court to order the political branches to rewrite West Virginia’s school aid formula. But the political branches are already engaged in discussions. The Department of Education has delivered an overhaul of the formula to the Governor and legislative leadership. The Joint Standing Committee on Education plans to hear the Department out on November 9,” wrote the Attorney General.
“And the Legislature convenes on January 13, 2027, with consideration of the school funding formula expected during the session. The Legislature’s discussions during interim meetings, coupled with its anticipated consideration of the school aid formula during the regular legislative session, will give lawmakers the opportunity to evaluate whether and what adjustments to the education system are appropriate.”
Article XII, Section 1 of the West Virginia Constitution explicitly states, “The Legislature shall provide, by general law, for a thorough and efficient system of free schools.”
The ACLU case contends West Virginia is not living up to that standard and was filed as a straight shot to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to force other state officials to fix school funding.
The filing has parallels with West Virginia’s 1982 Recht Decision, a landmark court ruling that declared the state’s public school funding system unconstitutional because it created severe financial inequalities between rich and poor counties.
In recent years, West Virginia has again faced widespread school funding shortfalls, driven largely by an enormous deficit in special education costs and leading to school closures and consolidations all over the state.
Education officials have warned that 8 to 20 schools face closure or consolidation across West Virginia in the coming year.
Lawmakers have discussed replacing the enrollment-based funding formula with an updated needs-based tiered system, but all of their proposals have crashed out the past couple of legislative sessions.
In recent months, lawmakers have focused several interim committee discussions on possibilities for reforming the school aid formula.
Earlier this month, the state Department of Education rolled out a detailed framework to update West Virginia’s school funding methods, intending for the proposal to be a starting point for legislators to take up.
Furthermore, a majority of state school board members voted to take an official position to the state Supreme Court that West Virginia’s current school funding system is unconstitutional.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey has taken a reserved approach to West Virginia public school funding, with his administration maintaining that simply injecting more money into the system is not the solution.
At a press conference this week, Morrisey suggested school funding will be a major issue during the coming legislative session, although he didn’t specify his favored approach.
“Premature to make any announcements yet, but I will say that school aid issues and education issues will dominate the next legislative session. I think it’s very important,” Morrisey said in response to a question from reporter Amelia Knisely of West Virginia Watch.
Morrisey said his administration has been analyzing the entry point proposal by the Department of Education.
“Public school issues are very, very important. We have to always be looking to make improvements in that area,” Morrisey said.
One issue highlighted by superintendents around the state is the high cost of special education. They say those students often need additional resources, like nurses or one-on-one learning, that are not adequately funded by the state.
The proposal by the state Department of Education estimates the cost just to bolster special education at $190 million. Other financial improvements presumably would cost even more.
“We’re looking closely at the budget because we have to do something that’s affordable for our citizens. That matters, and education is a huge priority. We want to make sure we do this the right way,” Morrisey said in response to a followup question by Nexstar television reporter Maddy Sperling.
“In terms of the overall proposal, we have to make sure it’s meeting the needs of West Virginia citizens, and it has to be responsible. I’ve said pretty regularly that right now West Virginia’s usually between 25 and 27 in a lot of the per capita spending. I don’t think we have a spending problem in West Virginia. I think a lot of it depends on how the monies are spent.”