The top education committee leaders in the West Virginia Legislature say they’re open to exploring a school funding proposal that could cost up to $410 million — but they’re also emphasizing the mathematical reality of what 100 delegates and 34 senators might want.
“I’m one of 134 people that will be in this Legislature,” said House Education Chairman Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, speaking on MetroNews Talkline and noting that a significant number of those will be new to the Legislature following the recent election.
“I will tell you that we will look at all those $410 million that they requested, and we will do our best at, you know, seeing what we can do into that area. So that’s the best I can tell you at this time.”
His counterpart, Senate Education Chairwoman Amy Nichole Grady, sized it up similarly in a huddle with reporters.
“I would love to say that I I think we can do something. I’m really hopeful, but I’m only one member out of 134,” said Grady, R-Mason.
During legislative interim meetings this week, lawmakers got a primer on school funding proposals by the state Department of Education. The possibilities could amount to an additional $410 million.
Right now, state funding in West Virginia amounts to about $1.406 billion. Various aspects of the proposals would bump that to about $1.816 billion under the framework being rolled out.
In recent years, West Virginia has faced widespread school funding shortfalls, driven especially by an enormous deficit in special education costs and leading to school closures and consolidations all over the state.
West Virginia schools are largely funded through a seven-step formula that is based largely on student population. Total student registration has dropped by 8,270 pupils compared to the prior year.
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 washed up 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.
That’s what lawmakers heard about in more detail this week. A big part of the takeaway was the potential cost.
Legislators have a range of choices from accepting the entire recommendation as it is to adopting pieces of it, perhaps incrementally, to doing nothing at all.
The draft includes:
- student funding weights for special education, students whose family incomes qualify at poverty levels, English learners, gifted students and career technical education studets;
- a three-year enrollment average for counties to buffer in case of sudden enrollment drops;
- revised facilities and substitute funding;
- and support for additional operational positions.
The estimated total cost is $410 million.
Of that, increased funding for special education accounts for about $190 million. Adjustments for students with lower socioecoomic status amount to $63.9 million. The enrollment smoothing would be about $50.7 million. Facilities recalibration is estimated to cost $42.8 million.
If lawmakers address only one part of the proposal, said Uriah Cummings, finance officer for the state Department of Education, a priority on special education funding would make the most sense because its shortfalls affect services and programs across the school system.
Speaking on Talkline, Cummings said costs mount for services that are necessary for special education students — like speech, occupational, and physical therapy. Districts often have to contract to provide those services, which can make them even more expensive.
He said inadequate funding for mandatory special education services means districts often have to shift resources at the expense of other programs, particularly high-school electives.
Cummings said he would “point to special education funding every time because of the domino effect that special education funding has on all children within a school district.”
He said, “the cuts have to come from other other other areas of of the school system. So, I think to be able to have the most impact across all children, we have to do the best that we can for our special needs population first.”
Grady, the Senate education chairwoman, agreed that “the special education portion of that has constantly come up in discussions. And I know we talked about it last session as well, and that was something that was a priority then that they said would help tremendously.
“What we would like to look at is what can we change that would help the most right now, and all of them said that that is the number one thing.”
Statler, in the House, sees momentum to address special needs funding, though he said support in the Senate remains uncertain.
“Yes, I do believe there’s an appetite on the House side,” Statler said. But h is “not sure how far it carries over into the Senate side
“So I think on the House side, can I tell you that all that will be coming forward? I can’t guarantee you that, but I also think there’s some ways that we can look in there to see if we can bring that number down some in the way that we deliver some of these services. So I think it’s a journey that we’re going to go forward, and we’re working on this thing continuously.”