By Riley McCoy
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY — West Virginia’s school funding formula faces renewed scrutiny as districts cite rising special education costs and budget strains.
The state’s aid formula ties funding in part to a 1,400-student scale based on census data, but education officials say it no longer matches district costs, especially for special education and transportation. Special education enrollment rose from 18% to 21% statewide in three years. Meanwhile, WVDE officials reported a $224 million gap that has forced districts to pull money from other programs as lawmakers weigh changes and related Senate proposals, following Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s call last year to revisit the “antiquated” formula.
“This year, I will be asking the Legislature to work with me to open up the antiquated school aid formula so that we can address all of our financial needs at once: those of our families, our taxpayers, and our teachers,” Morrisey said. “West Virginia needs more flexibility from the federal government to administer its school aid monies and help our kids excel in math, science, reading and other subjects.”
In Marion County, Democrat Sen. Joey Garcia said the formula has not been treated as a priority and argued it does not cover key costs which include special education services tied to individualized education plans and staffing.
“It doesn’t seem like it has been a priority at this point in time,” Garcia said. “And there’s been a lot of discussion from local school boards about how the funding formula is not adequately taking care of the needs of the school districts to be able to provide a quality education.”
Garcia added that the state needs a comprehensive update to a formula he described as decades old and he said that work may require action outside the regular session.
Raleigh County Republican Sen. Rollan Roberts agreed, calling the formula “outdated” and in need of “updating” and added that the legislative session is not the appropriate time to debate how to achieve that goal.
“It is my opinion that the only way we’re ever going to make changes with the funding formula is not going to take place in a legislative session,” Roberts said. “[It’s a time] where we are all tired, we are all overwhelmed and sometimes emotions can get out of hand.”
Frank Caputo, a retired American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia staff representative and retired educator, echoed those concerns but added that voucher programs and homeschooling changes have “sucked the money dry.”
According to Caputo, the politicians give “pretty names to ugly things,” and cited voucher programs that drain money from the public school system.
“They have always had school choice,” Caputo said. “You can keep your kids at home, send them to a private school. The difference is we didn’t have to pay for it.”
Caputo later said he would be comfortable using the words “sucked out of the school system” to describe the situation and added that “it’s causing counties to have to consolidate, kids being on busses much longer and it’s doing nothing but hurting kids is what it comes down to.”
One bill introduced into the current legislative session is Senate Bill 600 which seeks to reform parts of the HOPE Scholarship. Sponsored by Garcia and Sen. Michael Woelfel, D-Cabell County, the bill would limit eligibility for families making over $100,000 and would limit the use of scholarship funds for out-of-state purposes.
“So, first of all, it’s not a scholarship. They call it that, but it’s a voucher,” Garcia said. “It can be used for a child to go to a private school, even if that private school is outside of the state of West Virginia.”
According to a report obtained by West Virginia Watch, the Hope Scholarship permitted families to spend $22 million last school year on things like private school and online tuition.
Sen. Roberts is skeptical of Garcia’s bill, saying the committee is not planning to take up HOPE Scholarship legislation during the session and arguing the restrictions would be difficult to apply in a border state.
“I won’t vote on it,” Roberts said. “That bill will not be taken up.”
Roberts said geography complicates limits on out-of-state use, noting that many families live near state lines and already use nearby options.
“Fifty-five percent of West Virginia’s population lives in a bordering county,” Roberts said. “So, it is a problem for us to be able to say, ‘well, you can’t have a school that’s just across the state lines.’”
Roberts also disputed the idea that HOPE pulls money from the public-school funding formula.
“I want to emphasize that not one penny of educational dollars from that school funding formula goes to the Hope Scholarship, not one penny,” he said.
As politicians and educators propose policy and weigh the impact, Caputo wants to keep the focus on the students.
“And if we care about kids first, if we really care about kids like every politician says when they’re running for office,” Caputo said. “Then yeah, we will fix this funding formula.”
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