Back to school season always brings excitement and hope. This month as West Virginia’s students head back to school, many families and school staff will also have to navigate the effects of shrinking state K-12 funds, which are falling well below past levels this year. Inadequate state K-12 education funding is having clear impacts including community school closures and consolidations, vacant positions due to uncompetitive pay, and dwindling course offerings and extracurricular activities in some parts of the state. Amid proposed federal funding changes and state legislation to seize some local property tax revenue from some school districts, policymakers must affirm their commitment to the state’s constitutionally guaranteed system of free schools.
According to the most recent comparison data available, in school year 2023, West Virginia’s per pupil K-12 education spending ranked worst among the states in our region, slipping to 32nd among all states and the District of Columbia (from 29th in 2022). West Virginia’s total per pupil spending of $14,575 is worse than any of our neighboring states and is nearly $2,000 less per student than the national average of $16,526.
The key determinant of education spending in West Virginia is the Public School Support Plan (PSSP), the state’s resource-based school funding formula, which allocates funding to school districts for the costs of operating schools. The PSSP involves a multi-step formula that determines a school district’s total “basic foundation allowance” based on student enrollment.
Compared with 2009, total PSSP funding has declined by 11 percent once adjusted for inflation.
Within the PSSP’s basic foundation allowance, each school district’s local share (or property taxes for the school system) is subtracted and the difference is funded by state dollars, known as the “state aid allowance.” The state’s share of PSSP funding is 17 percent below 2009 levels for fiscal year 2026.
While state PSSP funding did see a slight increase from 2023 to 2025, that is largely the result of the Third Grade Success Act, which seeks to address early literacy and numeracy development in early grades by placing aides in classrooms. If not for the new funding associated with the Third Grade Success Act, state PSSP funding in FY 2026 would be down by 22.9 percent compared with 2009 (WVCBP calculation).
While student enrollment did drop between 2009 and 2026, the decline in state PSSP funding (17 percent) outpaced the enrollment decline (14.7 percent), meaning the state’s per pupil spending is also falling behind compared with past years, as further evidenced when comparing total per pupil spending with our region and the national average.
School districts are also facing additional funding challenges due to disruptions to federal funding. The last of federal pandemic-era support through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund expired last year, leaving a major budgetary gap. Statewide, the loss of these funds amounts to about $246 million annually. Several school districts including those in Mingo County, McDowell County, Mercer County, Summers County, Webster County, and Barbour County were particularly impacted by the expiration of this support.
Additionally, earlier this summer, the Trump administration froze $25 million in essential funding for afterschool and summer programs, literacy instruction, and English language instruction. While the funding was later released, it served as a reminder of the uncertain budgetary landscape for public schools in our state. The federal budget for K-12 education in FY 2026 still remains to be seen, with the Trump administration’s budget request calling for significant cuts to public education funding.
West Virginia’s public schools are doing their best to meet the needs of their students and communities amid historic uncertainty and fiscal challenges. Due to budgetary challenges, school districts across the state have terminated staff, cut programs, and closed or consolidated schools. While these actions may seem like a solution by offsetting or deferring costs, for many districts the challenges persist and these cuts could have the consequence of stalling or reversing post-pandemic learning and attendance gains. Randolph County, which terminated more than 30 school staff last year, is now under a state of emergency, and still faces a budget deficit and potential school closures.
Public schools serve the vast majority of school-aged children in West Virginia and will continue to do so regardless of the expansion of alternative education options. Policymakers must prioritize the funding needed to ensure all students have well-funded, well-resourced community public schools available to them, which serve all students regardless of religion, learning or behavioral needs, and background.
