Public schools are essential for creating communities where all members can thrive through high-quality education and opportunities for enrichment via school meals, extracurricular activities, health services, college and career preparation, and other support services. Our public schools are facing growing challenges of disinvestment of funding and resources, a declining education workforce, and decreased student enrollment resulting in school consolidations and closures. These challenges have amounted to more than 50 schools closing in the past five years, with 25 more proposed or approved for closure this school year alone. Randolph County narrowly prevented the closure of two schools in their community, but they are still facing a significant budget gap.
As the largest county in the state by geography, Randolph County has more than double the land area of the majority of counties in our state. This county faces unique obstacles due to its size and rurality. Research shows that compared to urban school districts, rural school districts are less able to offer broad curriculum options, fill open positions, and retain teaching staff. Transportation also poses a higher cost in these districts because students in rural areas are more likely to live farther from schools. Additionally, rural school districts serve fewer students and are less able to spread out the costs for services across students compared to urban school districts. Nearly half of the children in Randolph County public schools are from lower income families. Evidence suggests that children experiencing poverty often require more resources to achieve the same outcomes as students from higher income families. Due to these obstacles, federal and state funding is especially beneficial to these school districts and the students that they serve.
After several months of community discussion and deliberation, the Randolph County board of education and superintendent reversed course on the closure of the Harman and Pickens Schools. The superintendent noted that due to declining enrollment and the loss of pandemic-era federal relief funds, the district is facing a budget shortfall of almost $2 million. Statewide, student enrollment has declined by about 4.5 percent over the past five years, but Randolph County lost almost 8 percent of their overall student enrollment over that same period. The decline was particularly dramatic at the Pickens and Harman Schools, which lost 12 percent and 32 percent of their student enrollment, respectively.
The loss of over 100 students across the school district from the 2022-2023 school year to the 2023-2024 school year amounted to a reduction of more than $600,000 in state funding in the 2024-2025 school year for essential costs like staffing, operations, and transportation for public schools in Randolph County. The Hope Scholarship is a significant contributor to the enrollment decline in this community. Forty-three students in Randolph County utilized voucher funds last school year, which was more than triple the amount that participated the previous year. According to the WVCBP’s analysis, more than half of the students lost were attributable to the Hope Scholarship. The impact of this program on community schools is only expected to grow once the program expands to all school-aged children in 2026.
Although community members prevented the closures of the Harman and Pickens Schools, there are still considerable challenges for public education in Randolph County. There were more than 50 reduction in force (RIF) hearings in March for potential employee transfers and terminations throughout the school district. The superintendent stated that even if all proposed positions are cut, there could still be an $800,000 budget deficit for the district and a returning risk of school closure or consolidation. Over 40 critical positions remain in jeopardy including counselors, social workers, special education teachers, and teachers across grade levels and subject areas like science, social studies, math, business, art, music, and health.
With the state budget for the next fiscal year still under consideration and major changes to the federal education landscape on the horizon, the financial future for Randolph County’s public schools and those in many other rural and high-poverty districts is unclear. While state funding makes up the majority of education funding in Randolph County, federal funding supplies about 10 percent of the district budget. Federal funding supports a wide range of programs including those for students with disabilities, school meals, and students from low-income families that otherwise could not be funded without increased effort from state and local governments.
State and local funding provides for essential costs like employee salaries and benefits, operating and transportation costs, and instructional programs based on student enrollment via the school funding formula. This formula doesn’t sufficiently meet the current needs of schools across the state and incentivizes school districts to terminate staff or close schools to reduce costs and remain operational. While lawmakers and members of the public have made clear that more resources are necessary to ensure our schools have the staffing and services they need, the rapidly growing Hope Scholarship Program—which is expected to cost over $300 million in 2026—is diverting significant amounts of money that could otherwise be invested in our public schools.
West Virginia’s state constitution guarantees that the legislature will provide for a thorough and efficient system of free schools. However, outdated and inequitable funding practices through the school funding formula and Hope Scholarship put this promise at risk. To preserve community schools and protect the future of the Mountain State, the funding formula must be modified and the Hope Scholarship Program curtailed.
