Inside West Virginia Public Schools

A strong education system is not only important at the family level but also necessary for a thriving economy, as students represent the future workforce. There is no question that many challenges persist for public education across the state, but many key leaders are working toward a better future for West Virginia’s
education system.

One of those leaders is the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE). The WVBE sets education goals and policies and oversees the state’s public school system to make sure it runs effectively and serves West Virginia’s students to the best of its ability. Its goals revolve around creating stronger school systems, improving student success and accountability, preparing students for the future and attracting great educators and school leaders. In working toward these goals, the WVBE actively pursues a process that supports a statewide approach. It incorporates feedback from parents, teachers and students. Debra Sullivan, a retired educator who recently completed her term as a member of the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE), explains how this process works.

“The policy development, comment and adoption process is impressive in its intentional inclusion of a statewide constituency,” says Sullivan. “Working with WVDE staff, draft policies are reviewed by stakeholders from across the state who will eventually implement the policies. Once their work is finished, edited policies are submitted to the WVBE for review and then placed on the WVDE website for a 30-day comment period, where comments from the general public are accepted.” Sullivan has received comments from a breadth of respondents, such as teachers, administrators, students, parents, legislators, legal and medical professionals, special interest groups, county boards of education, community groups and nonprofit agencies.

“Comments are collected and reacted to by WVDE staff in a document that is filed in the Secretary of State’s office,” she says. “Based on comments received and reviewed by WVBE and WVDE lawyers, policies are adjusted and submitted to the state board for approval.”

This process makes policy development not only transparent but also collaborative, as it welcomes responses and input from the public. A wide range of stakeholders in the education system can come alongside policymakers to create change. It helps the state to create policies that work in the best interest of students.

The same process takes place in WVBE board meetings, which also include time for comments from the public. This is a space where the board can hear concerns and collaborate to create a plan for follow-up actions.

“The robust policy process depends on public input,” Sullivan says. “Beyond that, during monthly board meetings, WVDE staff and others report on student achievement, attendance, teacher preparation programs, career technical initiatives, discipline issues and the like.”

Another way the WVBE works toward making a strong and effective impact in statewide education is through individual county boards of education.

“The success of schools is tied to the strength of the people involved,” Sullivan says. “The strongest county school systems share a vision and bond between the schools and the communities they serve. County board members recognize local challenges and opportunities, work with their superintendents to develop plans to move the needle, keep a constant and critical eye on finances, listen to employees and the public and analyze student outcomes and individual school issues. They have a clear-eyed view of the uniqueness and the possibilities of each of their schools.”

Just as policy development is most effective with input from a wide range of stakeholders, having individual boards of education at the county level brings in the necessary perspectives directly from the communities they serve. Although the WVBE, along with other leaders, tirelessly works toward a better education system, significant challenges persist that negatively impact West Virginia’s education system.

“Our schools did not create and cannot control the challenges that bedevil some areas of West Virginia more than others—a shrinking but aging population, shuttered businesses and falling tax bases, troublesome health metrics, low workforce participation, poverty, inadequate water and waste systems, food deserts and more children who are in foster and kinship care who are homeless or housed in juvenile facilities,” Sullivan says. “Our public schools are on the frontline in dealing with these issues each day as they welcome every child who walks through the schoolhouse doors. These children, regardless of ZIP code or circumstance, depend on our schools to do their best by them and fulfill the promise of a thorough and efficient education included in the state constitution.”

One of the biggest issues linked to these challenges is adequate school funding. West Virginia spends around $2.5 billion on education each year, which is the largest portion of the state budget, but there are concerns about how these dollars are allocated.

“We should find ways to increase the compensation for our educators,” says West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack. “As much money as possible should be flowing to classrooms and supporting teachers so they can provide individualized learning for their students. We know this is the way to increase educational outcomes for students, but too many dollars get tied up in bureaucracy or non-educational projects.”

Pack explains that funding is part of the broader scope of education in the state.

“Most of West Virginia’s problems can be tied to two things: lack of jobs and population decline,” he says. “We must focus on attracting young families to West Virginia. This means we need robust, quality educational options and good-paying jobs. These are always the top quality of life factors that determine where families move.”

Teacher attraction and retention remains one of the biggest challenges in the current sphere of education.

“We need certified teachers and other skilled employees to deliver the highest quality education possible to our children,” says Dale Lee, co-president of Education West Virginia (EWV). “It’s pretty simple: in order to attract and retain these people, West Virginia has to offer a competitive salary and quality benefits to compete with neighboring states.”

Education funding is a very complex topic, and one prevailing example of this is the discussion over the Hope Scholarship, which offers qualifying West Virginians in K-12 an opportunity to receive financial assistance that can be used for a number of things, such as tuition and homeschool curriculum. Many leaders are worried the scholarship is misallocating necessary resources and, in turn, accentuating the funding issue in public education.

“West Virginia public schools are being severely affected by the expansion of the Hope Scholarship program,” Lee says. “This program drains resources from our public schools and leads to cuts in programs and services for public school students.”

Sullivan reinforces that the Hope Scholarship has led to staff cuts.

“As counties are expected to do more with less, losing students and funds to Hope Scholarships and charter schools, they are forced to cut staff in their schools,” she says. “At the same time, they must shortchange their own students by diverting staff time to manage choice programs. As more counties look to the WVDE for support, reductions in department staff hinder the provision of much-needed services, sometimes resulting in county takeovers and emergency situations.”

Others see things rather differently, showcasing the complexity of the issue.

“It is a myth that the Hope Scholarship and school choice are taking resources away from public schools,” Pack says. “Enrollment and population decline were occurring before we brought education freedom to West Virginia and will continue until we find a way to reverse our population trends.”

Although each new challenge in the education system and varying opinions on how to handle them may seem overwhelming, many things are being done to address these issues, and more strategies are being considered to potentially impact the education system.

Teacher recruitment and retention remains a top priority. Many leaders advocate for necessary changes in the school aid formula and for competitive wages, along with incentives and good benefits.

“I have been impressed during my years on the board to see major steps taken to address staff shortages, like an increased number of alternative, less time-consuming paths to certification focusing on second-career teachers and classroom aides; strengthening traditional post-secondary teacher preparation programs; the Educators Rising program in career and technical centers; student teachers transitioning to paid positions after certain benchmarks are met; and the Grow Your Own program operating in many high schools with the collaboration of our universities and colleges,” Sullivan says. “Well-developed, professionally delivered statewide and regional staff development seminars, often with stipends to participants, provide research-based support.”

EWV, a statewide union for educators and education support professionals in West Virginia formed to give a unified voice to those working in public education, is working to improve education as a whole, starting with teachers.

“Our immediate priorities include a salary increase for all school employees to begin to move teacher salaries to the national average and a plan to stabilize PEIA and ensure affordable health care for our hardworking education employees,” says Lee. “Measures to address student discipline and advocate for much-needed mental health resources for children experiencing behavioral issues are also among our top priorities.”

Regarding funding, Pack believes in pushing financial control from the Capitol level to the local school districts.

“The one thing we should do is remove as many rules and regulations as possible that are tied to financial dollars,” Pack says. “Let’s give our counties and local school districts more autonomy on how they spend education dollars so they can meet the needs of their communities, parents and students. Too often, we have centralized decision-making in Charleston despite the state having regions quite different from one another. What may work in Southern West Virginia may not in the Eastern Panhandle. By empowering teachers to do what they do best, we can reverse decades of poor education scores.”

It is clear that the state of education in West Virginia is in need of reform, but there is a light fueled by leaders seeking to address these challenges and advocate for future generations of the Mountain State.

“If West Virginians agree that every child deserves a solid education and the strength and vitality of our state depend on them receiving such an education, we need to act accordingly,” Sullivan says. “Public schools will continue to educate the vast majority of our future workforce, government officials, caregivers, parents and neighbors. It’s in everyone’s interest to make these schools as strong as they can be. West Virginians are known for creativity, resilience and can-do attitude. It’s time to act on our belief in the value of strong public schools.”