WV: 21% increase in SPED students over 10 yrs, overall enrollment down 17%; $410M needed
A decade ago, West Virginia schools had more than 44,000 special education students.
Today, that number exceeds 48,000, about 21% of all public school students. This comes even as student enrollment overall has plummeted by 17% in the same time period, according to the state Department of Education.
That is the crux of the problem with how West Virginia funds its schools, according to Uriah Cummings, a school financial operations officer at the West Virginia Department of Education. There are fewer students overall, but the ones who remain need more help and more resources. Addressing that disparity is one of the main goals of a new funding proposal the Department detailed during a meeting of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Education on Monday.
“It’s not about just asking for more money, in terms of what needs exist across the state of West Virginia,” Cummings said during his presentation to the Committee. “It’s being able to look at the current model that we have and saying, 'Is this model sufficient in terms of what it takes to educate a child in today’s day and age?’”
The answer to that question comes with a price, though — about $410 million, according to the Department.
Fumbling with the funding
There is broad recognition that the state needs to change how it funds its 55 school districts. The current system is based heavily on headcount, so as the number of pupils drops, districts receive less money, leading to layoffs and school closures. It also does not account for whether students are low-income or have other special education or English language learning needs, despite those students needing more resources.
The state is already facing at least one lawsuit over the system. During last month’s state Board of Education meeting, the Board acknowledged that the current funding system is “inadequate” and does not allow them to fulfill their duty of managing the state’s public schools.
Several lawmakers on Monday brought up the estimated $410 million cost.
“I think we still have a lot to unravel when it comes to this proposal. It’s gonna create questions when it comes to a price tag that high,” said Delegate Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke. He acknowledged, though, that the funding formula needs to be fixed and was glad to finally see options being presented.
Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said she wasn’t surprised by the price tag given the scope of the proposed changes, but she said it would take time for other members to digest the ideas and decide what to do. She didn’t rule out taking up parts of the proposal or doing it in a piecemeal way. . . .
Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, questioned how the new model would limit the raft of school closures that has ravaged districts across the state for years.
“I’m tired of seeing schools close. It makes the problem worse,” he said. “We talk about population loss, but nobody is gonna move to a state where they can’t get their kids to a school in the neighborhood they live in.”
Cummings responded that he hopes the change in how enrollment is funded by allowing schools to take the average of the past three years would help slow school closures. He added, though, that “there does come a time when it’s fiscal inefficiency” to run schools with low enrollment.
Monday’s meeting comes as school districts across the state raise alarm bells over falling enrollment.
For the 2026–27 school year, 226,687 students are enrolled in public schools across the state, according to the Department of Education, a 3.5% drop from last year. West Virginia has lost more than 46,000 students over the last decade.
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