Kanawha school official declines to discuss role of Hope Scholarship in enrollment drop

Despite losing more than 900 students this new school year, the superintendent of West Virginia’s largest school district is reluctant to blame the Hope Scholarship and school choice options for enrollment decline. 

At a press conference Thursday morning at the Kanawha County Schools central office, Superintendent Paula Potter told reporters the 4.2% drop in enrollment is a result of an aging population, declining birth rates and more options outside of public schools. 

“Our school system is a microcosm of our society,” she said. 

Potter did not directly answer questions from reporters about how the Hope Scholarship – a program that pays $5,400 per student for families to use in private education –  figures into the decline. 

Potter said the district has kept track of where the students went, but she did not disclose it. 

“I’m the superintendent of our public school system. I’m not focused on voucher programs or other programs,” Potter said. “We’re committed to seeing what’s working for our current students and welcoming anybody who wants to be a part of our school system, and again, we recognize that school choice is an opportunity for families to have that choice.” 

Kanawha County Schools educates 21,199 students, the most of any county school system in the state.

“I would like to talk about the 21,000 students that we do educate. We have a large number of students and families that we service, and I don’t want to discredit that,” Potter said. “We are focusing on student loss because we want students here, but I feel like we need to capitalize on the fact that we are educating over 21,000 students in Kanawha County.”

Meanwhile, other superintendents were more direct. 

Marion County Superintendent Donna Heston said the drop in enrollment “represents a reckoning in that many Legislators are speaking out of both sides of their mouths” by advocating for stronger classroom to workforce programs while simultaneously supporting school choice options. 

“Legislators are systemically dismantling one of the pillars of this country, widening the gaps between the haves and the have nots,” she said. 

Marion County saw an enrollment drop of 336 students. Heston confirmed Thursday that the district had 230 students leave for the Hope Scholarship between July and September. 

And over at Roane County Schools, the hardest hit in terms of percentage, Superintendent Michelle Stellato confirmed 100 out of 230 students lost had taken the Hope Scholarship. 

Potter said a key way to turn around the enrollment decline is with economic development, which leads to population growth. She deflected a question about  what else the district should do in light of Berkeley County losing students. Berkeley County is the state’s second-largest school district, and has had growth for decades.

Potter again turned to the 21,000 students her district teaches. 

“Students are enrolling, but we do have less students in Kanawha County, enrolling everywhere, there’s been a decline, even in some of our choice options as well. And so, again, the school system is a microcosm of our society,” she said. 

Berkeley County announced Thursday it had directed its attorneys to file notice of a lawsuit against the state on the grounds that the state’s school funding formula is inadequate.

Superintendent Ryan Saxe said the timing of the legal move is not related to the news of enrollment decline. 

“While declining enrollment adds another layer of financial pressure, it was not the reason for pursuing this action,” he said. “Our concerns are rooted in the longstanding gap between the resources provided and the actual costs of meeting our students’ needs. Ultimately, this effort is about ensuring that West Virginia’s public school funding system can support the thorough and efficient education guaranteed by our state constitution to each and every one of our students.”