During wave of closures, Morrisey says school funding issue will ‘dominate’ 2027 legislative session

While communities across West Virginia face losing their public schools, Gov. Patrick Morrisey stressed that addressing public school funding issues will be front and center in the next legislative session. 

State education officials said eight to 20 schools face closure or consolidation in the next year. This comes after the West Virginia Department of Education approved the closure or consolidation of 20 public schools last year. 

There are also legal challenges to the state’s current school funding formula, calling it inadequate. One of those challenges is headed to the state Supreme Court. 

West Virginia’s school funding formula relies heavily on student headcount, so the state’s shrinking population has considerably impacted county budgets. The growing number of special education students has also put a strain on school finances since districts are required to accommodate needs under federal and state law regardless of funding. 

“I will say that school aid issues and education issues will dominate the next legislative session. I think it’s very important,” Morrisey said Oct. 28 at a press conference in response to a question from West Virginia Watch. 

The governor noted that public education is crucial to improving the state’s low workforce participation, which he sees as West Virginia’s top issue.

Morrisey, Senate and House education chairs, and the state school board will bring ideas to the table for potential changes. Reaching a consensus on possible changes — and what they’re willing to spend — then getting it through the full Legislature will be a process.

Morrisey spoke with State Schools Superintendent Michele Blatt, he said, after she publicly shared the state school board’s proposed school funding changes they’d like to see in 2027 legislation.

West Virginia uses a seven-step formula to determine how much state funding goes to county school systems based on factors including the number of students enrolled.

The state school board wants to restructure the school funding formula to address declining enrollment along with monetary needs in special education, high poverty areas, rural schools and more. 

“We’re trying to digest that, and we’ve been doing a lot of work internally, and we’re having conversations,” Morrisey said.

The state school board hasn’t released a total cost for its school funding proposal; their special education reform piece alone would cost $190 million.

Multi-million dollar price tags attached to proposed school funding formula legislation were a sticking point for lawmakers earlier this year, who ultimately declined to make any changes to the funding formula. A bill in the House of Delegates updating the funding formula would have cost $214 million.

West Virginia is near the national average in terms of per pupil spending, and the Morrisey administration has already cautioned that putting more money into the school system may not be the answer.

Lawmakers allocated around $2.4 billion for public education in the fiscal year 2027 budget.

“I don’t think we have a spending problem in West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “I think a lot of it depends upon how the monies are spent, and so we’re going to be looking closely at that and continuing to engage with legislators because we have to do this the right way.”

Morrisey, who has made government efficiency and rightsizing a hallmark of his tenure, will likely apply the same mentality as he looks to make changes in West Virginia’s struggling public school system. 

“We’re certainly looking closely at the budget because we have to do something that’s affordable for our citizens,” the governor told reporters. “There will be some additional resources that weren’t in the past that we’ve already been taking steps to do, but in terms of the overall proposal, we have to make sure that it’s meeting the needs of West Virginia citizens and that it has to be responsible.”

Morrisey noted that lawmakers earlier this year focused on the Hope Scholarship, the state’s education voucher program. Lawmarks debated potential changes to the program before they signed off on nearly $300 million in funding for it without any major modifications.  

The 2027 legislative session will begin in January.