W.Va. lawmakers say update to Education Funding Formula a priority
Feb. 11—FAIRMONT — After years begging the legislature to rework the state funding formula for public education, the Marion County Board of Education is finally getting what it wants.
Sort of.
"I think the direction that's being discussed is potentially doing a comprehensive study of the formula this year," State Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-13, said. "Maybe not necessarily making changes this legislative session, but focusing on that formula, how things are evolving, and if it makes sense, to do a new formula."
The Marion County Board of Education sent a letter to members of the West Virginia Legislature and Marion County Delegation on Jan. 22. Among the seven topics chosen by the Board for discussion was the school funding formula. Oliverio said discussion of the funding formula has grown over the last two years from both the public and other legislators.
"The outdated formula for calculating funding for positions no longer reflects the complexities of modern education," the letter reads. "Marion County has proactively addressed staffing needs, but systemic updates are necessary to ensure equitable distribution of resources statewide. Revising the formula will allow schools to better support teachers in integrating technology, managing diverse student needs and maintaining operational efficiency."
State Sen. Amy Grady, R-04, brought up the subject at the Legislative Lookahead hosted by the West Virginia Press Association on Feb. 7. Grady is chair of the Senate Education Committee. Her comments followed House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-62, who said the funding formula hasn't evolved with time to reflect the current state of education in West Virginia.
Grady said she was shocked there has never been a study done on the effectiveness of the school funding formula. She said it hasn't seen much change since the '90s and the needs of schools today are vastly different today.
"We have a lot more mental health issues," Grady said. "We have a lot of low [supplemental education services] students. We have a lot more students with [individualized education plans] and those aren't addressed in our state formula right now. We also have some positions within our school systems that are required by law, but they also are not included in our state aid formula."
Updating the state funding formula won't be easy due to the complexity built into the equation, changing one element of the formula can have a domino effect on the rest of it. Grady added the formula isn't transparent and can be a challenge to understand.
The last thing Grady wants to do is take a trial and error approach to the formula, and prefers something that works out of the box rather than having to revise it multiple times.
"I think we need an outside agency or an outside firm to come in and give us a study to give us some data driven evidence to show what we need to change," Grady said. "Is it effective? Are we getting the outcomes that we expect based on the way we are funding our schools?"
Oliverio said changes to the formula most likely won't come this year. Instead, legislators will assess the results of any study and figure out what to do in future legislative sessions.
The funding formula isn't the only thing Marion County Schools will watch in this year's session. The funding transfer from public schools to privatized education, accountability for where HOPE Scholarship money goes, addressing chronic learning loss caused by the pandemic and chronic absenteeism and truancy.
The Board of Education also urged the legislature to stabilize the Public Employee Insurance Agency, which provides health insurance to school employees. The school board also called for more support to Career Technical Education.
"As more and more jobs require certificates and completion of programs at CTE, I think we should invest more and more in those types of facilities," Oliverio said. "I think their requests there are very consistent with what I've seen other states do in my travel around the country."
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
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