WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2025 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 3394

By Delegates Pushkin and Kump

[Introduced March 17, 2025; referred to the Committee on Education then Finance]

A BILL amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §18-2L-1, §18-2L-2, and §18-2L-3, relating to creating the school aid formula study commission; providing legislative findings; and providing for the commission membership; allowing expense reimbursements; and requiring reporting to the Legislature of the commission’s findings.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2L. SCHOOL AID FORMULA STUDY COMMISSION §18-2L-1. School Aid Formula Study Commission.

This article shall be known as the "School Aid Formula Study Commission."

§18-2L-2. Legislative Findings.

The public schools in our state are an essential resource for West Virginians. Almost 90 percent of all children in this state attend our free public schools. The school aid formula was devised to assure that all students across all counties were entitled to a equal and free public school education. In recent years public education has faced severe challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, declining enrollment, and a divestment of funding and resources to private schools and home schooling. The loss of thousands of students from the public school system has reduced the available money to support our public schools forcing school closures, consolidations, program reductions and teacher and service personnel layoffs. As our state is predominately rural, as more schools close and programs are cut, the risk grows that the quality of the education will decline, and students will suffer.  Schools provide the essential service of educating our students and serve as major employers and contributors to the local economy. The adequate funding of our public schools is essential to assure our students receive a quality education. As long as West Virginia utilizes the current funding formula, there will be an incentive for school districts to reduce staffing and other variable costs or to close schools to reduce their fixed costs. Lawmakers and the public want to preserve community schools and address the evolving needs of students, therefor the funding formula must be modernized to reflect those priorities.

Therefore, a study shall be conducted by a special commission, designated the School Aid Formula Study Commission to study options for revising the state school aid formula and to report its recommendations to the Legislature to address what can be done to assure adequate and stable funding for our public schools so West Virginia can continue its constitutionally required duty to provide a free public school education.

§18-2L-3. Commission created; directed to undertake study; report to Legislature.

(a) The School Aid Formula Study Commission is hereby established and shall include the following members:

(1) Four current members of the state school board and the chairman of the board serving as chairman of the commission, with the participating school board members selected by the chairman;

(2) The remaining members of the commission shall be selected by the Governor:

(A) Two members with expertise in school funding and finance;

(B) One member representing state teachers;

(C) One member representing state school personnel;

(D) One member representing of county school boards from a predominantly urban school system;

(E) One member representing a county school board from a predominantly rural school system;

(F) One member representing county commissions;

(G) Two members representing parents of students currently enrolled in the state public school system;

(H) One member representing charter schools of the state; and

(I) One member representing the school building authority.

(b) The commission is directed to investigate all available options for public school funding, and to make specific recommendations on how to revise the school aid formula or recommend another approach to fund our schools. The commission shall evaluate all options on altering or reallocation of funding sources to preserve our public education system to assure that all West Virginia children receive a quality free education.

(c) The state board of education shall provide support staff and facilities to the commission.  The commission may call upon other officers, departments and agencies of state government to assist in its investigation. Upon the request of the commission, the Attorney General of the state shall render legal assistance if requested. Members of the commission’s expenses will be reimbursed by following the expense reimbursement guidelines for members of the Legislature.

(d) The commission shall provide regular updates to the Legislature, through the Joint Committee on Government and Finance, and shall complete this study and its recommendations by July 1, 2027. The report shall include at a minimum, recommendations for any necessary legislation, or any other actions necessary to implement the commission’s recommendations.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a School Aid Formula Study Commission to make recommendations to the Legislature regarding what can be done to modernize the current school funding system.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.