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School Funding Reform Must Include School Utilization · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: West Virginia lawmakers are preparing to take another look at
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  Speaker 1: how we fund public education. State education officials say the
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: current funding formula is inadequate. But as that conversation gets underway,
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  Speaker 1: there's another issue lawmakers cannot afford to ignore. We have
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  Speaker 1: too many school buildings operating far below capacity. A new
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  Speaker 1: report from Americans for Prosperity West Virginia puts the average
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  Speaker 1: school building utilization rate at roughly 55%. And here's what's interesting.
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  Speaker 1: State Board of Education President Paul Hardesty agrees there's a problem.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, he's been saying so for some time. Hardesty
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  Speaker 1: has repeatedly admonished local school boards for their unwillingness to
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  Speaker 1: make difficult financial decisions, including closing and consolidating schools. State
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  Speaker 1: School Financial Operations Officer Uriah Cummings has the data to
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  Speaker 1: back him up. He maintains a spreadsheet, and yes, I
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  Speaker 1: love a good spreadsheet, showing utilization rates for every county.
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  Speaker 1: The numbers are troubling. Berkeley County has the highest utilization
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  Speaker 1: rate at just over 80%. No problem there. Calhoun County,
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  Speaker 1: just 29%, the lowest in the state. And Boone County,
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  Speaker 1: where the state recently approved additional school closures, is operating
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  Speaker 1: at roughly 44% capacity. Here's my point. Whatever our disagreements
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  Speaker 1: about public education, surely we can agree that operating school
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  Speaker 1: buildings substantially below capacity is not financially sustainable, especially when
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  Speaker 1: county school systems are struggling to pay their bills. Yes,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: consolidation means difficult decisions. Schools will close. Some students will
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: face longer bus rides. Those consequences deserve serious consideration, but
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  Speaker 1: so does the alternative situation. school systems facing financial insolvency
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  Speaker 1: while maintaining buildings they simply cannot afford. So here's the proposal,
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  Speaker 1: the common ground. As lawmakers debate changes to the school
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  Speaker 1: funding formula, they should also establish minimum utilization standards. Counties
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  Speaker 1: falling below those standards should be required to take corrective action.
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  Speaker 1: Full stop, no choice. Where should we draw the line?
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  Speaker 1: How about 60% as a starting point? According to state
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  Speaker 1: education data, 40 of West Virginia's 55 counties fall below
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  Speaker 1: that threshold. There should be some flexibility. Counties with excess
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  Speaker 1: levies could qualify for waivers if they can demonstrate the
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  Speaker 1: financial capacity to maintain those buildings. And perhaps individual school
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  Speaker 1: utilization rates would be a better measure than countywide averages.
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  Speaker 1: That's all worth debating. But doing nothing shouldn't be an option. Look,
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  Speaker 1: the school funding formula needs attention, particularly when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to the cost of special education and federal mandates. But
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  Speaker 1: pouring additional money into a system without addressing its inefficiencies
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  Speaker 1: isn't meaningful reform. And leaving those decisions entirely to local
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  Speaker 1: school boards clearly has not worked. Too often, political pressure
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  Speaker 1: prevents responsible financial decisions. In fact, some local school boards
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  Speaker 1: might welcome a little legislative cover. If we're serious about
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  Speaker 1: fixing school funding in West Virginia, improving school utilization rates
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  Speaker 1: must be part of the solution. It's encouraging that AFP
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  Speaker 1: West Virginia and the leadership of the state school board
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  Speaker 1: agree on this matter.