State Board of Education Challenges Morrisey’s Vaccine Order, Declares Two More States of Emergency 

Two more school districts have been placed under states of emergency by the state Board of Education. The board is also gearing up for a confrontation over vaccine requirements.

The West Virginia Board of Education voted to declare states of emergency in Boone and Randolph county schools at their regular meeting Wednesday. 

Boone County Schools will be placed under state control, the latest in a string of county school districts to require significant state intervention in recent months. Tyler and Nicholas county schools were also placed under state control in May.

Nine school districts have now been taken over by the state in the last three years.

A special circumstances review presented to the board by Alexandra Criner, director of the Office of Accountability for the West Virginia Department of Education, found the Boone county board of education was in noncompliance with state policies on finances, personnel and federal programs.

“The district did not have a Pcard and credit card use policy or an employee travel policy, and the purchasing and procurement policy that at the local level was inadequate to address the finances of a public school district,” she said.

Criner did note that the county was working with an outside vendor to update their policies and the policies were therefore in a transitionary period. But the report also points to broader mismanagement by the county board.

“Interview responses and review of documentation yielded several concerns with the county Board of Education members, including potential conflict of interest, outdated policies, potentially using Board of Education resources to maintain properties that are not owned by the board, and interference with the day to day operation of the school system central office,” Criner said.

Board member Paul Hardesty asked when he would be given the opportunity to ask someone from the Boone County administration about the report’s findings.

“Is someone from Boone here?” he asked. 

“I have not seen someone here today,” Criner replied. 

“Boone County Schools is facing this and no one from the county chose to show up here today?” Hardesty asked.

As part of the intervention, the board voted to vacate the positions of county superintendent and assistant superintendent effective Wednesday evening.

Randolph County

In the case of Randolph County Schools, the declaration establishes a six month period of targeted assistance from the state Department of Education as the result of the county board’s failure to approve a consolidation plan, address personnel overages and manage a projected budget shortfall in the face of declining enrollment.

Criner told the board that the county board of education declined to close at least one school with very low enrollment.

“In the fall of 2024 the superintendent of Randolph County Schools proposed a plan to close Harmon School, which is a K-12 school with an enrollment of 103 students, and Pickens School, which is a K-12 school with an enrollment of 29 students,” Criner said. “When the board voted against the closure of Harmon school in January, 2025 the superintendent withdrew his recommendation to close Pickens.”

The report also revealed that Randolph County Schools employs more staff than the state aid formula can pay for. 

“In April, the superintendent recommended significant staffing cuts and transfers,” Criner said. “While the board approved some of the superintendent’s recommendations, others were not approved.”

Earlier in the meeting Tamaya Browder, education policy fellow at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, addressed the board. She stated that Shawn Dilly, superintendent of Randolph County Schools, cited declining enrollment and the loss of pandemic-era relief funds as reasons for the school district’s major budget shortfall. Browder highlighted the role the Hope Scholarship has played in accelerating both issues.

“As some local board members have stated, if each of the more than 40 students that received the Hope Scholarship last year received the full award, that amounts to almost $200,000 in public funds that were diverted from Randolph County Public Schools, while more than $100,000 in public funds were diverted to private schools in Randolph County last year,” Browder said.

Browder held up Randolph County as a case study on the effects of unrestricted voucher programs and the unique problem it creates for rural school districts.

“This is a program funded through public funds, and as such, it is accountable to the public,” Browder said. “As I close, I would just like to ask the board to release the most up to date numbers of students lost to this voucher program.”

State lawmakers considered a bill to modify the state’s school funding formula to address the unique issues faced by what were called “extremely remote schools.” Randolph County Schools were used extensively as an example in those discussions, but the bill did not pass.

Vaccine Requirements

The board also voted unanimously to direct Superintendent Michele Blatt to advise schools to follow current vaccination guidelines without religious exemptions. 

This is the latest in an ongoing confrontation with Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who issued an executive order to allow religious and philosophical exemptions to the state’s school vaccination requirements as one of his first actions in office.

A bill to add exemptions to state code failed in the state legislature this year, but Morrisey has maintained his executive order is valid.  

Last month, at the governor’s request, Blatt had to rescind a memo stating that religious exemptions would not be allowed for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Other Business

The board also performed the annual evaluation of the state superintendent of schools. They found that Blatt’s performance has been “outstanding and continues to exceed expectations in every aspect.”

“The superintendent has demonstrated exemplary leadership, marked by strategic vision, operational excellence and a deep commitment to student success,” board president Nancy White said. “Under her guidance, many of our schools have made significant strides in academic achievement, equity and community engagement.”