Declining Enrollment Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Board Of Education Approves More School Closures

School consolidations and closures continue to be the leading issue facing West Virginia education as the West Virginia Board of Education approved the closure of six more schools in four counties at their monthly meeting Wednesday.

Educational leaders from Clay, Preston, Wetzel and Wood counties all told the board declining enrollment, shrinking budgets and aging buildings are contributing factors that require closure and consolidation. A release from the West Virginia Department of Education stated that declining enrollment has led to 25 proposed or approved school closures this year.

The action comes just a month after the board approved the closure of six schools in Kanawha County.

In Preston County, the closure of Fellowsville Elementary School and its merger into South Preston School was approved, as well as the closure of Rowlesburg School and its merger into Aurora School.

In Wetzel County the consolidation of Hundred High School into Valley High School was approved, as well as the consolidation of Paden City High School into Magnolia High School and New Martinsville School.

Much of the public comment at the start of the meeting was directed at the closures in Wetzel County. Paden City High School has been the source of controversy since a court blocked its emergency closure earlier this year.

Like many speakers at meetings before, Charles Goff, mayor of Hundred, West Virginia said the effects of school closures goes far beyond the academic.

“The importance of Hundred High School can’t be summed up in two minutes,” he said. “In fact, most towns die after a closure of a high school. They lose incorporated status, losing elected officials in town, and it leads to fire departments closing and town charters being revoked.”

In Wood County the closure of Fairplain Elementary School and merger into Martin Elementary School; and the closure of Van Devender Middle School and its merger into Jackson Middle School and Hamilton Middle School were approved.

The closure of Clay County Middle School and consolidation into Clay Elementary School, Big Otter Elementary School and Clay County High School was approved, contingent upon West Virginia School Building Authority (SBA) funding for an addition to the high school.

Phillip Dobbins, superintendent of Clay County Schools, told the board the county has lost almost a third of its enrolled students in less than 10 years.

“Our projections show the grim reality that our enrollment will continue to decline,” he said. “Next year’s numbers project our total enrollment to be at 1375 total students, that’s down from 1,999 in 2016.”

He said the consolidation of Clay Middle School into existing county schools will save $500,000 in operational costs.

Victor Gabriel, board vice president, asked Dobbins to quantify the financial loss such a decline represents.

“According to our treasurer, state aid formula’s about $7,500 per student,” Dobbins said. “So, do the math, it’s several million dollars that we’re down.”

Gabriel went on to urge the legislature to revise the funding formula for West Virginia’s schools.

“It hasn’t been done for years and years and years,” he said. “As a former educator, I saw this evolve. We just don’t have the money, people. And it’s getting worse. Every time we lose students, we lose dollars. It all equates to dollars. And I mean, I don’t know how you resolve that.”

Gabriel said that counties still have to pay staff and to maintain buildings with ever-dwindling funding. He said student enrollment across the state is down 4,000 from last year, representing close to $30 million in lost funding for local schools.

WVU Enrollment Further Declines During Fall Semester

The West Virginia University system saw a decline of more than 2,000 students, or roughly 7 percent of its student population, between fall 2023 and fall 2024.

Colleges nationwide are struggling with declining enrollment, and West Virginia’s flagship higher education institution is no exception.

Between its Beckley, Keyser and Morgantown campuses, West Virginia University’s student population declined by roughly 7 percent between the fall 2023 and fall 2024 semesters.

That is a decline of more than 2,000 students, with the university system’s current enrollment now sitting at 24,788, WVU Vice Provost Mark Gavin announced Monday during a meeting of the WVU Faculty Senate.

WVU received national attention last year for sweeping program cuts that aimed to address budgetary issues, partially caused by declining enrollment.

Gavin said national trends — including difficulties surrounding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known more commonly as FAFSA — played a part in declining numbers this year.

“Certainly FAFSA didn’t do anybody any favors,” he said.

Gavin said university administrators are developing new strategies to bolster numbers, including an easier transfer process for students at community or technical colleges.

“We recognize that we had a drop in first-time freshmen relative to our projected budget,” he said. “We are actively developing strategies to counter that.”

More School Closures Approved By State Board Of Education

At their monthly meeting Wednesday morning, the state Board of Education approved the closure of six Kanawha County schools at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

They join close to a dozen other schools that have been approved for closure and consolidation over the past year.

Several Kanawha County schools will be closed and consolidated at the end of this school year.

At their monthly meeting Wednesday morning, the state Board of Education approved the closure of six Kanawha County schools at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

Belle, Mary Ingles, Malden and Midland Trail elementary schools will be consolidated into a new Eastern Kanawha Elementary Center. East Bank Middle School will be merged into DuPont Middle School, while McKinley Middle School will merge into Hayes Middle School.

They join close to a dozen other schools that have been approved for closure and consolidation over the past year, including three other elementary schools in Kanawha County.

In recommending the closures, Kanawha County Schools cited declining enrollment of approximately 5,000 students over the past 11 years and the funding associated with those students.

Several community members spoke against the proposed closures at the start of the meeting, including two individuals who read letters from state senators Mike Stuart and Rupie Phillips, Republicans from Kanawha and Logan counties respectively.

Tresa Howell is a member-elect of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 52. She takes office on Dec. 1, 2024. Howell expressed concern for students being consolidated into larger schools, but also on the broader impact of losing a community asset with the school closures.

“The school was also noted as a public space for interaction,” Howell said. “You have recently closed the doors just this year on Marmette Elementary. So what do you think will happen in the upper Kanawha Valley? Will it be a destination for business growth in families or a ghost town?”

Some of the speakers addressed a school closure in Wood County that will come before the board next month.

Board member Paul Hardesty and others expressed a need to reform the state’s funding formula to avoid similar closures in the future.

“We are hemorrhaging population loss in public schools. It’s going to get worse,” he said. “I’m sorry I cannot provide you any comfort today, but I owe you the truth, and that’s what I want to try to do. I want to thank you all for coming and standing up for your community. That’s what you’re supposed to do. I wished I had a different outcome, a different answer, but I don’t. All I have is the code of West Virginia to go by. And right now, the funding formula for public education is severely flawed.”

According to the filings for school closure approval, Kanawha County’s total population has decreased by more than 16,000 over the past decade.

But board member Debra Sullivan also pointed towards students and funding being diverted away from public schools in the state to charter schools and Hope Scholarship.

“There’s a lot going on that is decimating – and, you know, I’m just gonna put it out there – decimating public schools,” she said. “You would probably have maybe different ideas, maybe you’d suggest building two schools instead of one consolidated if you had money. So money is the prime motivator, and it’s very gut wrenching to see our schools have to close in the state.”

Later in the meeting, state superintendent Michele Blatt presented the 2024 certified count for public schools. The numbers represent the official enrollment for West Virginia public schools, as well as employee and facilities counts.

“We have 241,024 students, and that’s down 4,023 from last school year. 23,320 professional staff,” she said.

The superintendent stated that there are 629 public schools in West Virginia, and that Micah Whitlow, director of the Office of School Facilities, has already closed eight schools since last year.

“If the trajectory continues in the work that Michah Whitlow has been doing with our counties, we’re looking at a possible 26 school closures for this school year due to the enrollment and the funding that we’re facing,” Blatt said.

Blatt also stated that Hope Scholarship usage has grown to 10,174, which she estimated to be a doubling from last year.

Homeschooling Policy Review Posed By State Board Of Education Members

Last month West Virginia Board of Education members learned the state has not received state-required assessments from many homeschooling families. Barely a third of the state’s homeschooled 11th graders submitted the paperwork last year. Assessments are required in 3rd, 5th, 8th and 11th grades.

At the board’s October meeting held Wednesday, board member Debra Sullivan called on the board and the state Department of Education (WVDE) to reevaluate the requirements in state policy regarding homeschool students.

Sullivan cited recent news stories involving the abuse of homeschooled children, as well as those low assessment numbers in her statement.

“These are our West Virginia children, so I would ask that we have a deep dive into what’s going on with them,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking when you hear news stories as recently as today about ways in which children are not being kept in safe environments.”

It is estimated there are around 24,000 students being homeschooled in West Virginia. Sullivan was joined in her call for a review by fellow board member Robert Dunlevy.

“That’s something we really should look into,” he said. “I know from a couple children in the area that are in homeschooling, and I’ve talked about this several times, they’re not being tested at all, and these children are out running around. They’re not being educated, and I think it’s our responsibility to see we can do something about that.”

School Closures

The board also approved a statewide waiver of Policy 6204 which sets the requirements for county boards of education to close or consolidate schools. The waiver will allow counties to complete the required procedures for closing a school on or before Feb. 28 of the calendar year in which the closures or consolidations are to be effective. The deadline to complete the procedures was previously set at Dec. 31 of the year prior to the effective closure.

The application for the waiver from Greenbrier County Schools states the additional time is needed due to “decreases and uncertainties in student enrolment, personnel shortages, and limited school finances” but that counties are still otherwise required to complete the procedures laid out in the policy.

Sullivan called school closures “the most heartbreaking things” the board has to deal with. She cited analysis from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy that shows 53 of the state’s 55 counties experienced enrollment loss between the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 school years.

“Of course, that affects state funding,” Sullivan said. “And in eight of those counties, in eight of the 53, the number of students not already receiving Hope Scholarships exceeded the enrollment decline. Meaning that if we didn’t have this voucher program, the county would not be having a negative enrollment. I thought that was fascinating.“

She went on to cite the analysis’ finding that 52 percent of enrollment decline across the state was attributable to the Hope Scholarship, and concluded by asking what the WVDE and the board are doing to help “stop the bleed.”

District Approval Status and Accreditation

The board also approved the 2024 District Approval Status and Accreditation Report. The report provides a review of each district’s operational efficiency (e.g., Finance, Facilities, Special Education), as well as its performance on the West Virginia Balanced Scorecard Indicators of Academic Performance and Student Success (e.g., English language arts [ELA] and Mathematics Achievement and Progress, Attendance, Behavior).

“Indicators that do not meet the standard for one year, are designated on watch,” explained Alexandra Criner, director of the WVDE Office of Accountability. “If any indicator does not meet the standard and does not improve for two consecutive years, it is reported as support. If an indicator does not meet standard and does not make improvement for three consecutive years, the county is designated intensive support for that indicator, additional intervention or possible non approval status is possible based on county willingness and capacity to implement improvements and to make changes to support students.”

For attendance, 91 percent of districts designated as “on watch” in 2023 showed a reduction in chronic absenteeism. Additionally, 100 percent of districts that were designated as “support” showed a reduction in chronic absenteeism.

For English language arts (ELA), 100 percent of counties designated as “on watch” for ELA Achievement last year made gains. No counties were designated in the more intensive categories for ELA Achievement or ELA Progress.

For math, 65 percent of districts designated as “on watch” for math achievement in 2023 made increases. Also, 33 percent of districts identified as “on watch” improved in Math Progress.

Communities In Schools Celebration

Gov. Jim Justice and First Lady Cathy Justice were also in attendance to provide the board with an update on the Communities In Schools (CIS) program in West Virginia.

“The program is thriving,” Cathy said. “It’s going well, and the people are so proud of it and want it to continue.”

CIS has expanded to all 55 counties, reaching 117,000 students through the work of 298 site coordinators in 285 schools. As a result, 99 percent of students served have stayed in school with a significant number of them showing improved behavior, academic performance and attendance.

“Really, when we get right down to the nitty gritty, is there a program that we have in education anywhere that works any better than this?” the governor said. “We should be really proud, really, really proud, because what you’re doing is not only are you impacting and changing a child’s life and you are, but often times that child is a deterrent to lots of other children in the school and and so all of a sudden, what you’ve done now is you really, really changed all kinds of lives.”

Vulnerable student populations often need assistance extending beyond what schools or any single organization can provide. The site coordinators bring together local resources to meet the unique needs of the child and reinforce support through consistent and sustained engagement. This allows the child and family to focus on school success.

Lawmakers Learn WVU Budget Overhaul Highlights Economy-Driven Education

The school’s planned academic department cuts and reorganizations are focused on increasing enrollment demand and building a state-wide workforce economy.

West Virginia University Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop told members of the Joint Standing Committee on Finance Monday the school’s planned academic department cuts and reorganizations are focused on increasing enrollment demand and building a state-wide workforce economy.

“We’re going to stop doing a few things, and we have to trim some of our majors,” Alsop said. “We’re doing so with a plan to not only balance our budget, but to allow us to invest in the programs that are going to remain and invest in the programs that are necessary for the growth of West Virginia’s economy.”

The university proposes eliminating several dozen academic programs affecting hundreds of students to address a $45 million budget shortfall.

“We’re still going to offer over 300 majors in Morgantown,” Alsop said. “We’re going to continue to have significant Liberal Arts offerings and our students will have the opportunity for a well rounded education.”

Alsop said the school will key many current and future investments to its technological and industrial programs, all in an effort to grow West Virginia’s economy and workforce.

“If we don’t increase market share, and have programs that are relevant and driving enrollment, we could lose another 5,000 students over the next decade,” Alsop said. “We’re trying to position ourselves so that that does not happen.”

Alsop said seniors and juniors losing programs in liberal arts, humanities and others will be “taught out” in those courses. He said freshmen and sophomores can take another academic path or transfer to another institution.

He said dropping another 5,000 students would mean $72.5 million dollars in revenue loss.

“So we have to be attuned to the needs of our students,” Alsop said. “And what’s driving enrollment. As we work through this transition, I want you to know this transformation for our students is our priority.”

Alsip noted that WVU Medicine, made up of the WVU hospitals in Morgantown, and the WVU Health System has increased from 5 to 25 state-wide members over the past ten years.

“And so when we talk about a robust set of offerings for our students, I mentioned nursing, pharmacy medicine, occupational physical therapy and on down the line,” Alsop said. ”Not only do those kids have all of those academic programs to get at WVU, they now have an affiliated academic health system, where they can go anywhere they want to in the state and serve as part of the WVU network.”

The WVU Board of Governors will vote on the recommended cuts Sept. 15.

Fall 2020 Saw Lowest College, Vocational-Technical School Enrollment In 20 Years For W.Va.

Less than half of West Virginia’s 2020 public high school seniors enrolled in higher education this past fall. That includes traditional four-year institutions, two-year institutions, and vocational and technical schools.

According to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, only 48.2 percent of high school seniors who graduated in 2020 pursued some higher education in the fall.

That marks the lowest college-going rate for recent high school graduates in the state since 2000. The commission’s chancellor, Sarah Armstrong Tucker, said the coronavirus pandemic played a role in that decline, but said it’s not clear if it’s the main culprit.

“We anticipated, as did the rest of the country, that we would have fewer students going to college this year, because of concerns about exposure to COVID,” Tucker said.

It is a low point for West Virginia, but it’s also not a sharp decline.

The college-going rate in West Virginia has hovered around or just above 50 percent for several years, Tucker noted. She said the biggest problem has been ensuring students understand that going to college, whether the traditional way or a community and technical college, is doable and important for student futures.

“So, that’s what we’ve been working on,” she said. “Trying to find ways to make sure that our students know that going to college is a possibility. And not just a possibility, but an affordable possibility.”

Tucker said certain groups, in particular, do not enroll as often as others. For example, higher income students in West Virginia enroll in college 25 percent more than lower income students — and more women enroll in higher education than men, by about 20 percent.

“There’s a population of 60 percent of males out there that don’t know what we do and don’t understand how well we do it,” she said. “And so we really need to start targeting them and getting them into school.”

Tucker said all students can get affordable college degrees in West Virginia. The state offers several financial aid opportunities such as the PROMISE Scholarship and the West Virginia Invests Grant.

Ahead of the 2021 state legislative session, higher education officials reported that submissions of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in the state were down by 25 percent.

As of April 23, the West Virginia HEPC reported that 49.4 percent of 2021 high school seniors have completed the FAFSA.

The deadline to submit FAFSA applications was extended in the state to July 1.