Special Education Need Exceeds Funding

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West Virginia has a school-finance problem, and it appears deeper than many first understood.

A State Department of Education analysis indicates the cost of serving special education students exceeded the revenue available to fund those services by $224 million in fiscal year 2025. Total expenditures related to special education totaled more than $584 million while available revenue to fund those needs equaled only $360 million.

Late Wednesday into early Thursday morning, lawmakers were hit with a flood of outreach from county school superintendents — all 55 counties, in fact. Ahead of a House Finance budget hearing with State Superintendent Michele Blatt, each county superintendent forwarded a simple, one-page document to their respective lawmakers that included four bullet points:

• Number of special education students in the county
• Total revenue allocated (fed and state) for special education
• Total special education expenditures
• Total revenue minus expenditures

That last bullet was bolded and in red. And in almost every county, it was a negative number — a deficit.

The gaps ranged from losses of a few million dollars to tens of millions. Berkeley County, according to an analysis from the State Office of School Finance obtained by MetroNews, posted the largest deficit: more than $38 million — and that’s just for fiscal year 2025.

NEWS from BRAD McELHINNY: Superintendent focuses on funding based on student enrollment, special education costs

West Virginia’s education system serves 49,402 special education students. That classification is determined under federal law — the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Note: a disability alone does not automatically mean a student is classified as a special education student.

Only six counties reported positive line-item balances, meaning special education revenues exceeded or balanced with expenses: Braxton, Calhoun, Gilmer, Monroe, Webster, and Wirt. Four of those counties — Calhoun, Gilmer, Webster and Wirt — receive additional state dollars because enrollment falls short of the much-discussed 1,400-student marker.

So how are counties covering the gap? A few ways.

Some counties have healthy unrestricted fund balances, giving them the ability to make up the difference. But that comes at a cost… it dilutes reserves that might otherwise be used for capital projects or unexpected expenses — essentially tapping the savings meant to protect a system’s fiscal stability. Building those balances back with such high outflows seems improbable if not impossible.

Most counties don’t have significant unrestricted funds. Many also lack an excess levy and are contending with low balances. Those counties cover the gap by diverting money and services from outside special education to meet federal compliance standards. That becomes a zero-sum game — taking from one student to meet the needs of another.

Failing to meet compliance standards risks the loss of federal dollars, which would only widen the chasm.

The need to revise the school-aid formula is well known and generally agreed upon. Generations have come and gone since it was meaningfully reviewed and revised to match modern realities.

Can efficiencies narrow the gap? Maybe, and that exercise is worth undertaking. But it’s doubtful efficiencies alone eliminate the imbalance.

Zig Ziglar once said, “The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist.” Good advice.

This situation is a problem. Hope Scholarship or no Hope Scholarship, this is a problem. Pro school choice or not, this is a problem. It’s not about pitting one versus the other as is popular among some at the Capitol. It’s about what should be easy to agree on: doing both public education and school choice well.

Many legislators who received one-pagers Thursday say the information surprised them. That surprise should spur action. It’s time to tackle the school-aid formula and address the special education funding gap that clearly exists.

All children deserve our best efforts. Some children need more support, and we owe that to them. West Virginia must ensure our school systems have the resources to meet that challenge. If we deny our kids that now, we’ll pay even more when they become adults.