HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. — West Virginia House Majority Leader Pat McGeehan (R-Brooke) says Hancock County Schools is in a fiscal crisis so severe that it may run out of money to pay its teachers and staff by late January or early February.
McGeehan posted a video on Facebook Jan. 3 where he he said he first learned of the district’s money troubles in a meeting with state and local education officials in September but said he has discovered how severe the issue really is after further research.
He says the district is projected to end the current fiscal year with a $5.3 million deficit, on top of a $2 million shortfall uncovered from the previous year. Combined, the district is facing an estimated $7.3 million deficit across two fiscal years.
West Virginia school fiscal years run from July 1 through June 30.
McGeehan says the district is facing a serious financial crisis caused by years of budgeting errors, staffing levels far above state funding formulas and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief money.
According to McGeehan, the prior year’s budget was reported locally as ending with a $1.6 million surplus, but a later review by the state and an independent CPA found the district actually closed the year in deficit.
“This problem didn’t happen overnight,” McGeehan said. “And it’s not a revenue issue. Tax collections and levy income are relatively strong.”
Instead, McGeehan pointed to what he described as severe budget mismanagement. Among the examples he cited:
• Child nutrition costs were budgeted at about $350,000 per year, but actual expenses ran closer to $1.2 million, creating an uncorrected shortfall of more than $800,000.
• An annual debt service payment of roughly $500,000 tied to facility upgrades was not included in budget planning for at least two fiscal years.
• The district is currently 43 positions over the state School Aid Formula, meaning staffing levels far exceed what state funding supports.
McGeehan said even after accounting for local levy revenue — estimated at $3.5 to $4 million annually — the additional staffing costs total about $10 million per year, creating a major structural imbalance.
He also said the district relied heavily on temporary federal COVID-19 relief funds, known as ESSER money, to fund personnel. Hancock County Schools received roughly $10 million in those funds and used them to support dozens of positions, including 43 jobs in fiscal year 2024 alone. Those funds are now gone.
When district officials alerted the state in early September that they may not be able to meet payroll, McGeehan said state education officials were caught off guard. Requests for emergency advances from the state were denied, he said, because the funding gap stems from local administration decisions rather than state funding shortfalls.
McGeehan said state law limits how quickly school systems can reduce staff or close schools, such as New Manchester Elementary School in New Cumberland, meaning immediate fixes are difficult mid-year.
In response, McGeehan said he is working on legislation for the upcoming session that would create a school emergency relief fund, but only under strict conditions.
Any district receiving emergency funding, he said, would be required to demonstrate maladministration, and changes in local governance would be mandatory before aid could be granted.
“Emergency funds cannot be handed back to the same people who presided over the crisis,” McGeehan said. “Accountability has to be part of any solution.”
McGeehan said his priority is ensuring employees are paid, schools remain open and students are not disrupted, while also protecting taxpayers and restoring public confidence.
“This is hard to hear,” he said. “But the first step is putting accurate information out there and fixing this the right way so it never happens again.”
