CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A new report from the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy released Tuesday finds widespread financial mismanagement, safety violations, and academic underperformance across nine West Virginia school districts placed under state control between 2023 and 2025.
The 44-page analysis reviews Special Circumstance Reviews conducted by the West Virginia Department of Education and concludes the problems are systemic, not isolated. The report’s release coincides with legislative action to address a separate financial crisis in Hancock County Schools, which faces a reported $5 million cash deficit.
Although Hancock County was not included in the study, lawmakers moved quickly Monday to pass House Bills 45-74 and 45-75, creating an $8 million emergency fund for financially distressed school districts. The Senate is now considering the bills.
The report documents major financial violations, including a $3.4 million kickback scheme in Boone County and misuse of federal COVID relief and nutrition funds in Upshur County. Other districts faced recurring budget deficits while maintaining excess staffing despite declining enrollment.
According to the analysis, overall state education funding has risen from $3.45 billion in fiscal year 2017 to $4.39 billion in 2024, even as enrollment dropped by more than 30,000 students. The report argues the core issue is fiscal discipline rather than funding levels.
Academically, the report points to low statewide proficiency rates, with only 25% of fourth graders proficient in reading and 31% in math. By eighth grade, proficiency drops further. The report criticizes the state’s skills-based education standards and lack of vetted curriculum oversight.
Discipline failures were also identified, including schools that did not enforce mandatory expulsion policies for serious offenses. Governance issues ranged from excessive closed-door board meetings to political interference in consolidation decisions.
The report criticizes West Virginia’s statewide academic performance as “alarmingly low,” citing National Assessment of Educational Progress data showing only 25% of fourth graders are proficient in reading and 31% in mathematics. By eighth grade, proficiency drops to 21% in reading and 17% in math.
Students with disabilities in West Virginia rank near the bottom or last nationally in academic outcomes.
Tiffany Hoben, Director of Education Partnerships & Strategy at the Cardinal Institute and author of the report, argues the state’s “skills-based” education standards emphasize abstract competencies over concrete knowledge, resulting in instructional fragmentation.
“Students cannot analyze complex texts, historical events, or scientific concepts without first possessing the relevant background knowledge,” the report states. “Skills-based systems encourage fragmentation, with each teacher interpreting standards independently and selecting disconnected materials.”
Serious safety concerns were also cited. In Nicholas County, the superintendent hired a close relative who was a registered sex offender—a fact disclosed on the job application. Other districts employed uncertified staff or failed to follow required screening procedures.
According to the report, the individual began working before completion of the required background check. The superintendent later acknowledged deliberately avoiding the results, telling his assistant superintendent: “Something is going to come back on that background check. I don’t want to know what it is.”
The same district employed an individual in a teaching position since 2023 who never held a teaching certificate, failed to conduct background checks on teachers transferring from other counties, and approved parent volunteers with criminal backgrounds.
The Cardinal Institute recommends independent forensic audits, tighter staffing controls, a shift to knowledge-based academic standards, mandatory enforcement of discipline policies, and the creation of a state education fraud unit.
The report concludes that West Virginia’s school system faces a management and accountability crisis rather than a shortage of resources.
The full report is available on the Cardinal Institute’s website.
