×

W.Va. House Democratic caucus, candidates call for public education special session

Several Democratic  lawmakers and statehouse candidates, including, from left, Kim Hundley, Deputy Minority Leader Evan Hansen, House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, and Del. Mike Pushkin, called for a special session for public education during a press conference in Charleston Thursday. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)

CHARLESTON — Heeding the concerns raised last week by West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty, members of the House Democratic caucus and several Democratic candidates for statehouse seats called for a special session focused on public education reform.

Speaking in front of Piedmont Elementary School on Charleston’s East End Thursday, House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, was joined by Deputy Minority Leader Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia and delegates Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, and Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha.

The Democratic lawmakers called for Gov. Patrick Morrisey to call the Legislature into special session as soon as possible to address the state school aid formula, education regulatory reform, and to move resources to prevent additional closure of public schools this coming school year.

“We have officially, as House Democrats, requested a special session,” Hornbuckle said. “Again, we cannot wait. If we wait till the legislative session, there will be more schools that close. That’s going to be kids that are hurt, it’s going to be parents that are hurt, it’s going to be teachers that are hurt. Everyone’s going to be hurt.”

Last week, officials with the West Virginia Board of Education and Department of Education called for the help of the governor and the Legislature in addressing the school aid formula, which has not seen a full-scale overhaul in decades. Hardesty said the seven-step formula, which determines how much general revenue fund dollars go to the state’s 55 county school systems, was not keeping up with decades of declining enrollment and recent cost increases for educating special education students.

“The heat emergency is outside, but the state of West Virginia education is in a state of emergency,” Hornbuckle said. “Not only did we have schools that have already closed, we have just learned recently at this next school year we can have outwards of 20 schools to close their doors … We are, as a legislature and as a state, supposed to be providing for a thorough and efficient school education system, and we have failed to do so.”

Since the October headcount report was released, county school systems have seen an additional reduction of approximately 5,000 students as of the end of the 2025-26 school year. There were 234,957 students enrolled in the state’s 55 county school systems as of October 2025. The October headcount report is used by county school systems to develop budgets for the following school year and used to determine how much school aid formula money goes to counties.

State education officials said counties have already closed all the schools included in their 10-year Comprehensive Education Facilities Plans (CEFP) six years in, but an additional 10-20 schools could be closed over the next two years due to declining enrollments and cost-cutting measures.

According to the department, special education numbers increased as a percentage of the total student population from 20% to more than 25% over a 10-year period, creating a $224 million deficit in special education funding.

The House Democratic lawmakers were joined Thursday by Democratic candidates for the House of Delegates and state Senate who also work in the public school system. All three highlighted the challenges with closing schools, laying off teachers, and the need for special education funding.

“As someone who has spent two decades in the classroom, I feel that it is very important for our policymakers to truly understand the effects that funding has on our public school students and their daily experiences, from class size to course offerings, from transportation to getting school meals,” said Kim Hundley, a Kanawha County teacher and Democratic candidate in the 8th Senatorial District, which includes Roane and Clay counties and parts of Jackson, Putnam and Kanawha counties. Her Republican opponent is former Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler.

“One of the greatest challenges we were facing in special education today is supporting the growing number of students experiencing trauma and behavioral challenges,” said Mathew Anderson, a special education teacher and Democratic candidate in the 50th House District challenging fellow teacher and Del. Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette.

“Many schools do not have enough counselors, mental health professionals, or behavioral intervention specialists to meet the increasing needs of our students,” Anderson said. “Each year, we see more students experiencing high behavioral and emotional needs … Without adequate support, both students and teachers are placed in difficult situations. Proper funding for public education is needed to help our most vulnerable students every day.”

Kat Weiland, a special education teacher and Democratic candidates in the 17th House District straddling Mason and Jackson counties challenging Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, talked about being hired in the Mason County school system in 2023 and being caught up in an reduction in force (RIF).

“I actually started looking at certification in Ohio. Because we live in Mason County, I could have popped over to Ohio if we needed to,” Weiland said. “Thankfully, I did find a job further down at Point Pleasant Heights, but there were others who were not as lucky. And there are students every day who are missing out on extraordinary educators because of this school aid formula that has not been fixed.”

The House Democratic Caucus wants lawmakers to consider three bills that were offered during the recent legislative session that wrapped up in May. House Bill 5453, as originally drafted, would have made changes to the school aid formula to direct more funding to special needs programs and staff.

“When we had that bill in the education committee, I stated then that this is the most important piece of legislation we’re going to work on this year,” said Pushkin, a member of the House Education Committee and chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party.

“But as it made its way to the floor through the finance committee and then onto the floor, it became weaker and weaker … the final version of the bill would not have kept us out of the crisis that we’re in right now,” Pushkin continued. “That’s why we’re calling … to take up the original introduced version of House Bill 5453.”

House Bill 5362 would place guardrails on the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program by placing a cap on income eligibility of families, require funds be used for in-state private schools, and focus the spending on academics instead of extra-curriculars. House Bill 5239 would raise the minimum starting salaries for teachers.

Caucus members said they did not oppose school choice options. But they said lawmakers must not focus on school choice while ignoring issues in the public school system which the Legislature has a state constitutional mandate to ensure is “thorough and efficient.” For example, the Legislature budgeted $297 million for the Hope Scholarship, fully funding it for fiscal year 2027 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2028.

According to the state Department of Revenue, the state’s general revenue budget ended fiscal year 2026 Tuesday with $5.693 billion in tax collections, 6.6% more than the $5.323 billion revenue estimate set by the department. End-of-fiscal-year collections provided the state $370 million in surplus collections. Once the state pays for one-time items included in the back of the new fiscal year 2027 budget, the state will have $125 million in unappropriated surplus.

“It’s a matter of priorities. It’s not whether we can or cannot afford it. It’s what we’re doing with the money,” Lewis said. “We have the money. We have the resources. This is a matter of will and priorities.”

Starting at $3.70/week.

Subscribe Today