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Decades after former Ohio County Circuit Judge Arthur Recht’s ruling sparked what was meant to be a fair state school funding formula, the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia is bringing the matter back into the courts.
It’s possible that 44 years ago those who developed a partially enrollment-based funding formula could not have foreseen the hemorrhaging of population that has taken place over the past generation or so. But certainly today’s elected officials are (and have been) well aware. They have simply chosen to ignore it, on many fronts.
In the case of providing an adequate, thorough, efficient school system that meets the needs of ALL students, they have chosen not only to ignore the enrollment/population decline, but in some ways to contribute to it.
It makes sense then that ACLU-WV intends to file a class action lawsuit against the legislature, several state elected officials, the Department of Education, state Board of Education members and Lincoln County Board of Education for what they say is neglect of duty to meet the requirements laid out in the state constitution.
Enrollment data shows there was a 15.32% decrease in the number of students in fall 2015 to fall 2025. By the end of this past school year, there had been another loss of approximately 5,000 students.
Nearly nonexistent guardrails for use of Hope Scholarship money has a little to do with that. Failure of politicians to show they care even the slightest about improving opportunities and quality of life in West Virginia has dealt an even greater blow.
"I am not really surprised by their filing of the notice," said state Board of Education President Paul Hardesty. "This is my fourth term as president of the West Virginia Board of Education. I have repeatedly asked for help with the current outdated school aid funding formula. To date, I have received none.”
While Hardesty - and many others - have been asking, a RAND Corporation study commissioned by lawmakers (released BEFORE the start of the 2026 legislative session, though few of them behaved as though they had seen it) said the state school aid formula fails to adequately account for higher costs associated with low-income students (of which there are more in West Virginia than nearly any other state) and those with disabilities.
Perhaps it will take another lawsuit and another ruling to force those in a position to fully support education for ALL students to take action. Goodness knows how many students - how much potential - has slipped through the cracks during all these years they have failed to do so.