West Virginia school boards drawing criticism over ‘old, antiquated model’ of decision-making

An increasing number of school boards in West Virginia “are not fulfilling their [constitutional] responsibility” to provide a free and effective public education, according to a recent news commentary.

“Too often school boards are not making the difficult decisions that are often unpopular but necessary,” writes Dave Wilson for WVRC Media, referencing a MetroNews Talkline interview with State School Board President Paul Hardesty.

Wilson cites multiple districts where the state has been “compelled to intervene” after numerous scandals at the school board level:

• Nicholas County Schools, where the former superintendent hired his grandson, a registered sex offender, to work in the district 
• Roane County Schools, which requested an advance on state funds to cover expenses for the second time within four months 
• Boone County Schools, where both the superintendent and assistant superintendent were told to leave after the state’s board of education found “a multitude of issues” districtwide
• Tyler County Schools, after the board voted twice not to renew the superintendent’s contract “without any public discussion or explanation” 
• Mingo and Logan County Schools, which have been placed under state board control 

 “The old, antiquated model is not working, but yet, no one’s got the guts to try to fix it,” Hardesty said of the current school-board system. 

‘There becomes a day of reckoning’ 

Such issues have drawn national scrutiny as public schools nationwide face growing challenges over teacher shortages, dwindling test scores and discipline issues, according to Wilson. 

As public-school enrollment declines, government funding has also fallen – yet education officials refuse to adjust policies accordingly, Hardesty argues. 

“The problem is they [board of education] won’t make the necessary cuts at the board’s office to operate in balanced budgets,” he said. “And what they do is slowly erode the carryovers that they carried over from times past. And then there becomes a day of reckoning.” 

Part of the issues with school boards stem from a lack of competitive elections, some analysts argue. 

As previously reported by The Lion, about half of school board races across 16 states went uncontested, meaning voters had little influence over those in charge of their districts. 

“Contestation and competition play a critical role in retrospective voting,” researchers from Brown University’s Annenberg Institute wrote, “as the threat of losing elected office is thought to be the primary incentive for elected officials to be faithful to the interests and preferences of their constituents.”