Education: Population loss should be ringing alarms | News, Sports, Jobs

(Editorial – Graphic Illustration – MetroCreativeConnection)

Paul Hardesty hit the nail on the head last week regarding legislators who say they want to avoid school consolidations and/or see smaller schools for our students.

“Well, guess what… they have the ability to effectuate the change,” he said.

Hardesty is a state board of education member and legislative liaison. He is the previous state school board president and a former Democratic state senator from Logan County. His point was focused mostly on the money made available to county school systems.

“We are hemorrhaging population loss in public schools. “It’s going to get worse,” Hardesty said. “I wish I had a different outcome and a different answer, but I don’t. All I have is the code of West Virginia to go by. And right now, the funding formula for public education is severely flawed.”

Perhaps. But the larger point is that most of our state has been losing population at an alarming rate for many years. Rather than addressing that enormous problem, legislators have chosen to bury their heads in the sand. In fact, some seem bent on proposing bills and speaking in a way that speeds up the outward flow.

They are either incapable of or unwilling to focus on change that would encourage new families to come to the Mountain State and encourage others to stay. Some actively look for ways to distract from that work instead of seeking to diversify and expand our economy, improve access to affordable quality health care and, yes, improve public education.

If they are unwilling, surely they understand they must consider whether the school funding formula remains relevant.

It must be said, sometimes closure and consolidation are exactly the right thing for a county school system and its students. It is difficult, but emotional attachments to cherished community schools may have to be set aside in favor of better serving and educating our children.

Those changes must be made, however, with the knowledge that legislators are also working their hardest to make sure the school funding formula is fair and makes sense, AND aiming toward a West Virginia families who are already here and families looking for the right place to put down roots can be proud to call home.