The House Finance Committee stripped $1.25 million in school safety funding, saying that counties have millions of dollars in excess funds to pay for things like weapon detection systems and secure front entries.
School leaders have told lawmakers that they don’t have $258 million needed for school safety upgrades.
While there’s been an uptick in school threats in West Virginia, a state education department report last year showed 272 schools still don’t have safe school entries — also known as mantraps — that include two interlocking doors and a control system.
“We’ve been blessed that we haven’t had an incident, but that doesn’t mean necessarily there won’t be,” said Mickey Blackwell, executive director of the Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals. “It’s very disappointing to think that at any time we would say we need less money for children’s safety.”
The House of Delegates and Senate have proposed millions of dollars in school safety funding in their respective budgets for fiscal year 2026, and the budget bills are currently in negotiations as the Legislature winds down in its final week.
The House Committee on Finance Monday morning removed an appropriation of $1.25 million in House Bill 3369 that was for school safety measures and to be used by the end of the current fiscal year, according to the original measure. The funding was requested by Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
Del. Clay Riley, vice chairman of the committee, said lawmakers heard testimony that the county school board have unencumbered assets of $784 million.
“Now, they need to keep some of that back for reserve, but I don’t think this modification … will impact the ability to provide safe schools. There’s money in the county, and therefore I’m going to support it,” said Riley, R-Harrison.
Del. Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, said counties keep asking lawmakers for additional funds instead of taking care of their safety upgrades.
“I wanted it to be noted that if you look, they’ve got some pretty healthy war chests in some of these counties that could be addressing some of these safety concerns,” he said. “I just want that to be known out there that this is something that needs to be addressed.”
School finances are in trouble due to the state’s declining population and students exiting public schools to use the state’s education voucher program, the Hope Scholarship. Counties’ financial contributions to schools — levies, taxes and more — haven’t been able to cover the bulk of safety needs.
The state school board declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Morrisey told West Virginia Watch, “Budget negotiations are ongoing and Gov. Morrisey is ready to work with the House and Senate to pass a balanced budget that funds his priorities and supports the needs of West Virginians.”
Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, said the number of school Reduction in Force notifications across the state show that counties don’t have excess funds.
“Many of our counties face financial difficulties,” he said. “There may be a few counties that have some money for that, but I would venture to say a large majority of our counties don’t have the funds to sustain … You can’t put a price on our student safety.”
Blackwell added, “I’ve never heard anyone say that, ‘We have extra money to waste on school safety.’ Most of our counties are working very hard to break even.”
The bill now only appropriates nearly $600,000 in a surplus fund that counties or charter schools could access should student enrollment exceed estimates.
Lawmakers are advancing other measures aimed at school safety, like House Bill 2164, sponsored by Statler, that would allow public and charter schools, along with private and religious schools, to employ school safety officers. The SSOs must be former law enforcement officers and may carry firearms; they could detain but not arrest a suspect, according to the legislation.
Some researchers have said that an investment in student support services, including counselors and social workers, is what will ultimately increase school safety. A measure, House Bill 3209, also sponsored by Statler, would require counties to employ at least one school counselor for every 250-300 students in elementary school and 400-450 students in high schools.
House Bill 2187, which would have allowed public school teachers to carry concealed firearms, remains parked in the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation was meant to bolster school safety.
This article originally appeared on West Virginia Watch.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
