West Virginia is one of the few states that assign the responsibility for providing a free education to the state, at the state level, as part of its state constitution. In most states, schools are controlled by the county or municipality In West Virginia, while there are local school boards, a great deal of the decision making is made at the state level. So is most of the funding. The state budget for 2010 provided for about $2.5 billion in spending on primary and secondary school education. This represents approximately 15% of the state budget. In Jefferson County 83% of our property taxes go to funding our schools. This covers 55% of the cost of our schools, the state picks of 40% of the tab with 5% coming from Federal and miscellaneous sources.
Regarding the quality of education in West Virginia, there are many websites that will offer opinions and ratings about local schools and local school districts. One such website is localschooldirectory.com. According to statistics they have compiled from the National Department of Education, based on test scores, West Virginia ranks 43rd of 51 school systems in the US. With regard to reading and math proficiency as compared to the rest of the state, Jefferson County scores slightly higher.
With regard to per student expenditure as compared to the rest of the state, Jefferson County comes in slightly lower with regard to instructional spending. Total expenditure per pupil in Jefferson County is approximately 10% below the national average – which is not unexpected considering that the costs in most urban areas are considerably higher. It costs a lot more to operate schools in California and New York than it does here. However, the expenditure per pupil in Jefferson County is slightly lower than the average for the state of West Virginia. This I find puzzling – especially since we have to compete with neighboring counties (most of which are out of state) for teachers. One of the persistent complaints I hear is that we have been losing teachers because of this. In order to attract and keep our best teachers, we need to be able to offer competitive salaries.
Speaking of competition….one of the cornerstones of our American way of life is just that: competition. Businesses in the market place have to maintain their competitive edge or run the risk of going out of business. Public schools, however, do not have any competition – or so we all think. Public schools are a government owned monopoly. As a result, parents have three alternatives: accept the status quo, become a public school activist or vote with their feet. Voting with your feet, however, requires that there is somewhere to go. That’s where good fashioned American ingenuity comes in – along with the entrepreneurial spirit. The result: home schooling has flourished in Jefferson County as it has across the nation. An excellent resource with regard to homeschooling is the HSLDA.
There are some areas where West Virginia is distinguishing itself with regard to our schools. One example is technology: http://www.physorg.com/news66067542.html. Another area where our state is holding its own is with regard to school construction. The West Virginia School Building Authority was created in 1989. According to the 2009 state budget, over 80% of West Virginia’s students now attend facilities that are better than they were in 1990. Now if we could only get those test scores up…
I do not know why our schools appear to be underperforming, but we need to do better. Based on the numbers, it would appear that Jefferson County is fairly efficient from an operational standpoint, but academically the results speak for themselves. Perhaps our best students are opting out of the public schools and are pursuing alternatives. Perhaps the centralized approach is leading to a “one size fits all†that may not work on the local level. Most states have decentralized their school systems to allow for more local control. We do need more community involvement in our schools. One encouraging sign is that the governor has recognized this in his statement published in the 2009 annual budget. It appears that Charleston may be willing to allow more flexibility with regard to local control both operationally and fiscally. I would like to help make this happen.
Education is of the utmost importance to everyone. I have a college degree, a BA from the University of Chicago. And while I am proud of my degree, it is not the degree that matters as much as the value of the education itself. To be sure, there are smart, well educated and successful people that have not gone to college, but good schools, good teachers and a college education can increase the odds of our young peoples’ success in their pursuit of happiness and the American dream.
Elliot Simon
Schools
West Virginia is one of the few states that assign the responsibility for providing a free education to the state, at the state level, as part of its state constitution. In most states, schools are controlled by the county or municipality In West Virginia, while there are local school boards, a great deal of the decision making is made at the state level. So is most of the funding. The state budget for 2010 provided for about $2.5 billion in spending on primary and secondary school education. This represents approximately 15% of the state budget. In Jefferson County 83% of our property taxes go to funding our schools. This covers 55% of the cost of our schools, the state picks of 40% of the tab with 5% coming from Federal and miscellaneous sources.
Regarding the quality of education in West Virginia, there are many websites that will offer opinions and ratings about local schools and local school districts. One such website is localschooldirectory.com. According to statistics they have compiled from the National Department of Education, based on test scores, West Virginia ranks 43rd of 51 school systems in the US. With regard to reading and math proficiency as compared to the rest of the state, Jefferson County scores slightly higher.
With regard to per student expenditure as compared to the rest of the state, Jefferson County comes in slightly lower with regard to instructional spending. Total expenditure per pupil in Jefferson County is approximately 10% below the national average – which is not unexpected considering that the costs in most urban areas are considerably higher. It costs a lot more to operate schools in California and New York than it does here. However, the expenditure per pupil in Jefferson County is slightly lower than the average for the state of West Virginia. This I find puzzling – especially since we have to compete with neighboring counties (most of which are out of state) for teachers. One of the persistent complaints I hear is that we have been losing teachers because of this. In order to attract and keep our best teachers, we need to be able to offer competitive salaries.
Speaking of competition….one of the cornerstones of our American way of life is just that: competition. Businesses in the market place have to maintain their competitive edge or run the risk of going out of business. Public schools, however, do not have any competition – or so we all think. Public schools are a government owned monopoly. As a result, parents have three alternatives: accept the status quo, become a public school activist or vote with their feet. Voting with your feet, however, requires that there is somewhere to go. That’s where good fashioned American ingenuity comes in – along with the entrepreneurial spirit. The result: home schooling has flourished in Jefferson County as it has across the nation. An excellent resource with regard to homeschooling is the HSLDA.
There are some areas where West Virginia is distinguishing itself with regard to our schools. One example is technology: http://www.physorg.com/news66067542.html. Another area where our state is holding its own is with regard to school construction. The West Virginia School Building Authority was created in 1989. According to the 2009 state budget, over 80% of West Virginia’s students now attend facilities that are better than they were in 1990. Now if we could only get those test scores up…
I do not know why our schools appear to be underperforming, but we need to do better. Based on the numbers, it would appear that Jefferson County is fairly efficient from an operational standpoint, but academically the results speak for themselves. Perhaps our best students are opting out of the public schools and are pursuing alternatives. Perhaps the centralized approach is leading to a “one size fits all†that may not work on the local level. Most states have decentralized their school systems to allow for more local control. We do need more community involvement in our schools. One encouraging sign is that the governor has recognized this in his statement published in the 2009 annual budget. It appears that Charleston may be willing to allow more flexibility with regard to local control both operationally and fiscally. I would like to help make this happen.
Education is of the utmost importance to everyone. I have a college degree, a BA from the University of Chicago. And while I am proud of my degree, it is not the degree that matters as much as the value of the education itself. To be sure, there are smart, well educated and successful people that have not gone to college, but good schools, good teachers and a college education can increase the odds of our young peoples’ success in their pursuit of happiness and the American dream.