In the first article of this series, we introduced the nine West Virginia counties placed under state takeover between 2023 and 2025, revealing patterns of financial mismanagement, governance breakdown, and academic failure. Now we follow the money, examining how districts spent millions in federal and local funds while student outcomes remained abysmal. The evidence demolishes the claim that West Virginia schools lack resources. The problem is not insufficient funding. It is reckless spending, poor strategic forecasting, and financial decisions disconnected from student learning. 

Upshur County: A Textbook Case of Federal Fund Abuse

In Upshur County, investigators uncovered widespread misuse of federal ESSER funds, which were intended for closing the learning loss experienced post-COVID. The district spent over $34,000 of Title II funds on a teaching conference in Chicago, including costs for individuals not employed by the district. A purchase order was created for $34,000, but the district continued adding individuals after approval. The actual cost totaled $38,000.

Federal nutrition funds, strictly designated for meal programs, were improperly spent purchasing iPads and MacBooks. The district paid unauthorized summer wages to teachers and bonuses to the superintendent without board approval, and misrepresented the superintendent's total compensation in official disclosures.

The district treasurer, critical for financial oversight, was unlicensed and never applied for the required WVBE credential. The superintendent employed an immediate family member who lacked a bachelor's degree or teacher certification.

Despite these failures, Upshur County's graduation rate stands at 92%. despite only 41% of students being proficient in reading, 33% in math, and 26% in science. 

Boone County: When Fraud Becomes Systematic

Boone County's review uncovered egregious misuse of federal funds and ethical failures. A former maintenance director was indicted for orchestrating a $3.4 million kickback scheme through manipulated federal contracts. A sitting board member operated a private catering business from a school kitchen, storing food and supplies in county facilities without authorization, a clear conflict of interest.

County policies on procurement, P-cards, and use of public resources were either nonexistent or routinely ignored. Beyond financial crimes, Boone County recorded 27 Level 4 behavioral incidents, the most serious classification including weapons possession and assault, yet reported fewer than five expulsions.

Boone County's graduation rate is 93%, but only 43% of students read proficiently, 29% are proficient in math, and just 24% in science. 

Roane County: Overbuilding and Overstaffing Into Insolvency

Roane County revealed irresponsible staffing and facility decisions that ignored enrollment realities. Despite operating at 45% of building capacity, among the lowest in the state, the district proceeded with plans to construct a new elementary school.

The district employed 7.54 professional positions and 9.2 service positions over the state funding formula, costs that must be covered entirely by local funds. The district overspent $600,000 on special education due to improper budgeting and data inaccuracies.

Construction of Spencer Middle School went over budget, critically impacting the system's finances. Furniture purchases were encumbered against multiple federal programs without proper accounting. Some purchases appear to have been made without county board approval.

WVDE's review revealed a potential deficit of $2.5 million for Fiscal Year 2025 and $2.9 million for Fiscal Year 2026.

Roane County's graduation rate is 97%—one of the highest in the state—yet only 42% of students are proficient in reading, 30% in math, and 25% in science.

Randolph County: Refusing to Right-Size

Randolph County faced a projected $2.8 million budget deficit but declined to approve a school consolidation plan that would have addressed chronically under-enrolled facilities and generated substantial savings. The Board reversed previously approved personnel reductions intended to control spending.

On May 15, 2025, the Chief School Business Officer presented the $2.8 million shortfall. At the same meeting, the board voted to rescind earlier personnel actions, eliminating approximately $1.6 million in potential savings.

Board members frequently could not articulate rationales for their votes and appeared to operate without coherent fiscal strategy.

Randolph County's graduation rate is 95%, only 36% of students are proficient in reading, 21% in math, and 19% in science, among the lowest proficiency rates statewide.

The Statewide Reality: Spending Up, Enrollment Down, Outcomes Flat

Claims that West Virginia's public schools are underfunded do not withstand scrutiny. A recent WVDE audit indicates total K-12 spending increased from $3.45 billion in FY2017 to $4.39 billion in FY2024, nearly $1 billion more over seven years. During the same period, public school enrollment declined by more than 30,000 students.

The state is spending substantially more to educate significantly fewer students. This is not a funding crisis; it is a failure to prioritize. 

The infusion of approximately $1.2 billion in federal ESSER funds between 2020 and 2024 temporarily obscured long-standing inefficiencies. Districts were explicitly cautioned against using ESSER funds for recurring expenses such as permanent staff salaries. Many did so anyway, expanding payrolls with obligations extending beyond the funding's life.

As ESSER funding sunsets, districts face steep budget cliffs, not because funding was inadequate, but because temporary dollars supported permanent cost structures.

West Virginia is projected to experience one of the steepest proportional enrollment declines in the country: an estimated 18 percent reduction by 2030, equivalent to approximately 45,000 students. Despite these projections, many districts have failed to adjust their operational footprint, continuing to operate under-enrolled facilities while expanding central office functions.

More Spending Does Not Guarantee Better Outcomes

If increased spending alone produced results, West Virginia's academic performance would be markedly stronger. Instead, outcomes remain among the lowest nationally. By contrast, states such as Mississippi, which spend significantly less per pupil, have demonstrated substantial gains in early literacy, especially among historically underserved students.

West Virginia's challenge is not the amount it spends but the return on that spending. The outcomes do not justify the investment, and without structural reform, additional funding is unlikely to change that trajectory.

The pattern is clear across takeover districts: chronic overspending despite declining enrollment; staffing growth in administrative roles as student numbers shrink; short-term budgeting that fails to anticipate predictable declines; opaque decision-making; irresponsible financial commitments during fiscal distress; and minimal linkage between spending and academic performance.

These patterns reflect structural mismanagement rather than lack of resources. The students, graduating at high rates but unable to read, calculate, or reason at grade level, are paying the price.

The question for West Virginia is not whether more money is needed. It is whether those responsible for spending it can be trusted to prioritize students over systems.

In the next article, we examine how school boards abandoned their duty to the public, conducting business in secret, violating open meetings laws, and creating toxic cultures where doing the right thing meant risking your job.

*I spent two decades in the public school system. First as a teacher, then as an administrator and finally, as a regional director at a state education agency. I moved to West Virginia two years ago because I feel school choice is the natural response to the inadequacies of the public school system. Now I work for the Cardinal Institute analyzing the challenges that West Virginia's education system faces. This article is the second of six parts in which I will share that analysis. For the full analysis and supporting citations please click https://cardinalinstitute.com/research/scr-as-diagnostic-for-failure-in-wv-schools/