The House took up the two bills, which passed the Finance Committee this morning.
House Bill 4574 creates a reserve fund, the Temporary Shortfall Supplement Fund for the County Board of Education, for financially distressed counties that have fallen below five percent of available funding. The funding provided to the distressed county must be paid back to the state. The county would be required to present its financials to the State Board of Education upon request and follow all requirements through WVEIS. A report must be submitted to LOCEA after the county’s reserve fund falls below 5 percent for more than 60 days.
House Bill 4575, an appropriation bill, funds the Temporary Shortfall Supplement Fund for the County Board of Education with $8 million of surplus money. The bill advanced to the House floor.
During the discussion of the bill, Delegate McGeehan (Hancock – District 1) mentioned he was made aware last year of the “gross mismanagement” that had taken place over the last 2.5 years and that the county would not be able to make the February 2026 payroll. Prior to the new administration, Hancock County School was financially solvent, but due to mismanagement, the county is now in a $7.3 million deficit. The cause of this deficit is 143 positions over the state aide formula and a large expenditure on athletic facilities. The delegate said this is an anomaly because regulatory oversight is designed to prevent this. However, these problems were hidden, so oversight could not catch them. As of Friday, new management has been put in place, and the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education are working to make changes in the county.
Resolutions introduced can be found here.
Bills introduced can be found here.
Committee Meetings, Today, January 19
- Government Organization at 1 p.m. in Room 215E
- Education at 1:30 p.m. in Room 432M
- Energy & Public Works at 3 p.m. in Room 410M
- Health & Human Resources at 3:30 p.m. in Room 215E
- Finance at 4 p.m. in Room 460M
Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, January 20
- Finance at 9 a.m. in Room 460M
- Judiciary at 9 a.m. in Room 410M
- Sub. Com. on Courts at 9:45 a.m. in Room 410M
- Sub. Com. on Legal Services at 10:15 a.m. in Room 410M
- Commerce, Agriculture, & Tourism at 1 p.m. in Room 215E
- Education at 1:30 p.m. in Room 432M
- Government Administration at 2 p.m. in Room 215E
- Health & Human Resources at 3:30 p.m. in Room 215E
