Community lawsuit challenges state policy that strips funding from low-income and remote students
Coalton, West Virginia — October 2025 — As America debates educational equity, one small Appalachian town is living its consequences. Coalton Elementary School, serving generations of working-class families, faces shutdown on October 28, 2025 under a state funding system residents call discriminatory by design.
Coalton’s story mirrors a national pattern: rural communities losing schools not because of failure or cost, but because of enrollment-based funding formulas that collapse budgets as populations decline. West Virginia’s version lacks any poverty or geographic weighting — a structure advocates say violates the spirit of equal access.
“Coalton’s story is what happens when state policy forgets rural America. The Public School Support Program was built for large, urban systems—not for Appalachian towns with small schools that actually serve more students now than before. It proves the problem isn’t performance—it’s policy.” said **Jay King**, community representative.
Over the past five years, more than 50 West Virginia schools have been closed, displacing thousands of students. The state’s simultaneous expansion of the Hope Scholarship voucher program has diverted millions from public education, accelerating the decline.
Randolph County’s plan to close Coalton would save less than $150 k while maintaining high administrative costs. Bus rides for displaced students would double in length, some exceeding 75 minutes each way on rural roads.
Civil-rights attorneys preparing the case say the closure disproportionately affects low-income families and could establish precedent nationwide on rural access, equity, and constitutional adequacy in public education.
“This isn’t just a local budget issue,” said **Jay King**. “It’s a civil-rights issue — the right of every child to attend a safe, accessible public school in their own community.”
The Coalton Elementary Community Group is calling for national attention, legal support, and federal review of rural-school funding practices that disadvantage remote populations across Appalachia and beyond.
Media Contact:
Jay King
Coalton Elementary Community Group
coaltonparent@gmail.com
Elkins, West Virginia 26241
High-resolution photos, legal filings, and data available upon request.
Summary:
In Coalton, West Virginia, residents are suing the state over an education funding policy they say discriminates against low-income and rural students. Coalton Elementary School, serving generations of Appalachian working-class families, is set to close on October 28, 2025, under an enrollment-based funding formula that excludes adjustments for poverty, geography, and transportation costs.
Community leaders argue this system, designed for large urban districts, ignores the realities of rural education and violates the principle of equal access. Over the past five years, more than 50 West Virginia schools have been shut down, while millions have been redirected to the state’s Hope Scholarship voucher program, deepening public school decline and inequality. The planned Coalton closure would save less than $150,000 yet force children onto bus rides exceeding 75 minutes each way through mountainous rural roads.
Civil-rights attorneys claim the case could set a national precedent on educational equity, rural access, and constitutional adequacy in public schooling. The Coalton Elementary Community Group is urging national attention, legal aid, and federal review of funding practices that marginalize remote populations and threaten the future of small-town education across Appalachia and beyond.
