More than 50 closures in five years reveal crisis lawmakers can no longer ignore
Charleston, West Virginia — October 2025 — As the showdown over Coalton Elementary School reaches a boiling point, education advocates across the Mountain State are demanding that legislators overhaul West Virginia’s Public School Support Program (PSSP) — the decades-old funding formula that has driven dozens of rural school closures and deepened inequities between counties.
The Coalton case, scheduled for a final board vote on October 28, exemplifies the policy’s unintended damage. Because the PSSP ties dollars strictly to enrollment and ignores poverty or geographic isolation, each departing student erodes district funding even while fixed costs remain.
“The data is crystal clear: Coalton isn’t losing students—it’s gaining them. The flaw is in the Public School Support Program itself. It’s an outdated formula that drains funds from small, rural schools even when enrollment grows. Until lawmakers fix it, we’ll keep seeing communities punished for being efficient.” said Jay King, spokesperson for the Coalton Elementary Community Group.
The group’s pending lawsuit alleges violations of state procedure and equal-protection rights and seeks a temporary moratorium on closures until reforms are enacted. Their Coalton Bridge Budget demonstrates that re-allocating a mere 5 % of central administration spending would sustain Coalton and similar schools statewide.
Independent analysis shows that closing Coalton saves less than $150 k while new transportation routes will add comparable costs. Meanwhile, Randolph County maintains 8.5 central-office administrators earning ≈ $80 k each, according to WVDE data.
Advocates are urging the Governor, Legislature, and State Board of Education to create a bipartisan task force on rural education equity and implement poverty and distance weights in the next funding-formula revision.
“We’re not just fighting for one building,” said Jay King. “We’re fighting for the principle that every child — urban or rural — deserves equal access to education.”
Media Contact:
Jay King
Coalton Elementary Community Group
coaltonparent@gmail.com
Elkins, West Virginia 26241
Summary
In West Virginia, the impending closure of Coalton Elementary has ignited a statewide movement demanding reform of the Public School Support Program (PSSP), a decades-old funding formula critics say penalizes rural and low-income districts. The Coalton case — facing a final vote on October 28 — highlights how tying funds strictly to enrollment, without accounting for poverty or geographic isolation, drains resources from small schools even when enrollment rises.
“Coalton isn’t losing students—it’s gaining them,” said Jay King of the Coalton Elementary Community Group. “The flaw lies in an outdated formula that punishes efficiency.” Over 50 school closures in five years underscore what advocates call a deepening crisis lawmakers can no longer ignore. The group’s lawsuit alleges violations of state procedure and equal-protection rights, seeking a moratorium on closures until reforms are enacted. Their “Coalton Bridge Budget” shows that redirecting just 5% of central administration spending could keep rural schools open statewide. Closing Coalton would save less than $150,000 while transportation costs would nearly offset that amount.
Advocates urge the creation of a bipartisan task force to add poverty and distance weights to the PSSP. “We’re fighting for equal access to education — for every child, rural or urban,” King said.
