×

Slashing education aid is wrong move

The state’s budget woes certainly are a cause for concern, but cutting corners in education to make ends meet may hit the state where it will hurt the most — our future workforce.

The recent announcement of $11.1 million in education cuts to help fix a mid-year budget gap should be a cause for concern for every West Virginian. Of all the places to trim budgets, the state’s struggling education system doesn’t seem like a safe option.

While Kanawha County is bearing the brunt of the cuts at $1.1 million, we learned that many others are losing hundreds of thousands. Locally, Upshur County is losing more than $160,000. Much of the funding will be cut from the state aid formula that provides funding for teaching jobs.

Is this really a good idea when the majority of schools in the Mountain State received C’s under the state’s brand-new evaluation system? Does it make sense to establish a new, more stringent evaluation system and then to turn around and deprive school systems of the resources needed to measure up?

West Virginia needs more educators, not fewer. No matter what metric we use for evaluation, West Virginia performs among the lowest in education in the country. And America itself is lagging behind other countries in education on the world stage.

If we’re lucky, a few of West Virginia’s high school graduates will remain in the state instead of looking to greener pastures for job opportunities. Those who do remain will join our state’s workforce, and we need as strong a workforce as possible to entice new businesses into the state.

Speaking of new businesses, it’s time our state government looks at new and creative ways to increase revenue. Cutting the way to a balanced budget isn’t going to work, especially when those cuts could affect the state for years to come.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today