This is the time to invest in public education and workforce training to ensure that our children have the tools they need to earn a living in the economic environment of the 21st century. We have tax surplus dollars now to invest in the future of West Virginia’s younger citizens. This is our opportunity to make the improvements in public education that West Virginia needs to attract businesses and young families to the Mountain State.

We are in an exciting time of change when the future of children is in the balance. West Virginia has one of the oldest populations in the nation; we are the only state in the union to lose population continuously for over 50 years, and age indicators suggest that our population will continue to decline for the next 15 years. We need new young families, and they want good public schools.

The Inter-Mountain reported Tuesday that West Virginia expects more than a billion dollars of business investment along with the national infrastructure initiative. Nucor steel manufacturing is coming to Mason County, Pure Watercraft will create a facility in Brooke County, Century Aluminum plans to start a titanium plant in Jackson County, Omnis technologies is invest in Wyoming County, Power Venture is going to Doddridge County, Form Energy will be in the old Weirton Steel site in Handcock County. These ventures will bring more than 2,000 jobs, and Randolph County is planning to build an event center to serve as a workforce development facility. It’s time to ask each of the new business organizations what they need for workforce training and what they expect from the West Virginia public schools.

By promising tax cuts, Gov. Justice is playing political games with our children’s future. We have a West Virginia tax surplus this year because the federal government has given money out to the states to support local economies during the pandemic. Our children’s education is the local service that took the hardest hit from the pandemic. Local educators know that it will take both time and money to make up for the difference between what West Virginia students learned during the pandemic, and what they should have learned over the last three years.

Even before COVID-19, we needed to invest in teacher pay and educational technology. Now Randolph County will have to cut teaching positions and may need to close schools. This is not the time to cut funding for public education. There is every reason to believe that young families will not want to bring children here because our test scores are so low compared to other parts of the nation, and West Virginia teachers are some of the most poorly paid in the country. West Virginia counties cannot even pay enough to attract bus drivers.

The tax surplus should be spent on two things: pay for teachers and other school personnel, and technology upgrades that will serve workforce training for new and old West Virginia businesses.

Now is the time to put our money into education to develop our most important future asset: people.