One of the casualties of West Virginia’s current demographics is the community public school. In a rural state with an aging population and ever increasing costs, keeping small schools open is becoming more difficult, if not impossible.

The closures are commonly driven by a three-headed monster that is difficult to overcome: declining enrollment, financial challenges and aging facilities. Additionally, state code that governs the public school system has not kept up with recent changes to provide more educational choice in West Virginia and the school state aid formula has not been updated since the 1990s.

During the 2024-25 school year, at least 20 separate school consolidations and closures were approved. More counties are considering additional consolidations and closures this year, a

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