West Virginia’s public school enrollment plummets

RealWV
Stephen Baldwin
June 30, 2025

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While public school enrollment remained flat in America from 2012-2024, it plummeted by nearly 13% in West Virginia. More than 36,000 students left the public school system during that time.

Why did they leave and where have they gone? Stanford economist Thomas Dee says there are several factors including migration from state to state, fewer children being born, and increases in private school and homeschool enrollment. Most of these rose after the COVID 19 pandemic, but in West Virginia, the shift began occurring before that and continued after it.

Between 2012-2020, West Virginia saw a decline of 6.9% of the public school enrollment. That was leading up to the pandemic. Then from 2020-2024, during after forced closures due to public health concerns, another 6.3% of the population left public schools in the Mountain State.

The National Center for Education Statistics predicts that between now and 2031, West Virginia will lose another 13% of the public school student enrollment.

The financial impact of declining enrollment

West Virginia’s education system is based upon an education funding formula set by enrollment figures. Schools are funded according to the number of students in their classrooms as counted in the late fall of each year. When enrollment declines, schools receive less money. State officials say over time that leads to financial pressures on school buildings and school employees as well.

State Superintendent of Schools Michelle Blatt was asked by legislators this past February about the financial impact of enrollment trends. “With declining enrollment in our state, it’s just not feasible to keep all our facilities open,” she responded, calling COVID, school choice, and a loss of federal funding “the perfect storm.”

“And I think those three things together is why we’ve seen this big influx of school consolidations and closures this year. We may have had two or three each year since 2020, but because they had the federal funds they were able to keep those buildings open. And now we’ve reached the point where those funds were expired.”

Uriah Cummings, the WVDE School Financial Operations Officer, told legislators a drop of 3,000 students in enrollment figures equates to a loss of 300 teaching positions.

Matthew Joseph, a Senior Policy Advisor for the Foundation for Excellence in Education, argues, “Declining enrollment isn’t a temporary dip. It’s a structural shift. Yet far too many school systems are clinging to outdated assumptions and unsustainable models.”

“ExcelinEd recommends state leaders help districts prepare for what’s ahead by increasing flexibility and collaboration, strengthening student-centered funding and developing innovative solutions to everyday challenges like transportation and buildings,” he concludes. “Just as importantly, states must give districts the time and tools to plan, not just react.”