House 5061

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 5061

By Delegates Akers and Maynor

[Introduced February 03, 2026; referred to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §18-2L-1 and §18-2L-2, relating to the consolidation of county school districts in the state; requiring county school districts be consolidated with other county school districts by July 1, 2030; establishing the Commission on School District Reorganization; setting forth membership of commission; establishing duties and responsibilities of commission; requiring department of education to cooperate and assist commission; and establishing reporting deadline to the Legislature.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2L. SCHOOL DISTRICT REORGANIZATION.

§18-2L-1. Legislative purpose; establishment of school district reorganization commission.

(a) Effective July 1, 2030, the 55 county-based school districts shall be consolidated into regional districts, numbering not more than 15 nor less than 10.

(b) In order to facilitate a smooth reorganization, the Commission on School District Reorganization is established and shall continue until the completion of its duties under this article.

(c) The commission shall consist of the following members:

(1) The State Superintendent of Schools, or his or her designee;

(2) The Chair of the West Virginia Senate Committee on Education, or his or her designee;

(3) The Chair of the West Virginia House of Delegates Committee on Education, or his or

her designee;

(4) One citizen member appointed by the President of the Senate;

(5) One citizen member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates;

(6) The President of the State Board of Education, or his or her designee;

(7) The President of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators, or his or

her designee;

(8) Two county school board superintendents, with no more than one residing in each of the state’s congressional districts, selected by the President of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators;

(9) One representative of each statewide professional teachers’ organization, each

appointed by the leader of his or her respective organization;

(10) One representative of the statewide professional school services personnel

organization, appointed by the leader of that organization; and

(11) One representative of the statewide school principal’s organization, appointed by

the leader of that organization.

§18-2L-2 Duties and responsibilities of commission; assistance required by Department of Education.

(a) At the joint call of the House of Delegates and Senate Education Committee Chairs, the commission shall convene its first meeting and by majority vote of the members present, elect presiding officers, to include at least a chair and a vice chair. Subsequent meetings shall be at the call of the chair.

(b) The Commission shall meet as often as necessary to formulate a consolidation plan for proposal to Legislature.

(c) The Commission’s proposed consolidation plan shall contain, but not be limited to:

(1) The final number of proposed consolidated school districts;

(2) The number of central office administrators to be employed at each consolidated school district office;

(3) The number of principals and other school administrators to be employed in each consolidated school district;

(4) The number of professional educators to be employed in each consolidated school district;

(5) The number of service personnel to be employed in each consolidated school district;

(6) The number of other professional employees to be employed in each consolidated school district;

(7) The estimated cost to operate each consolidated school district office;

(8) The total estimated number of students to be served by each consolidated school district;

(9) The name of each school to be served by each consolidated school district;

(10) A proposal for how future cost savings realized by consolidation, if any, shall be reinvested into each consolidated school district; and

(11) The proposed location of each consolidated school district main office.

(d) Commission members serve without compensation and do not receive expense reimbursement.

(e) The Department of Education shall provide any and all required assistance to the Commission during the course of its work.

(f) The Commission’s proposed consolidation plan shall include proposals for statutory changes and methods for fostering a smooth transition to the new district system and shall be presented to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability by December 1, 2027 for introduction during the 2028 regular session of the Legislature.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a commission to formulate a proposed plan to consolidate West Virginia’s 55 county-based school districts into no more than 15 or no less than 10 regional school districts.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.