Senate 554

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 554

By Senator Woelfel

[Introduced January 21, 2026; referred
to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §18-9A-27, relating to public school support; establishing an enrollment stabilizer mechanism within the public school support plan; providing for additional enrollment stability protections for rural counties; and providing for rulemaking.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.

§18-9A-27. Enrollment stabilizer for budget planning.

(a) The purpose of this section is to provide for greater predictability and stability in county board budgets and staffing by smoothing the impact of year-to-year enrollment changes used to calculate state aid under this article.

(b) Enrollment stabilizer. – Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, for each county board, the net enrollment used in calculating state aid under this article for any school year shall be the greater of:

(1) The actual net enrollment for the most recent school year as otherwise calculated by law;

(2) A percentage, not to exceed 98 percent, of the prior school year’s net enrollment; or

(3) A three-year rolling average of net enrollment, calculated as the average of the current year and the two immediately preceding school years.

(c) Rural stability add-on. – The state board shall, by legislative rule, establish a rural stability add-on to the enrollment stabilizer provided for in subsection (b) of this section to provide additional protection for qualifying rural counties experiencing significant enrollment volatility. The rural stability add-on may, in the discretion of the state board:

(1) Adjust the percentage floor set by subsection (b), subdivision (2) of this section for qualifying counties; or

(2) Provide an additional small-district stabilization allowance based on geographic isolation, sparsity, and local funding capacity.

(d) The enrollment stabilizer provided for in subsection (b) of this section shall not be construed to increase the total statewide basic foundation program amount beyond the level appropriated by the Legislature. The state board may phase-in implementation or prorate the enrollment stabilizer if necessary to remain within appropriated funds.

(e) The state board shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to §29A-3B-1 et seq. of this code necessary to implement this section, including by establishing definitions, specifying eligibility for rural stability adjustments, and providing any necessary phase-in or hold-harmless provisions.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a mechanism to smooth year-to-year enrollment fluctuations in county school systems to permit county boards to responsibility responsibly plan for staffing and services. The bill provides for an enrollment stabilizer mechanism within the public school support plan, and for additional enrollment stability protections for rural counties.

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