CHARLESTON — Members of the West Virginia Board of Education voted to place Roane County Schools in a state of emergency, citing a significant budget deficit for the new fiscal year.

In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the state Board of Education voted to designate a state of emergency for Roane County Schools and work with new county Superintendent Michelle Stellato and the county Board of Education to develop an action plan to reduce the projected deficit.

Alexandra Criner, director of the Office of Accountability for the state Department of Education, presented a report to the state board on the financial conditions at Roane County Schools where, according to Criner, declining enrollment, low building utilization, and excess personnel caused the county school system to go into a deficit for fiscal year 2025 which ended on June 30, with a projected deficit for fiscal year 2026, which began July 1.

“Due to declining enrollment, failure to approve a consolidation plan, lack of sufficient personnel action, and other operational decisions, Roane County Schools is out of compliance with West Virginia Code 11-8-26 and is facing a significant projected budget deficit for fiscal year 26,” Criner said.

According to State Code, a local fiscal body – such as a county board of education – must maintain a balanced budget and not spend money “in excess of available funds for current expenses.” However, a county board can have what is called a casual deficit as long as that deficit “does not exceed its approved levy estimate by more than 3%.”

Criner told the state board that Roane County Schools is facing a $2.5 million deficit for the previous fiscal year and as much as a $2.9 million deficit for the current fiscal year, which will affect the 2025-2026 school year. These deficits are causing the county board to request advances on their funding through the state school aid formula.

“In March, Roane County Schools received a $402,000 advance on their June allocation of the state aid formula to cover immediate expenses, and as of yesterday, they have requested another $397,000 to make their July 14th payroll, and that would be an advance on their state aid funding for next June,” Criner said.

According to Criner, Roane County Schools had an average building utilization rate of 45% for the 2024-2025 school year, which was among the lowest in the state. Based on the Oct. 1, 2024, certified data Criner said that Roane County Schools employs 7.54 professional personnel and 9.2 service personnel over and above the state funding formula, with the cost of those positions being covered entirely by local tax dollars. Budgeting errors also contributed to Roane County’s issues.

“The Office of School Finance really became involved when there was an error in budgeting that caused $600,000 to be applied to special education for fiscal year 2025,” Criner said. “When they looked into that, a root cause of that improper budgeting had been that there was some inaccurate data that was certified and submitted as part of that October 1st certified data.”

Criner also cited issues with cost overruns for the new Spencer Middle School currently under construction.

“That really critically impacted the financial position of the school system,” Criner said. “We’re still looking into some of the purchasing for the furnishings of that school in excess of a $1 million that were made without board approval.”

Members of the state board were appalled by the report, with incoming state board President Paul Hardesty accusing the Roane County Board of Education of having no checks and balances.

“This is troubling on numerous fronts…Either someone was led astray, either intentionally or not intentionally. That’s not for me to decide,” Hardesty said. “From…a $1.4 million carryover in 2022 to a projected deficit of $2.9 million in 2026. That’s a $4.3 million swing in five years in a small county with a small population. Was everybody asleep at the wheel in Roane County?

“I said when I came here, I worked for the children and the taxpayer. It sounds like both are getting a bad deal here,” Hardesty continued.

Stellato was recently selected as the new Roane County Superintendent, succeeding Richard Duncan in that role. She thanked the state board for its willingness to help the county dig out of its hole.

“I’m five days officially in this role, and we are grateful for the support that has been extended to us above and beyond what should be expected for support to be extended to a county that has come from the department and all of the offices,” said Stellato, who served previously as the assistant county superintendent for two years.

“I hear what everyone says. I do echo the sentiment that we are in a dire position in Roane County, but what I want to make everyone aware of is that we are going in with eyes wide open,” Stellato continued. “We understand that we’re going to have to make very difficult decisions, but we too will make those decisions with the lens of what’s best for the children and what’s best for the county as a whole.”

“I don’t believe that we were completely aware of the magnitude of where we were at, even as recent as this current budget preparation,” said Roane County Board of Education President Jeff Mace. “The board understands the position…that we have a very difficult path ahead. I don’t think that there is any kind of negative pushback to that. I think everyone is willing to look at what hard decisions are going to need to be made and work with the department.”

The state of emergency in Roane County makes the third county to be placed in a state of emergency this year, with Randolph County Schools in June and Pocahontas County Schools in February. The state board voted to directly intervene in school systems in Nicholas, Tyler, Boone and Mingo counties over the last six months.

“What’s happening in stuff like this is boards of education are not wanting to make tough decisions, and they think that ultimately at the end of the day we’ll make them for them,” Hardesty said. “We’re getting tired of making your decisions for you. Do your job. They raised their right hand just like I did to uphold the law and do what they’re supposed to do. They’re not doing that. They’re not doing that in a lot of counties.”