Board overview

West Virginia Board of Education

Who governs public education statewide, how its members are chosen, and what recent board records show.

Cook, Permelia Eastman; Price, Virginia B, transmitter; Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, sponsor; Schara, Mark, field team project manager; Schara, Mark, field team; Davidson, Paul, field team; Kidd, Anne E, field team; McNatt, Jason, field team — Davidson, Paul A. · public-domain

Who sets statewide public-school policy?

A state-level appointed board

The West Virginia Board of Education has general supervision of the state's elementary and secondary schools and sets education policy and rules. Nine citizen members are appointed by the Governor with Senate advice and consent for overlapping nine-year terms. Two ex-officio members—the State Superintendent and the chancellor who leads the higher-education commissions—serve without votes. There are no public ballot seats on this board.

Nine voting citizen members

The Governor appoints the members with advice and consent of the Senate. Each term lasts nine years and terms overlap.

Two nonvoting ex-officio members

The State Superintendent and the chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission and Community and Technical College Education system serve by virtue of office.

Statewide authority

The Board determines education policy for elementary and secondary schools and establishes rules that carry out state education law.

A special state school

The Board also has general control and management of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

County boards make local decisions. The state board's general supervision does not mean every local school action is decided in Charleston; the reviewed records show state intervention powers are invoked for particular counties when the Board finds statutory conditions are met.

What is on the public record

Voting citizen seatsverified

9 appointed seats

Nonvoting ex-officio seatsverified

2 seats

Public ballot seats on the state boardcontext

0 seats

Board-level per-pupil budgetcontext

Not reported in reviewed board records data gap

Major projects

Proposed state-aid formula changes

Draft proposal discussed; no Board adoption or legislative enactment verified

At its October 2026 meeting, the Board heard a WVDE presentation on a draft formula proposal covering enrollment smoothing, student-need weights, rurality, facilities, and substitute costs. The presentation described the work as a discussion document for further review and legislative consideration. The overall cost estimate and final bill text were not available in the reviewed records.

Next: Legislative consideration was planned for the 2027 session; no introduced bill or enacted amount was verified in the reviewed records.

Oct 14, 2026WVDE presented the draft proposal to the Board; no formula was adopted.

Funding

Potential state-aid formula changes; no enacted appropriation or confirmed overall cost was available.

Compiled from the official WVDE board roster, meeting agendas and minutes, the October 2026 official meeting recording, WVDE AI guidance, and the West Virginia Code device-policy statute.

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