BACK PEW: We better listen to Paul Hardesty

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

Yesterday, the Chairman of the West Virginia Board of Education, Paul Hardesty, raised a red flag. He warned that at least 10 and perhaps as many as 20 public school closures would occur this coming school year. (Brad McElhinny with WVMetronews was the first to report the story.)

In addition, Hardesty said that he expects several county school systems to essentially go bankrupt in the near future. That nearly happened to Hancock County last year but apparently was only the tip of the iceberg.

Why did Hardesty share this information now, during the summer before the school year begins? Because he knows where the situation is heading. He said that the state board will be required to act on proposed school closures because the counties have the same requirement, all caused by declining student enrollment which means less funds for schools.

When the state board acts, he said, then they will be inundated with requests from lawmakers to save their local schools. But it will be too late.

Folks may agree or disagree with Hardesty on education policy, but citizens would be wise to pay attention to what he’s saying. Because Paul Hardesty knows what he’s talking about.

One, he’s a former county school board member, former county school board president, and former state senator. The man knows public education better than perhaps anyone in Charleston.

Two, he’s a serious man. Hardesty would only raise a red flag if he were truly concerned for the state of schools and the children they educate. He isn’t a showman; he is an expert in our state’s public education system.

Three, he’s been saying this for a while now.

While serving as a senator, he opposed the famed omnibus education bill which introduced charter schools and the Hope Scholarship, among other things. He didn’t oppose it because he opposed school choice; he opposed it because he feared it would bankrupt public education, something the state has a constitutional obligation to provide children.

Nonetheless, Hardesty did not give up when the legislation passed. He stayed engaged, even took a seat on the state board, and worked with folks from every perspective to do his job.

Since serving as state board president, Hardesty has also attempted to work with legislators to achieve what he calls a level playing field for public education, private schools, and homeschools. He says that public schools are subject to a mountain of regulations while other school choice options are subject to relatively few. He asked legislators to look at balancing those regulations across the board. That effort fell on deaf ears this last legislative session.

Hardesty is raising the red flag. What will happen if the state closes 10 local schools this year, 20 next year, and 30 the year after that? What will happen if three county schools systems go belly-up this year, six do next year, and nine do the year after that?

Consolidation is what will happen. On a massive scale we’ve neither seen nor imagined.

Policy decisions put the state in this position. Hardesty maintains hope that policy decisions can get us out of it. But he thinks we are almost out of time. I would listen to Paul Hardesty; he knows what he’s talking about. Will our elected officials?