By Leann Ray | Editor-in-chief
“The current funding formula is, in a word, complex, relying on multiple steps of intricate calculations that very few people can understand at all. This inadvertently obscures accountability, prevents everyone, including laborers and taxpayers alike, from readily understanding how funding is out. Any future reform should need to remove complexity in order to increase transparency.” — Curtis Capehart, member of the School Building Authority
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, and Del. Joe Parsons, R-Jackson, look over a presentation in the Joint Committee on Education on Aug. 9, 2026. (Photo by Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
By Amelia Ferrell Knisely
Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s team laid out his office’s ideas for revamping West Virginia’s school funding formula, a decades-old equation that has been linked to public schools’ dire financial situation.
The West Virginia Department of Human Services operates the PATH system, an online management system for programs in the state, including Medicaid and foster care. (Source: wvpath.wv.gov)
By Amelia Ferrell Knisely
West Virginia is using nearly $8 million in federal anti-poverty dollars to pay for its long-troubled and broken online database system.
Kevin Kane, the director of Government Affairs for Flock Safety, presents to the Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization in House chambers on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026 in Charleston, West Virginia. Lawmakers on the committee spent over an hour seeking clear information on how Flock — which is entering into contracts with localities and businesses across the state — functions. (Photo by Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
By Caity Coyne
As localities across West Virginia move forward with purchasing controversial surveillance equipment meant to assist law enforcement agencies, a representative for Flock Safety — the major contractor behind several of these agreements — presented to state lawmakers on Sunday in an attempt to answer questions about the company and its products.
NATIONAL
Since 2018, 17 states have barred marriage before age 18, but most states still allow minors to wed with parental or judicial approval. (Photo by Anna Claire Vollers/Stateline)
By Anna Claire Vollers
After authorities rescued 16 children last month who had been confined to a single room in a home in rural Ohio, attention turned to their mother, who had been 15 and pregnant when she married their father.
By Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday the federal government will fund $180 million in grants for mining schools across the county as part of his administration’s goal of rebuilding the U.S. coal industry.
By Shauneen Miranda
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate adjourned for its summer recess early Saturday after approving a stopgap spending bill but declining to advance legislation that would require photo ID for voting.
By Jacob Fischler
WASHINGTON — After a lengthy battle over the status of President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, Todd Blanche was confirmed as attorney general by the U.S. Senate early Saturday.
By Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Even before Haitian immigrants in Ohio officially lost their Temporary Protected Status, the Department of Homeland Security required dozens of them to report to immigration appointments and accept ankle monitors, according to their attorneys and local advocates.
By Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Friday approved Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, giving the agency its first administrator since President Donald Trump took office last year.
By Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — Congress is considering a hike of hundreds of billions in dollars in defense spending, which would represent a surge in military funding not seen since World War II.
COMMENTARY
The Third Grade Success Act requires aides in kindergarten, first, second and third grade classrooms specifically focused on helping students improve poor reading skills. Schools are required to retain third graders whose reading and math abilities aren’t at grade level. (Getty Images)
By Robert B. Miller
Every child should leave third grade able to read with competence and confidence. That is not a political position. It is an educational and moral obligation.
ICYMI
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