By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s four brick-and-mortar public charter schools and the two new physical charter schools opening next fall now have access to tax dollars overseen by the state’s School Building Authority. Now they wait for approval.
The Professional Charter School Board held a virtual meeting Wednesday morning and received an update from PCSB Executive Director James Paul regarding applications from the public charter schools to the SBA.
Last year, the West Virginia Legislature appropriated an additional $12 million during the 2024 regular session to the School Building Authority, with $5 million being set aside for public charter schools. However, the Legislature included nothing in State Code for how charter schools could access the funds.
Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2031 and House Bill 227 during a special session in October, allowing public charter schools to submit applications to the state School Building Authority to access the $5 million, which will allow the charter schools to purchase buildings to be used for public charter school purposes, as well as funding for other proposed projects.
