West Virginia spends $4.1 billion a year on education and while outcomes remain unacceptably low. Nine state reviews, nine districts, one pattern: financial mismanagement, falsified records, unsafe facilities. When this much money buys this little, the problem isn't the budget. It's the system. Our research, in two minutes. ⬇️

Appalachia has spent decades on the receiving end of top-down "solutions." It's time for a different path—one built by the people of the region, for the region. The Center for Appalachian Renewal is here to bring real competition and innovation to education, starting with our flagship Education Quarterback initiative: identifying, mentoring, and supporting education entrepreneurs across Appalachia. Read the full piece in @realDailyWire: dailywire.com/news/a-path-ou…

🚨 "Education is not merely one policy issue among many. It is upstream of nearly everything else." @realDailyWire @IWF dailywire.com/news/a-path-ou…

🌄 "Leaders across the region are beginning to focus on long-term cultural and economic renewal rooted in freedom, choice, and free markets." Read my latest at @EpochTimes 👇

"Monopolies rarely produce excellence, innovation, or accountability — and public education in much of Appalachia has operated as a monopoly for generations." @realDailyWire @IWF dailywire.com/news/a-path-ou…

For decades Appalachia got the wrong kind of attention—programs designed for the region instead of by it. We’re betting on the opposite: empowering people here to build schools and institutions that reflect their own values. Let's get to work. 👇

Between 2018 and 2025, West Virginia public schools lost 25,821 students and 834 teachers. They added 1,886 paraprofessionals, 531 non-teaching certified staff, and 187 administrators. Fewer students, fewer teachers, more of everyone else. This is what happens when funding is tied to ratios instead of students.

$232. That's how much more every West Virginian pays each year because of Certificate of Need laws. CON doesn't protect patients—it protects hospital monopolies at your expense. It's time to end it.

West Virginia is projected to lose another 13.5% of its public school students—one of the steepest enrollment declines in America. The drivers are demographic: falling birth rates, families moving away. None of this started with school choice, and none of it will end because of it. It’s time to rethink how we support our students and schools for the future.

Who are Hope families? They’re grandparents stepping up to raise grandkids. Parents fighting for kids with autism, ADHD, or dyslexia. Rural families with no local options. Children who’ve been bullied or left behind. Students years behind in reading, desperate for a lifeline. Every child deserves a path that fits their needs—because they don’t get a second chance while adults debate. West Virginia’s future depends on giving every student real hope, right now.

The case for freedom is strong. The evidence is on our side. The only way to lose this argument is to make it badly—and that's exactly what Cardinal exists to prevent.

Freedom shows up in better jobs, stronger families, and more opportunity. That’s what we work to expand in West Virginia every day. • Educational freedom • Economic opportunity • Worker freedom We rely on supporters, not government funding, to make it happen. Join us: cardinalinstitute.com/donate

Reading and math fell whether you count ESSER or not. Our per-pupil funding sits mid-pack nationally, and the state is educating ~47,000 fewer students than its 2012 peak. And Edunomics (the source of the graph) shows how Mississippi and Tennessee got ESSER infusion and turned their dollars into NAEP gains while West Virginia scores fell. So yes, our schools received a record one-time pile they were obligated to spend, and outcomes still dropped. Temporary or not, the dollars didn't = results.

Over the past decade, West Virginia has raised per-pupil spending by 42%—well above inflation. A child entering kindergarten in 2013 is now in high school, and during every year of that child's education, the state spent more on schools than the year before. Reading and math scores fell anyway. Eighth-grade math is down more than 13 points on NAEP. Fourth-grade reading is down nearly 10. More money, less learning, every year.

Appalachia is home to more than 20 million people across 13 states. Yet despite decades of attention from government agencies, foundations, and the media, the region has never had a dedicated free-market voice working across state lines. That changes with the launch of the Center for Appalachian Renewal by the Cardinal Institute (@CardinalWV) Read more: spn.org/cardinal-institute-l…

Hope did NOT cause West Virginia’s enrollment decline. The numbers tell a different story. West Virginia public schools have been losing students for over 20 years—long before the Hope Scholarship existed. The reasons? Population loss, declining birthrates, and families moving out of state. Since 2018-2019, West Virginia has lost more than 25,000 public school students. During that same time, the number of teachers dropped, but administrators increased and non-instructional staff grew by over 2,000. 25,000 fewer students. Fewer teachers. More administrators.

West Virginia's public school enrollment has fallen by more than 47,000 students since 2012. The decline is driven by demographic change, a funding formula misaligned with current enrollment, and documented governance failures at the county level.

While bureaucrats process paperwork, West Virginians are waiting for care. CON laws force providers to get government permission before they can expand services or open new facilities—a process that can drag on for months or even years. Patients deserve better.