CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Americans for Prosperity-West Virginia (AFP-WV) today released a report showing the average utilization rate of West Virginia school buildings is roughly 55%. The group obtained county-level school building utilization data through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and compared it against the West Virginia Department of Education’s actual 2025-26 enrollment figures.
The report’s findings come as the debate over West Virginia’s school funding formula continues heading into the 2027 Legislative Session. The report also offers policymakers a set of common-sense principles for reforming the school funding formula.
AFP-WV State Director Jason Huffman released the following statement:
“Enrollment is down across the nation, not just in the Mountain State. On average, our school buildings sit half-empty. Meanwhile, West Virginia taxpayers are spending more on public schools, and for fewer students, than ever before.
“Despite the siren song of the tax-and-spend left, simply spending more on government-run education will do nothing to fix the inherent flaws in our school funding formula or help our kids succeed. State lawmakers should swiftly take bold action to fund students, not systems while ensuring parents direct every dollar.”
Deputy State Director Matt Gallagher added:
“Every dollar spent maintaining a half-empty building diverts dollars that should be spent serving the kids who are sitting in our classrooms. The current funding formula relies on arbitrary, rigid ratios tied to overall enrollment, causing policymakers at the county level to prioritize resources and infrastructure over what students actually need. State lawmakers should fund students instead of systems, empower parents, cut needless red tape holding our teachers back, and restore the fiscal discipline in education that our taxpayers deserve.”
Fast Facts:
* West Virginia Public Schools, on average, operate at around 55% utilization.
* Total capacity is around 416,000 seats, but only roughly 230,000 students are enrolled.
* Kanawha County has nearly 18,000 empty seats—more than the entire student enrollment of all but a handful of other counties in the state—despite being one of the state’s most populous counties.
* West Virginia’s 185,000 empty seats could, by comparison, accommodate the entire public-school population of North Dakota.
* Statewide, the ten counties with the emptiest seats account for 44% of all unused capacity.
* Six counties are operating buildings that are, on average, a little over a third full.
* West Virginia operates 1.8 seats for every student actually enrolled.
* Total public-school funding from all sources—state, local, and federal combined—rose from $4.149 billion in FY2023 to $4.730 billion in FY2024 to $4.812 billion in FY2025: a $663 million increase, or a 16% increase in just two years.
* State Aid to Schools has grown from 32.3% of total general revenue in FY2024 to 37.0% in FY2025 and 37.3% in FY2026, the largest single category in the entire state budget.