FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 20, 2026
Time Requested: 04:11 PM |
| Agency: |
Education, WV Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 1094 |
Introduced |
HB4605 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Education (K12) |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
0317
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund County Boards of Education
Legislation creates:
Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
This proposed legislation modifies the school aid funding formula to provide more support for schools under certain circumstances. The estimated cumulative cost to the State under the Public School Support Program (PSSP) for the proposed 1.5 weight for special education students for school service personnel is $62,708,867. The proposed legislation will provide funding to county boards of education to support the funding of an estimated 1,342.88 additional service personnel. This estimated funding increase is offset by a decrease of an estimated $25,626 by disallowing county boards that qualify for additional funds under the “1400 formula” from receiving increased enrollment funding. The total net impact of this proposed legislation is $62,683,241.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2026
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2027
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
62,683,241 |
62,683,241 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
62,683,241 |
62,683,241 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The estimated cost to the State under the Public School Support Program (PSSP) for implementing a 1.5 enrollment weight for the purpose of calculating service personnel funding $62,708,867 for 2026-27 and annually thereafter.
The cost estimate was computed based upon fiscal year 2025 special education enrollment data due to the fact that the certified count for school year 2026 was not available at the time of the fiscal note preparation. Consequently, this cost estimate may fluctuate in the coming weeks impacted the actual impact on the fiscal year 2027 request. This count will fluctuate annually and will impact the cost to the state accordingly.
This cost estimate includes the estimated increases in Step 2 for service personnel salaries ($40,355,087), Step 3 for fixed charges ($3,301,046), Step 6 for substitute costs ($1,008,877), retirement ($3,071,022), and PEIA ($14,972,835).
This estimated increase is offset by a decrease of an estimated $25,626 by disallowing county boards that qualify for additional funds under the “1400 formula” from qualifying for increased enrollment funding. The savings will fluctuate annually based on county boards of education, which will no longer qualify for increased enrollment funding. Actual fiscal year 2026 allocations were utilized to prepare this portion of the cost estimate. The total net impact of the proposed legislation is $62,683,241.
Note that county boards of education will incur additional costs for personnel employed in excess of funding, personnel employed in positions not eligible for state aid funding, personnel employed using other funding sources such as state or federal grants, and extended employment terms for professional personnel. Such county-level costs are not included in the above estimates.
The West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board (CPRB) should also be consulted to obtain the additional cost to the State due to the impact of the proposed salary increases on the unfunded retirement liability for the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).
This cost estimate does not assume the passage of other legislation. If other changes are made to the PSSP, it could result in an increased or decreased cost.
Memorandum
Portions of the proposed legislation detailing sums of funding retained by WVDE will drastically improve the ability of the WVDE to support initiatives supporting the Third Grade Success Act as well as implementing a new cloud-based accounting system to be utilized by county boards of education. The new accounting system will allow for increased usability, real-time reporting, transparency, and security of public funds.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Tina Payne
Email Address: tina.a.payne@k12.wv.us