FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 21, 2026
Time Requested: 04:55 PM |
| Agency: |
Education, WV State Board of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2786 |
Introduced |
SB552 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
|
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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 authorizes county boards of education to designate certain schools as "rural anchor schools" and provides for specialized treatment of rural anchor schools under the public school support plan. The estimated cumulative cost to the State under the Public School Support Program (PSSP) to bring each school to a minimum 150 FTE enrollment is $28,508,456.
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 |
28,508,456 |
28,508,456 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
28,508,456 |
28,508,456 |
| 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) to bring each school to a minimum 150 FTE enrollment is $28,508,456 for 2026-27.
This cost estimate includes estimated increases in Step 1 for professional educator salaries ($13,348,281), Step 2 for service personnel salaries ($5,604,130), Step 3 for fixed charges ($1,625,958), Step 5 for professional student support salaries ($924,832), Step 6 for substitute costs (496,631), retirement ($1,512,658), and PEIA ($4,995,665).
The total portion of the overall additional cost attributable to professional educators is $18,526,956, the portion attributable to professional student support personnel is $1,282,750 and the portion attributable to service personnel is $8,698,750.
Note that this cost estimate is to bring all current schools with less than 150 FTE enrollment up to 150 FTE enrollment using an additional allowance for professional and service personnel. WVDE does not have access to the complete dataset outlined in the proposed legislation to determine if all schools under the FTE guidelines would be given rural anchor schools designation. Consequently, the cost estimate should be viewed as a maximum estimate.
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 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 cost for the pay increases.
Memorandum
It should be noted that many of the schools identified under the proposed legislation reside in counties that qualify for the “1400 formula.” The proposed legislation would provide additional students beyond this measure that is currently set forth in WV Code.
Further, some schools may only enroll specific grade levels such as a PK-3 in which may inadvertently be subject to the proposed legislation.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Tina Payne
Email Address: tina.a.payne@k12.wv.us