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Randolph County Schools outlines $2.9M shortfall as dozens of personnel hearings press risks to counselors, electives and programs
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Dilly told a packed special board meeting that the district faces a projected $2.9 million deficit and that proposed personnel reductions would yield roughly $2.1 million in savings; dozens of employees, students and community members urged the board to spare counselors, arts, music, PE and career-technology classes.
The Randolph County Board of Education opened a special meeting at 5:32 p.m. as the district moves through personnel hearings tied to an estimated $2.9 million budget shortfall.
Superintendent Dr. Dilly told board members and the public that West Virginia law requires school systems to maintain a balanced budget and that failing to do so could trigger a Department of Education special review that limits local authority. He said the superintendent’s staffing recommendations would produce roughly $2.1 million toward closing the projected gap but cautioned that the reductions would not eliminate the deficit entirely.
The financial presentation framed the night’s schedule of individual personnel hearings. The hearings covered dozens of recommended transfers and terminations across Randolph County Schools, with speakers arguing many of the proposed cuts would reduce services core to student safety and opportunity. Several public presenters warned that eliminating positions now could worsen enrollment and long-term funding, creating a cycle of further reductions.
“We want to avoid state takeover,” Dr. Dilly said in explaining the legal and fiscal backdrop to the hearing sequence.
Board members repeatedly asked administration to provide follow-up materials before deliberations. At multiple points the board requested administration research whether recent bills that would require counselor ratios (cited in testimony as a 1:250 student-to-counselor ratio) carry state funding and to produce concrete staffing-coverage plans — for example, the plan for maintaining arts offerings at Tiger’s Valley and coverage for counselor duties if positions are reduced.
Public testimony at the meeting was heavy and diverse. Employees and community members presented detailed program descriptions, enrollment stats and personal accounts of the programs the district proposes to alter. Testimony included: 162 RTC completers to be recognized at a May 14 ceremony; a Randolph Technical Center indicator report score (reported by a witness) of 90/100; claims that Beverly Elementary had 51 discipline referrals in March; and multiple assertions that the district already lacks counselor capacity and would not be able to meet anticipated legal or statutory demands if positions are cut.
Administration told the board it had drafted master schedules and contingency coverage scenarios for many schools and promised to provide those documents before the board’s next meeting so members could weigh the budget trade-offs alongside operational plans.
The board did not take any final votes on personnel actions at the meeting; the evening consisted of sworn personnel hearings, public testimony and administrative responses. The meeting was adjourned at 10:54 p.m.
