Education crisis, folk journalism, and a WoodyFest encore: join the conversation with the BBG Live Weekly Update

West Virginia’s public education system in crisis, the next generation of Appalachian journalists turn their attention to local government, and Dear West V Awards creator Leeshia Lee announces a Woody Fest encore – catch up on all the conversations from this week’s BBG Live podcasts. 

BBG Civics Live – the crisis within public education

On Tuesday, Pastor Matthew J. Watts of Charleston’s Grace Baptist Church hosted a new episode of BBG Civics Live, with this week’s conversation centered around West Virginia’s public education system. 

“The crisis has to do with the school aid formula, and how every time a student is removed from public education – in the case of a parent taking their child out to go to private school, or charter school, or religious school, or they home school – [ … ] monies are taken away from the public school as the student population declines,” explained Watts. “The school aid formula, I don’t think it’s been updated since the 1980s. It’s antiquated, and the current formula is really resulting in a defunding of public education.” 

Many stakeholders throughout West Virginia, Watts added, believe this “defunding of public education” is intentional, before noting that 14 of West Virginia’s schools closed at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year. 

“It’s estimated that up to 20 public schools could close this coming year.”

“It’s estimated that up to 20 public schools could close this coming [school] year,” Watts said. “There’s some counties that are facing insolvency and not being able to pay their bills, and public schools are the major economic-underpinning of many counties around the state.”

West Virginia’s public education system is funded principally by state and local dollars, and secondarily by federal dollars which account for approximately 20% of each district’s total operating budget. As reported by Tamaya Browder with the WV Center on Budget and Policy, the Public School Support Program (school aid formula) “determines the cost of providing education based on the cost of resources … and according to the number of students enrolled in the school district.” 

Utilizing this resource-based formula, “The state develops a total funding amount for each school district based on assumptions about how many teachers and other staff a district might need, and how much money those staff should earn, given the number and type of students they serve.” While it is an oversimplification of the formula to state that fewer enrolled students immediately results in reduced funding, the long term results are just that. 

Joining Tuesday’s discussion were Chair of the WV State Democratic Party, Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, as well as public school teacher and Democratic House of Delegates candidate for District 17 in Mason County, Kathryn “Kat” Weiland.

“We are in a crisis situation,” Pushkin, who serves on the House of Delegates Education Committee, said, before noting that W.Va. School Board President Paul Hardesty recently addressed the failure of state lawmakers to update the school aid formula during this past legislative session. As a result of this failure to act, the situation individual counties now face has become even less tenable than it had been just one year ago, “especially in regards to funding for special education needs.” 

“We [will] see more counties fail, and that means more schools close, which means more communities that will be devastated,” Pushkin added. “Just today, we heard about Harrison County. The state is now stepping in and taking over yet – I don’t even know what that gets us up to – another county that’s being taken over by the state. That’s not the way these things are supposed to work.”

The State Board of Education has recently intervened in the operations of numerous county school districts, with nine county boards currently under their control.

Weiland, a special education teacher for students in kindergarten through second grade, noted the already lengthy bus rides many students must take just to arrive in the classrooms they share with an ever-increasing number of classmates.

“Teachers are getting RIF’d (reduction in force) left and right,” Weiland said, adding that when these force reductions are performed, the individual decisions to terminate employment are not merit-based.

“The RIFs and cuts are [ … ] done by seniority,” Weiland continued. “They’re not just who is most qualified. They’re not based on performance, it’s kind of ‘last hired, first fired.’”

Read West Virginia Watch’s report, Educators launch ‘I Love WV public schools’ campaign as more school closures loom, HERE, and watch Tuesday’s full episode of BBG’s Civics Live on Black By God: The West Virginian’s Facebook page,

BBG Folk Reporters Live – the future of Appalachian journalism

On Thursday, BBG Folk Reporters Program Manager and Lead Editor Ellie Heffernan was joined by BBG Folk Reporter Aaliyah Jones, to discuss the work that the program is doing to bolster the ranks of skilled journalists in West Virginia. 

“I joined [Folk Reporters program] in January, particularly for the legislative session, not knowing that it would go past that,” Jones said. “I’m very thankful it did though. I’ve been able to make some really great articles, and work very closely with Ellie (Heffernan) on those articles, about some very serious topics.”

“It’s been a great learning experience,” Jones added. 

According to Heffernan, the Folk Reporters program affords new writers the opportunity to work and learn with experienced news editors, thus developing their professional skills. 

With the 2026 legislative session now concluded, Heffernan said the Folk Reporters program is shifting gears to focus on covering local governments throughout the state. 

“Even in our biggest cities in West Virginia, there just really aren’t that many reporters on the ground.”

“We’ve got a couple stories so far,” Heffernan said. “Even in our biggest cities in West Virginia, there just really aren’t that many reporters on the ground. There aren’t people going to these meetings every time.”

 Read the latest from BBG’s Folk Reporters HERE, and watch Thursday’s full episode of BBG’s Folk Reporters Live on Black By God: The West Virginian’s Facebook page.

BBG Culture Live – hip hop is growing in West Virginia

Fresh off the success of last month’s first ever Dear West V Awards show in Charleston, show creator and BBG Culture Editor Leeshia Lee welcomed Duke Johnson, Big Meezy, and Spike Yee to Thursday night’s episode of the BBG Culture Live podcast. 

“This is the place where hip hop actually gets a seat at the table.”

“Tonight we are talking about how hip hop is growing in West Virginia,” Lee said. “This is the place where hip hop actually gets a seat at the table.”

First to join the conversation were Big Meezy and Spike Yee, who both performed at last month’s Dear West V Awards show. 

“After that show, [ … ] I got to meet a lot of people who I know through social media, and music and stuff, but never actually met face-to-face,” Yee said. “An event like that just opened up a lot of doors and a lot of connections.” 

Meezy echoed Yee’s remarks, adding, “I loved it – it was a great experience.”

“It’s been a lot of talk about how the community doesn’t want to support hip hop or support the music scene and what we got going on out here in the mountains,” Meezy said. “With the Dear West Virginia challenge, to the award show, to all the artists around gaining traction again with their craft – it just goes to show that the community loves and supports what we’re doing.” 

Duke Johnson, who was the last guest to join the discussion, expressed his belief that 2027 will be the year that a West Virginia hip hop artist achieves mainstream success beyond the Mountain State, noting that, “It does take time.” 

“They [critics] will say it’s overnight, and you’ve been working for years,” Johnson added. “It does take time.”

Before concluding the program, Meezy announced that Chuck Fest 2026 will take place on Wednesday, July 29, at The Empty Glass in Charleston. The live music program is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., with a $15 entry fee. Additionally, after the unprecedented success of last month’s Dear West V: A Love Letter to the 35th State and the subsequent Dear West V Awards show, Lee announced that she will be returning to WoodyFest on Aug. 1, to once again serve as host. 

Read BBG’s report, Dear West V: A Love Letter to the 35th State, HERE, and watch Thursday’s full episode of BBG’s Culture Live on Black By God: The West Virginian’s Facebook page.