HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. — A sobering warning from Hancock County Schools Superintendent Dan Enich on Monday as he laid out the district’s financial state.
Enich confirming that the district ran a deficit last school year and has now been labeled “needs assistance” by the West Virginia Department of Education.
“We have been working closely with the West Virginia Department of Education to address concerns over our budget, including the continued decline in student population, the loss of state aid funding, and uncertainty of federal funding that impacts so many of our programs,” Enich said.
To help stabilize the district’s finances, Enich said consulting group Educational Associates LLC has been on-site for nearly a month. Ehich explained that their goal is to repair accounting, rebuild financial statements and recommend cuts. And even with assistance, he said significant reductions are likely.
“Most important, looking at personnel cuts that incur the greatest expense to the school system,” Enich said. “This provides some savings, but not enough to overcome the deficit we believe we are in.
“We will begin meeting with employees who will be impacted by these cuts. As soon as we have identified how many positions we are over formula and where precisely those cuts will be made.”
The potential cuts span every part of the district from staffing to building usage.
Enich added that school closures are on the table, and the state has extended the deadline for closure or consolidation applications to Feb. 27, 2026.
“As a result of that, our administration is exploring possible school closure(s) to take place at the end of the 2025-26 school year in an effort to help eliminate costs and balance the budget,” Enich said.
The district has already paused spending, including iPads for schools and the Oak Glen High School weight room project. Officials add that they are continuing to analyze vendor contracts and evaluate programs that could remain off campus to avoid costs.
Despite the heavy message, Enich emphasized that progress has been made over the last two months.
“I feel in the last two months, we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
No final decisions have been made on which jobs or buildings will be impacted, but parents, employees, and students should expect changes across the district next year.