The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

06/12/2026

Appalachia has spent decades on the receiving end of top-down "solutions." It's time for a different path—one built by the people of the region, for the region.

The Center for Appalachian Renewal is here to bring real competition and innovation to education, starting with our flagship Education Quarterback initiative: identifying, mentoring, and supporting education entrepreneurs across Appalachia.

Read the full piece in The Daily Wire: https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-path-out-of-the-education-woods-in-appalachia

06/11/2026

West Virginia spends $4.1 billion a year on education and while outcomes remain unacceptably low.

Nine state reviews, nine districts, one pattern: financial mismanagement, falsified records, unsafe facilities.

When this much money buys this little, the problem isn't the budget. It's the system.

Our research, in two minutes. ⬇️

06/11/2026

For decades Appalachia got the wrong kind of attention—programs designed for the region instead of by it. We're betting on the opposite: empowering people here to build schools and institutions that reflect their own values.

Let's get to work. 👇

The Cardinal Institute's new Center for Appalachian Renewal is designed to be a free-market initiative dedicated to the region.

06/11/2026

Between 2018 and 2025, West Virginia public schools lost 25,821 students and 834 teachers. They added 1,886 paraprofessionals, 531 non-teaching certified staff, and 187 administrators.

Fewer students, fewer teachers, more of everyone else.

This is what happens when funding is tied to ratios instead of students.

06/10/2026

$232. That's how much more every West Virginian pays each year because of Certificate of Need laws. CON doesn't protect patients—it protects hospital monopolies at your expense. It's time to end it.

06/09/2026

West Virginia is projected to lose another 13.5% of its public school students—one of the steepest enrollment declines in America. The drivers are demographic: falling birth rates, families moving away.

None of this started with school choice, and none of it will end because of it.

It’s time to rethink how we support our students and schools for the future.

06/08/2026

Who are Hope families? They’re grandparents stepping up to raise grandkids. Parents fighting for kids with autism, ADHD, or dyslexia. Rural families with no local options. Children who’ve been bullied or left behind. Students years behind in reading, desperate for a lifeline.

Every child deserves a path that fits their needs—because they don’t get a second chance while adults debate. West Virginia’s future depends on giving every student real hope, right now.

06/06/2026

The case for freedom is strong. The evidence is on our side. The only way to lose this argument is to make it badly—and that's exactly what Cardinal exists to prevent.

06/05/2026

Freedom shows up in better jobs, stronger families, and more opportunity.

That’s what we work to expand in West Virginia every day.

• Educational freedom
• Economic opportunity
• Worker freedom

We rely on supporters, not government funding, to make it happen.

Join us: cardinalinstitute.com/donate

06/04/2026

Over the past decade, West Virginia has raised per-pupil spending by 42%—well above inflation.

A child entering kindergarten in 2013 is now in high school, and during every year of that child's education, the state spent more on schools than the year before.

Reading and math scores fell anyway.
Eighth-grade math is down more than 13 points on NAEP.
Fourth-grade reading is down nearly 10.

More money, less learning, every year.