Gov. Justice issues statement following waiver approval from U.S. Department of Education

A message for John xxxxxx - [email protected]
View this email in your browser ([link removed])
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 19, 2024

Gov. Justice issues statement following waiver approval from U.S. Department of Education
CHARLESTON, WV — Gov. Jim Justice issued the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Education announced it had approved West Virginia's maintenance of effort waiver request, and no federal funds will need to be returned.

As I said all along, I knew this was not going to be a problem.

So, while we are all pleased the U.S. Department of Education accepted our waiver because we made it clear that education is a top priority in West Virginia, this announcement came as no surprise and was never a real issue.

When confronted with this same issue last year, our request was approved following a detailed explanation of our education spending, including salary increases for teachers, funding for our thriving Communities In Schools West Virginia program, and a $50 million allocation to the School Building Authority.

Given this precedent, my administration remained very confident this year's waiver would again be approved because we only increased our educational commitments, implementing another pay raise for teachers and school personnel, furthering support for Communities In Schools West Virginia, and allocating a historic $150 million to the School Building Authority.

We've made substantial improvements to our education system. These investments are exactly what the U.S. Department of Education was looking for during their review, and I'm genuinely thankful these funds are directly benefiting our schools, teachers, and students instead of going back to Washington, D.C.

Additionally, these investments have also sparked hundreds of construction jobs across our state as we work on building and repairing schools. All in all, we're creating jobs, nurturing our students, and supporting our educators.

However, I have one more point. The potential of a 'clawback' should never have been used to scare anyone. That narrative only distracts from the positive progress we have made as a state. Let us put this issue to bed and continue making West Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family.
###

============================================================

CONTACT THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

C.J. Harvey
Director of Communications
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Rachael Harper
Communications Specialist
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

FOLLOW GOVERNOR JUSTICE

** Gov. Justice on Twitter ([link removed])
** Gov. Justice on Facebook ([link removed])
** Gov. Justice on Instagram ([link removed])
** Gov. Justice on YouTube ([link removed])
** Gov. Justice on Flickr ([link removed])
** Governor's Website ([link removed])
You are receiving this email from Governor Jim Justice's Communications Office. Any reference to the word "campaign" in any link associated with this email has been generated by Mailchimp, an online web-based marketing program, and not by the Office of the Governor. Any document linked in this email is a document of the Governor's Communications Office and not of any campaign.

We routinely add email addresses from people we meet who contact Governor Justice's office. If you do not wish to receive messages from our office, please click the Unsubscribe link below for instant removal.
You are receiving this email because you asked to receive updates from the Governor's Office.

Our mailing address is:
Governor's Communications Office
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
State Capitol
Charleston, WV 25305
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]