Clarksburg Classical Academy awarded nearly $863,000 in first-ever School Building Authority funding for charter schools
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Clarksburg Classical Academy is set to receive nearly $863,000 from the West Virginia School Building Authority as part of the state's first round of facility funding dedicated to public charter schools.
The award, approved during the School Building Authority's Fiscal Year 2027 funding cycle, will provide $862,914 for facility improvements at the Clarksburg school. According to School Building Authority project documents, the funding will support portions of the school's planned renovations, including room and stage lighting for its auditorium after other elements of the original proposal were removed during the review process.
The funding represents a milestone for public charter schools in West Virginia. The Legislature previously established a one-time $5 million fund specifically for charter school facility projects, allowing the School Building Authority to award state dollars to charter schools for the first time.
School Building Authority officials have said the charter school funding comes from a separate legislative appropriation and does not reduce funding available through the agency's traditional school construction and renovation programs for county school systems.
The School Building Authority continues to invest heavily in traditional public schools across West Virginia. During its most recent annual funding cycle, the agency approved approximately $49 million for projects in 12 county school districts, including funding for improvements at Bridgeport High School and the Robert C. Byrd Career & Technical Center in Harrison County. Since its creation in 1989, the School Building Authority has partnered with county boards of education to invest more than $3.2 billion in school construction and renovation projects statewide.
Clarksburg Classical Academy opened in 2024 after purchasing the former Adamston Elementary School building from the Harrison County Board of Education. The school board closed Adamston Elementary as part of a consolidation plan before declaring the property surplus, allowing the public charter school to renovate and reopen the building as its permanent home.
The Clarksburg school is one of five public charter schools across West Virginia to receive funding through the inaugural program and one of two recipients in North Central West Virginia. Wisdom Academy in Morgantown was awarded approximately $1.1 million to help purchase a building adjacent to its existing campus as part of an expansion project.
Combined, the two North Central West Virginia charter schools were awarded nearly $2 million in School Building Authority funding.
The remaining awards were approved for Eastern Panhandle Preparatory Academy, West Virginia Academy and Mary Phalen Leadership Academy.
Public charter schools were authorized in West Virginia in 2019, with the state's first charter schools opening in 2022. Unlike traditional county-operated public schools, charter schools are publicly funded but operate independently under performance contracts approved by state authorizers.
The School Building Authority's action marks the first time dedicated state facility funding has been distributed to public charter schools, creating a new source of capital funding for charter school construction, expansion and renovation projects across the state.
