West Virginia's school consolidation drive during the 1990s didn'åt save money or improve student achievement, according to a study that will be released this week.

Even though more than 200 schools were closed and student enrollment dropped by 34,000 students, West Virginia increased education spending more than any state in the nation during the past decade, the report says.

Seventy-six more central-office administrators worked in the state in 2000 than in 1990, the study found. The administrators, who include assistant superintendents, coordinators and directors, don't work directly with children.

"The state's primary education policy has been a failure, in terms of student achievement and securing financial savings," said Cynthia Reeves, a North Carolina consultant who wrote the report after analyzing West Virginia school finance data and student test scores.

Challenge West Virginia, a small-schools advocacy group, paid for the report. The organization plans to present the document to legislators this week. The group is supporting bills introduced by Gov. Bob Wise that would shorten bus times and promote small schools.

In her report, Reeves cites a 2001 national study on student achievement that looked at fourth- and eighth-grade student scores on a national exam and ACT college entrance exam marks. It ranked West Virginia 39th in the nation.

"Who's been hurt most? Children. Who's been helped? School administrators," said Linda Martin, who heads Challenge West Virginia. "Children are getting walked on while administrators are feathering their own nests."

State schools Deputy Superintendent Steve Paine said county school spending increased dramatically, on paper at least, because the state changed county school boards' financial reporting requirements between 1990 and 2000.

Paine also noted that West Virginia still has many small schools, despite consolidation.

"It appears to me we typically have smaller schools in West Virginia," Paine said. "A large percentage of our kids go to small schools."

Reeves' 30-page report titled "A Decade of Consolidation: Where are the savings?" notes that West Virginia teachers received only a 5 percent raise, when adjusted for inflation, during the 1990s. Reeves suggests that West Virginia could have improved education by giving teachers raises, since many studies have linked student achievement to quality teaching.

West Virginia teacher salaries rank 41st in the nation, below surrounding states such as Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland.

"It's teachers who make for a quality education," Martin said. "We don't mind increasing spending on education. But it's how you spend the money."

No research has shown that hiring more central-office administrators improves student achievement, said Reeves, a Kentucky native and rural-education expert.

"I can't figure out why more administrators got hired," she said.

The number of principals dropped, but more assistant principals were working in West Virginia schools in 2000 than in 1990.

"They had to add all those assistant principals to take care of discipline problems in the larger schools," Martin said. "Those problems didn't exist in small schools."

School transportation costs soared during the 1990s, even though fewer students rode on buses, the study notes.

Surprisingly, building operation and maintenance costs also rose, despite closing schools. School officials had promised that consolidating schools would lower maintenance and utility costs.

Reeves said the state could save money by providing incentives for counties to reduce transportation costs. Now, the more school systems spend on transportation, the more they receive from the state.

The counties also should require bus drivers to work an 8-hour day if they receive full-time wages, Reeves concluded. In some rural counties, bus drivers only work three or four hours a day but get paid for eight hours.

Reeves also recommends that schools share buildings with community groups to save money.

The state also should consider setting up more "distance-learning" programs, which are cheaper than building new schools, Reeves said.

Martin said Reeves plans to testify in a lawsuit challenging a high school consolidation in Lincoln County.

To contact staff writer Eric Eyre, use e-mail or call 348-4869.

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