State public school truancy rate tops 30 percent; some counties as high as 57-58 percent

This is appalling! I had no idea it was this bad.

http://www.timeswv.com/news/article_9f785906-420b-11e4-a3ca-6b8b50763cc3.html
The Times West Virginian
State public school truancy rate tops 30 percent
Posted: Monday, September 22, 2014 4:00 am

CHARLESTON (AP) — Nearly a third of West Virginia’s public school students were truant during the 2013-2014 academic year and several counties had truancy rates exceeding 50 percent, Department of Education figures show.

The highest truancy rate was in McDowell County, where 58 percent of students missed at least five days of classes without an excuse. Wyoming County had the second-highest rate, with 57 percent of students marked as truant.

Jefferson County had the lowest rate, 7 percent. The rate in Kanawha County, the state’s largest school district, was 34 percent.

The statewide truancy rate was about 31 percent.

McDowell County Superintendent Nelson Spencer told The Sunday Gazette-Mail that truancy cases are a byproduct of poverty and drug abuse.... MORE