The state having to take over local school districts, such as what happened earlier this month in Hancock County, has become more common in West Virginia in recent years.

Including Hancock County, there are now 10 county school districts out of West Virginia’s 55 that are under some form of state control, whether that’s been through a complete takeover or declaration of a state of emergency, where the county and state are working together to stave off that full takeover.

That means nearly one-fifth of the Mountain State’s school districts have found themselves in such peril that the state is either monitoring their decisions or just making the decisions for them. There are words to describe that situation: Alarming, disturbing and embarrassing are a few that quickly come to mind.

And there’s no guarantee that other county school districts couldn’t suffer similar fates. West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty, president of the state board of education, recently told lawmakers that he could see other school districts face the same financial problems as Hancock County.

Public education in West Virginia appears to be reaching a crisis point. The state department of education can’t keep adding school districts to its list of those under its full control. A drastic move could be in order.

A bill sponsored by Del. Phil Mallow, R-Marion, has been sent to the Education Committee in the West Virginia House of Delegates. It would require the state to consolidate from 55 school districts to no more than 27. The bill cites challenges related to accessibility, funding, population and topography as the catalysts.

Combining districts should eliminate bureaucracy, as well as allow those districts to cast a wider net to find school board candidates with the backgrounds and experience needed to effectively oversee those districts.

That’s one possible answer. There could be plenty of others out there. One of them could work, or a combination of them could work. It must be state government’s priority to find and implement an answer. Kicking this can down the road another year will only make the situation worse, and put in jeopardy the education of students across the state.

The more local control a community has over its schools, the better, the better those schools will represent the communities they serve. But far too many school districts in West Virginia are showing an inability to govern themselves. If the problem persists — or, even worse, grows — a bold move will need to be made to turn around those fortunes.

It’s important to remember that, in the end, school districts are there to serve their students and their parents, and support teachers, staff members, coaches and administrators. Those districts need put in the best positions to succeed, even if hard decisions need made to get there.