In spite of the wide ranging challenges that West Virginia public schools are facing such as inadequate funding, an outdated funding formula, and the rapidly expanding Hope Scholarship voucher program, our public school system continues to educate and support the vast majority of children in our state. These ongoing challenges have led to waves of…
Education
West Virginia Watch, Beckley Register-Herald, Times West Virginian, Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia state agencies — in charge of schools, road repairs, foster care and more — along with the state Supreme Court have been asked by the Morrisey administration to cut their budgets by 2%. Read the full article. Additionally, an August memo from the Department…
West Virginia spends almost $870 less per student than the national average. For $288 million, we can increase spending to meet the national average and fund improvements to public schools across the state. There are currently 34 school districts that spend less per student than the national average. Investments in these school districts could fund…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - In West Virginia and across the country, families are facing an affordability crisis, one where the costs of life’s necessities are rising faster than wages. This is impacting many households’ ability to create a better, or even similar, life to the one their parents had. Read the full op-ed. There are many…
Martinsburg Journal-News - With personal income tax cuts going into effect for 2026 in neighboring Kentucky and Ohio, Gov. Patrick Morrisey wants to move faster than West Virginia’s current glidepath for reducing personal income tax rates during the legislative session starting next week. Read the full article. During his first press conference of the new…
West Virginia Watch - As the 2026 West Virginia legislative session nears, the West Virginia Watch team is gearing up to keep you informed over the 60-day law-making process. Read the full article. We’ll be watching everything from health care reforms and support for the state’s foster children to economic development plans and policies that…
The Hope Scholarship is a school voucher program that diverts taxpayer funds from public education and other public goods to cover the costs of private schooling and other non-public education options. The program is expected to cost West Virginia about $245 million in Fiscal Year 2027. When the program began in 2022, about $9 million…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Coverage of the state’s involvement in private education invariably interests me. Read the full article. A recent op-ed by Kelly Allen of the West Virginia Budget and Policy Center provided a host of new and important data on the Hope Scholarship, the state’s school voucher program. The column is widely available and…
West Virginia Watch, Times West Virginian - When the Hope Scholarship, West Virginia’s school voucher program, was enacted, proponents framed the program as one of choice — a way to provide alternative education options to families who could not otherwise afford it. Now, on the eve of the program’s expansion — set to double or…
What is the Hope Scholarship? The Hope Scholarship is a school voucher program that diverts public taxpayer dollars to cover private school and other non-public school expenses like tuition and fees, uniforms, supplies, technology, and even extracurricular costs like dance lessons and zoo tickets. DOWNLOAD THIS BLOG POST AS A FACT SHEET HERE. The program…