Tax and Budget

August 27, 2025 by Kelly Allen, Tamaya Browder
As New School Year Starts, State Spending on Education is Falling Behind Prior Levels

Back to school season always brings excitement and hope. This month as West Virginia’s students head back to school, many families and school staff will also have to navigate the effects of shrinking state K-12 funds, which are falling well below past levels this year. Inadequate state K-12 education funding is having clear impacts including…

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August 26, 2025 by Tamaya Browder
Hope Scholarship Expansion on the Horizon, Lawmakers Must Take Action

The children of West Virginia are guaranteed a thorough and efficient system of free schools by our state constitution. However, due to the growing Hope Scholarship, declining state revenues, and disruptions to federal funding and support, this guarantee is at risk for the nearly 90 percent of school-aged children in the Mountain State that are…

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August 19, 2025 by Kelly Allen
West Virginia’s Shrinking State Spending on Health and Education is Dramatically Increasing Downstream Costs

After years of flat budgets that fail to account for the cost of inflation on public services, West Virginia’s state spending on Medicaid, child care assistance, public education, and higher education have all declined. Meanwhile, other areas of the budget, namely spending on jails, prisons, and foster care, have increased dramatically. This is an expected…

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August 18, 2025 by Rhonda Rogombe
West Virginia Faces Potential Healthcare Crisis as Pandemic Tax Credits Set to Expire

WCHS - The Affordable Care Act changed the landscape of health insurance for Americans 15 years ago and since then, many Americans are still getting help when it comes to finding coverage. Read the full article. Almost 70,000 West Virginians utilize this as well, but West Virginia Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said these numbers could…

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August 18, 2025 by Tamaya Browder
How Federal Funding Cuts Will Affect West Virginia Schools

WWNR - More West Virginia schools could soon be forced to cut school nurses, meal programs, and other services. The state faces significant education cuts with the passage of the Trump administration’s budget reconciliation bill, expected to impact more than $240 thousand children. Read the full article. Tamaya Browder, education policy fellow with the West Virginia Center…

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August 18, 2025 by Tamaya Browder
Federal Funding Cuts Will Further Harm Public Schools: West Virginia Can’t Take the Hit

The Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 proposed budget calls for $4.5 billion in cuts to K-12 programs and $12 billion in total cuts to public education, including higher education programs. This is yet another effort to undermine public education following over $6 billion in withheld and delayed funding to public schools this summer, efforts to…

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August 11, 2025 by WVCBP
DOGE Cuts Costing W.Va. Money

West Virginia Public Broadcasting - West Virginia receives more federal funding than it sends to D.C. in taxes. But recent Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts, and budget and rescission efforts, are hurting the state’s bottom line. Read the full article. Since January, West Virginia has lost at least 400 federal jobs and more than $330 million in…

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August 8, 2025 by WVCBP
$330 Million and 400 Jobs Cut from West Virginia Due to DOGE

WVVA - The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy reports that $330 million and 400 jobs have been cut in the mountain state at the hands of the Department of Government Efficiency. Read the full article. “These reductions are already affecting public services and programs West Virginians rely on and are eliminating jobs in…

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