Overview
According to the state constitution, West Virginians are guaranteed “a thorough and efficient system of free schools” provided by the Legislature. However, the ability of our state to fulfill this guarantee for the nearly 90 percent of school-aged children in West Virginia who attend public schools is currently threatened by a variety of challenges. Increased disinvestment from public schools through the Hope Scholarship Program, declining state revenues due to tax cuts, and reduced resources from the expiration of federal pandemic-era funding have resulted in precarious financial circumstances for our public school system.
The Hope Scholarship Program has diverted significant funds from the public school system to private schools and other educational service providers within and outside of the state. West Virginia is one of many states offering school voucher programs, but unlike the programs in several other states, West Virginia’s operates without limits on enrollment, program costs, or the household income of participating families. The program also operates without required public reporting on key demographic and performance metrics related to the program, enrollees, and the non-public schools that participate. School voucher programs, particularly those without accountability measures or guardrails, are a growing concern for fiscal responsibility and transparency across the country. In the past three years, numerous states have either expanded their school voucher programs or implemented plans for expansion to the detriment of their public school systems. These include West Virginia, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansa, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Utah. Extensive research evidences the harmful impact that school voucher programs have on public education while providing little to no increase in student opportunities or improvement in student outcomes.
Statewide, the loss of funding from the public school system to the Hope Scholarship is expected to total up to $52.1 million for the 2024-2025 school year, more than double the cost for the 2023-2024 school year. This total could grow throughout the year due to year-round open enrollment for the program. Even at the current award amount, this program could cost almost $250 million per year upon expansion. In addition to diverting funds from already underresourced public schools, voucher programs also contribute to broader disinvestment from the public school system. States with longer-running voucher programs provide relatively little funding per student in public schools even through per student spending is asoociated with positive long-term student outcomes in areas such as income, health, and educational attainment.
Key Findings
Read Tamaya’s full issue brief.
At his first press conference as governor last week, Patrick Morrisey promised that under his watch state government will be “more efficient and effective than ever before.” He indeed has a powerful opportunity to increase government efficiency through comprehensive and thoughtful agency reviews, but he may find that process will take him on a different path than he envisioned.
To most of us, an efficient and effective government means that our state agencies and public services function well, enabling us the freedom and opportunity to live our lives without having to think too much about them.
An efficient and effective government means school buses arrive on time daily to take children to school. Highly qualified educators and support staff are in their classrooms when students arrive. Firefighters and first responders arrive swiftly in an emergency. A real person answers the phone quickly when you call the DMV or Medicaid agency with a question.
Former Gov. Jim Justice notoriously stayed out of the details of most policy decisions at agencies. Legislative committees learned in recent months that agencies’ real funding requests were suppressed by Justice’s administration and critical programs like PEIA received budget allocations that fell short of their operating costs. One commentator referred to Justice’s budget cuts via an across-the-board flat budget as a “hatchet” rather than a scalpel, ignoring agencies’ specific needs.
Morrisey has an opportunity to honor his promise to make government work well by listening to the public servants within the agencies themselves who, because of their interactions with West Virginians every day, have true insight into the needs of our state’s people. In some cases, that will mean allocating more resources so that programs can efficiently serve West Virginia families and small businesses after years of neglect and austerity.
West Virginia school bus drivers earn far less ($30,580 on average) than their peers in any neighboring state; for example, they make 35% less than their counterparts in Virginia ($46,800). For parents scrambling to get their kids to school amid canceled bus routes due to workforce shortages, the answer is clear: better pay to recruit bus drivers who safely transport our children.
Average teacher pay in West Virginia ranks 51st among all states and D.C. Morrisey has already rightly called for increased pay for public school teachers, as the same salary disparities exist where they can cross the border into a neighboring state and greatly increase their economic well-being. Again, the answer is simple for parents and people who care about the next generation’s workforce: better pay.
Similar examples exist across government programs and agencies. A recent funding request from the Department of Human Services revealed that due to staffing vacancies and a budget gap, Medicaid and SNAP case workers are carrying caseloads of over 900 clients when the manageable standard is 500. This impacts the timeliness and accuracy of responses, which can put federal funds at risk and negatively impact clients who rely on their services.
Division of Forestry officials noted in another budget request they are operating with significantly fewer staff than they did a decade ago amid rising fire threats, challenging their ability to adequately manage fire season emergencies and putting them at risk of losing federal matching funds. Recent reporting has highlighted funding shortages for fire departments and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), as well as offices that oversee abuse and safety investigations for vulnerable West Virginians.
These budget-driven inefficiencies don’t exist in a vacuum. Spending a bit more now generates considerable savings in the long run and better serves our people. Having more fire response staff in the Division of Forestry and in local fire departments will mean safer communities, less costly damage to clean up after fire emergencies, and more affordable homeowners’ insurance. Timely responses from caseworkers to approve SNAP for a family in need can prevent a child from being placed in state custody because their parents could not afford enough food. Paying state workers a more competitive wage can grow our labor supply and economy.
In contrast, starving public services in the name of rightsizing does not save money in the long-term or make our state a more appealing place for families and businesses.
Morrisey’s team has a fresh opportunity to work closely with the civil servants who serve our state’s people every day rather than taking a hatchet to programs like the previous administration did. After years of flat budgets, agencies have already reduced costs in ways that make life less efficient for West Virginians each day.
The governor’s team should go into this process with an open mind about what they might find will make government services work better for our state’s people.
Read Kelly’s full op-ed.
The WVCBP is pleased to share that the new year brought some exciting changes to our staff structure. 2025 will undoubtedly present new challenges–as we continue working to advance policies and budgets that improve the economic mobility and quality of life for all West Virginians, we’d like to recognize the following team members for their invaluable contributions to our efforts thus far. Please join us in celebrating their entrance into their new roles:
To learn more about the WVCBP staff, check out our Team page here.
It was recently announced that West Virginia is expected to face a $400 million budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2026. This will create numerous budgetary challenges for the state, impeding its ability to fund essential public services. A recent article, including comment from WVCBP executive director Kelly Allen, provides further details. Excerpt below:
As the new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Jason Barrett has a challenge ahead: the general fund deficit of more than $400 million anticipated by the Morrisey administration for the next fiscal year.
Barrett, R-Berkeley, said state officials are up to the task.
“I would agree with Governor Morrisey that we are facing some challenges for fiscal year ’26 budget. It’s something that those of us who have been in the Legislature and worked through the states finances over the past number of years were aware of,” Barrett said in a telephone interview.
Incoming Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, announced during his first week in office that his administration projects a budget deficit of more than $400 million for the fiscal year that begins next July 1.
Morrisey has consistently said West Virginia needs to tighten its financial belt. He described cutting back on spending as a prescription for financial pain.
The Morrisey administration will introduce its budget proposal when the regular legislative session begins Feb. 12. Then lawmakers on the House and Senate finance committees will hear financial reports from agency leaders and move toward their own version of a budget.
Morrisey described three factors leading to the projected budget deficit:
— a “structural deficit” built into the baseline — including a “heavy reliance on one-shot revenue paying for ongoing obligation.”
— rising expenses related to education.
— rising costs for the Public Employees Insurance Agency
Barrett agreed that rising prescription drug costs will continue to be challenging for PEIA. He also underscored that insurance for state workers is based on their pay, rather than their health risks like other insurance plans.
On education, Barrett noted the the Hope Scholarship school choice initiative continues to rise as an expense, particularly as the program opens to all students not enrolled in public schools in 2026. “We’re going to be very mindful of the additional expense that will come from the Hope Scholarship,” Barrett said, while praising the program.
His predecessor as finance chairman, Senator Eric Tarr, emphasized the need for flat budgets or reductions to manage the deficit.
Tarr, appearing last week on MetroNews’ “Talkline,” said that in preparation for income tax cuts, the Legislature had aimed to keep spending growth at no more than 3% a year. However, he said, the past couple of years resulted in financial moves beyond that target rate.
He attributed getting out of line to state employee pay raises, accelerating the reduction/elimination of the income tax on seniors and additional factors such as growth of the scholarship program and workforce safety net expenses.
“And what that results in is probably around a $300 million deficit coming in for fiscal year ’26,” he said. “What we expected, instead of being at a zero net this year — in other words, meaning that revenues meet expenses and vice versa — that should have been two years out from now, is what we planned,” said Tarr, R-Putnam.
Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy think tank, said a trade-off of tax cuts versus the state’s lessened ability to provide financial support for education and healthcare should have been apparent.
“It seems unlikely that the majority of state lawmakers who supported tax cuts in 2023 and 2024 were in on the plan that they were essentially voting for insolvency for PEIA, Medicaid, and K-12 education,” Allen said.
“While, to be clear, our state already has very competitive tax rates with our neighbors, deeper tax cuts will never be appealing enough to offset the downsides of being unable to fund high-quality schools, a healthy population and basic infrastructure.”
Read the full article.
Join the WVCBP for our second annual Budget and Bites event!
This convening will be held at the WV School Service Personnel Association Convention Center on Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Tickets include appetizers and drinks, available from 4:00-6:30 pm. Please note, registration is required. You can find event registration here.
The program begins at 5:00 with opening remarks by Kelly Allen, WVCBP’s executive director. Following, senior policy analyst, Sean O’Leary, will give a brief analysis of the Governor’s 2026 budget. You’ll also hear from other members of the WVCBP team and coalition partners about the budget impact on West Virginians.
Stay to mix and mingle, get information about upcoming budget priorities, and learn more about the Center and our team. Come and stay or drop in for short conversation in a laid-back pub atmosphere.
To become an event sponsor, email event coordinator, Krysta Rexrode Wolfe, or fill out the sponsorship form here.
The Black Voter Impact Initiative and Black by God, the founders of West Virginia’s Black Policy Day, are excited to invite you to their webinar series focused on specific aspects of the Black Policy Agenda. This is an excellent opportunity to deepen your knowledge and engage with experts across various issue areas ahead of the 2025 West Virginia legislative session.
You can register for the webinar series here.
You can share what you would like to see prioritized in the Black Policy Agenda by filling out this survey.
Mark your calendars for Black Policy Day 2025, which will take place on March 10, 2025. You can become a Black Policy Day sponsor here. Please see the yellow flyer below for further details.
