Updated estimates from the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office now estimate the cost of the expanded Hope Scholarship in FY 2027 to be about $245 million rather than the $315 million projected earlier this year. While their office has framed this as a “cost savings,” in reality this still reflects exponential program growth far beyond what state lawmakers were originally presented with when passing the Hope Scholarship legislation. In fact, the updated cost estimate remains double the original fiscal note provided to lawmakers when they considered and approved the creation of the Hope Scholarship Program in 2021. At the time, the cost of expanding the program was expected to be just over $100 million. Instead, the Hope Scholarship is already on track to surpass that amount this year with an estimated cost of $110 million, and that cost will double again if lawmakers allow the program to become universal next year.
Due to growing participation, increasing funds awarded to families, and year-round enrollment, estimates and costs of the Hope Scholarship have fluctuated widely from year to year. This leaves lawmakers largely in the dark when determining funding for the Hope Scholarship and other state-funded programs such as public education or child care assistance.
Further, only about one-fifth ($24.6 million) of the $110 million needed to fund the Hope Scholarship this year came from the FY 2026 general revenue budget, while the remaining cost was funded through one-time supplemental funding. This means that rather than having to come up with double the money in the budget in FY 2027 to fund the expansion of the program, lawmakers will be looking at increasing by ten times the amount they budgeted via the state budget this year.
Regardless of the cost of the Hope Scholarship next year–whether $245 million, $315 million, or somewhere in between–state lawmakers and taxpayers will be stuck paying the bill, as its current structure is essentially an entitlement program. This will be particularly difficult after relying so heavily on one-time funding this year.
Before the Hope Scholarship explodes in cost yet again next year–all to go to families who typically can already afford private school or home school–lawmakers can practice fiscal responsibility and protect public education funding by repealing the Hope Scholarship expansion and adopting responsible program guardrails.
