West Virginia’s broad education savings account program, the Hope Scholarship, permitted families to spend $22 million last school year on things like private school tuition, piano lessons, dance studio fees, iPads and water tables. (Getty Images)
West Virginia’s broad education savings account program, the Hope Scholarship, permitted families to spend $22 million last school year on things like private school tuition, piano lessons, dance studio fees, iPads and water tables.
The state Treasurer’s Office, which oversees the program, shared its new 2023-24 school year report with West Virginia Watch through a public records request.
The Hope Scholarship, created by the Republican-led legislature in 2021, is the nation’s broadest program of its kind. Lawmakers gave an additional $27 million to the program in May due to its growing enrollment.
The program provides roughly $4,900 per student to be used for private schooling, homeschooling, microschools, education services and more.
Total Hope Scholarship student spending increased from $7.7 million to $22.3 million in 2023-2024, according to the report. The state switched to a novice vendor, which will cost nearly $10 million, to manage the voucher program this year.
“I want to express my sincere thanks to the Hope Scholarship Board, our staff and the families involved in this program for their hard work and patience as we worked diligently to operate this program and address the growing demand,” said State Treasurer Riley Moore in the report. He serves as chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board. “I’m proud to help every family and child be able to obtain the educational opportunities they believe work best for them.”
Out of 7,250 applicants during the 2023-24 school year, 5,443 scholarships were awarded to students in nearly every county. Kanawha and Berkeley, two of the state’s most populous counties, had the highest numbers of scholarship recipients.
No student in McDowell County, the state’s poorest county, used the program last school year or during the 2022-23 school year.
“They tout that this is supposed to be an equalizer for our poverty kids, and yet our highest poverty county had zero people taking the Hope Scholarship,” said Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association. “It tells me that it’s not doing what they tout it’s supposed to do.
More than two dozen public schools could close or consolidate next year due to dwindling student population and financial issues because state funding is tied to student enrollment. County superintendents have said that the Hope Scholarship has worsened school funding issues, though most of the student enrollment decline has been due to the state’s overall population decline.
A little more than 77% of Hope funds were spent at nonpublic schools, according to the report. Most of the funds were spent at private, religious schools in- and out-of-state where Hope money may cover all or a large portion of the tuition.
While most of the money was spent in-state, the scholarship was used in 12 other states for schools and education services. According to the report, $210,311.41 was used for non-public school payments in Virginia. More than $20,000 was spent in Utah on education services. New Mexico received $7,115 from the program, which included the New Mexico Military Institute.
Lee said that a number of the schools that received Hope money were unaccredited.
“They have little to no accountability,” he said. “We want to stress accountability for our public schools, but we’re giving tax payer dollars to non-public schools with almost no accountability.”
Hope Scholarship funds were also spent on private music lessons as well as on football, cheerleading, jiujitsu, dance classes and other sports programs. The Clay Center, a children’s museum in Charleston, also received money from the program.
Jason Huffman, state director for Americans for Prosperity’s West Virginia chapter, said that the wide-ranging use of the funds showed that West Virginia had “distinguished itself as a leader in education innovation.”
“It highlights the positive impact that the scholarship is having for the families of West Virginia,” he said. “Traditional public schools have a myriad of programs for physical education and the arts. I don’t know why individuals who are opposed to the program think students shouldn’t have access to those same educational pathways.”
Parents can also Hope funds to purchase textbooks, tutoring services, transportation and more. Items are purchased through the MyScholarship Shop, an ecommerce platform, where items have been approved by the Hope Scholarship board for purchase.
“I think [the Hope board] has done a really great job at striking a balance between giving parents a lot of flexibility while declining purchases that don’t really make sense,” Huffman said.
During the 2023-24 school year, families spent roughly $608,000 on computers and laptops, and more than $308,000 was spent on tablets and iPads. Hope funds were also used in the following ways: $507,000 for curriculums, $110,000 for art supplies; $18,915 for PE supplies; $16,000 for music equipment; and $4,486 for water table.
According to the report, around $3.1 million dollars remained in student accounts at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Any unspent balances in student accounts at the end of a school year carry over into the following school year.
Right now, there are some guardrails on who can use the program, which includes students who are incoming kindergarteners. There are eligibility requirements for other students, including that student must attend public school for 45 consecutive days in a school year before leaving to use the program.
The highest rate of students using the program during the 2023-24 school year were kindergarteners.
The program’s eligibility will expand in the 2026-27 school year to be open to all school-aged children who reside in the state.
“Our efforts to expand the program don’t stop there. Our Board recently approved a policy that will allow children of military service members who are required to temporarily relocate to another state to remain Hope Scholarship eligible when they return to West Virginia,” Moore said in a statement.
More than 11,000 students are enrolled in the program this school year.
Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, has said expanding school choice in the state will be a priority during his tenure. He serves on the Hope Scholarship board.
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by Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
December 20, 2024
by Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
December 20, 2024
West Virginia’s broad education savings account program, the Hope Scholarship, permitted families to spend $22 million last school year on things like private school tuition, piano lessons, dance studio fees, iPads and water tables.
The state Treasurer’s Office, which oversees the program, shared its new 2023-24 school year report with West Virginia Watch through a public records request.
The Hope Scholarship, created by the Republican-led legislature in 2021, is the nation’s broadest program of its kind. Lawmakers gave an additional $27 million to the program in May due to its growing enrollment.
The program provides roughly $4,900 per student to be used for private schooling, homeschooling, microschools, education services and more.
Total Hope Scholarship student spending increased from $7.7 million to $22.3 million in 2023-2024, according to the report. The state switched to a novice vendor, which will cost nearly $10 million, to manage the voucher program this year.
“I want to express my sincere thanks to the Hope Scholarship Board, our staff and the families involved in this program for their hard work and patience as we worked diligently to operate this program and address the growing demand,” said State Treasurer Riley Moore in the report. He serves as chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board. “I’m proud to help every family and child be able to obtain the educational opportunities they believe work best for them.”
Out of 7,250 applicants during the 2023-24 school year, 5,443 scholarships were awarded to students in nearly every county. Kanawha and Berkeley, two of the state’s most populous counties, had the highest numbers of scholarship recipients.
No student in McDowell County, the state’s poorest county, used the program last school year or during the 2022-23 school year.
“They tout that this is supposed to be an equalizer for our poverty kids, and yet our highest poverty county had zero people taking the Hope Scholarship,” said Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association. “It tells me that it’s not doing what they tout it’s supposed to do.
More than two dozen public schools could close or consolidate next year due to dwindling student population and financial issues because state funding is tied to student enrollment. County superintendents have said that the Hope Scholarship has worsened school funding issues, though most of the student enrollment decline has been due to the state’s overall population decline.
A little more than 77% of Hope funds were spent at nonpublic schools, according to the report. Most of the funds were spent at private, religious schools in- and out-of-state where Hope money may cover all or a large portion of the tuition.
While most of the money was spent in-state, the scholarship was used in 12 other states for schools and education services. According to the report, $210,311.41 was used for non-public school payments in Virginia. More than $20,000 was spent in Utah on education services. New Mexico received $7,115 from the program, which included the New Mexico Military Institute.
Lee said that a number of the schools that received Hope money were unaccredited.
“They have little to no accountability,” he said. “We want to stress accountability for our public schools, but we’re giving tax payer dollars to non-public schools with almost no accountability.”
Hope Scholarship funds were also spent on private music lessons as well as on football, cheerleading, jiujitsu, dance classes and other sports programs. The Clay Center, a children’s museum in Charleston, also received money from the program.
Jason Huffman, state director for Americans for Prosperity’s West Virginia chapter, said that the wide-ranging use of the funds showed that West Virginia had “distinguished itself as a leader in education innovation.”
“It highlights the positive impact that the scholarship is having for the families of West Virginia,” he said. “Traditional public schools have a myriad of programs for physical education and the arts. I don’t know why individuals who are opposed to the program think students shouldn’t have access to those same educational pathways.”
Parents can also Hope funds to purchase textbooks, tutoring services, transportation and more. Items are purchased through the MyScholarship Shop, an ecommerce platform, where items have been approved by the Hope Scholarship board for purchase.
“I think [the Hope board] has done a really great job at striking a balance between giving parents a lot of flexibility while declining purchases that don’t really make sense,” Huffman said.
During the 2023-24 school year, families spent roughly $608,000 on computers and laptops, and more than $308,000 was spent on tablets and iPads. Hope funds were also used in the following ways: $507,000 for curriculums, $110,000 for art supplies; $18,915 for PE supplies; $16,000 for music equipment; and $4,486 for water table.
According to the report, around $3.1 million dollars remained in student accounts at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Any unspent balances in student accounts at the end of a school year carry over into the following school year.
Right now, there are some guardrails on who can use the program, which includes students who are incoming kindergarteners. There are eligibility requirements for other students, including that student must attend public school for 45 consecutive days in a school year before leaving to use the program.
The highest rate of students using the program during the 2023-24 school year were kindergarteners.
The program’s eligibility will expand in the 2026-27 school year to be open to all school-aged children who reside in the state.
“Our efforts to expand the program don’t stop there. Our Board recently approved a policy that will allow children of military service members who are required to temporarily relocate to another state to remain Hope Scholarship eligible when they return to West Virginia,” Moore said in a statement.
More than 11,000 students are enrolled in the program this school year.
Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, has said expanding school choice in the state will be a priority during his tenure. He serves on the Hope Scholarship board.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Amelia is an investigative reporter for West Virginia Watch. Her coverage regularly focuses on poverty, child welfare, social services and government.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)
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