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by BAILEE TUCKER
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — Kanawha County teacher Summer Grose has seen changes in her school district since the Hope Scholarship came into play. The scholarship provides funds for qualifying students to attend a school of their choice, whether public or private, and can also be used for homeschooling. But with that comes hardships for public schools like the one Grose teaches at.
"For the school system, it's a significant drop in funds because they're not getting that federal and local fund because the student's not enrolled anymore,” Grose said. “So it's a huge problem for public schools.”
A study from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy shows Kanawha County has the most students using the hope scholarship with 720 during the 2023-2024 school year. Senior Policy Outreach Director Seth DiStefano tells Eyewitness News:
"The Hope scholarship is a driving factor in lower public-school enrolments and the school closures plaguing Kanawha County," he said. "What's worse is the voucher, in most cases, does not cover full tuition at private schools, let alone the cost of transportation and school meals which are provided by Kanawha County Public Schools. These vouchers support wealthier families who could already afford private school tuition at the expense of kids from East Bank, Malden, Mary Ingles and other community public schools scheduled to close their doors."
It was voted last year that these schools amongst others in Kanawha County would be closing their doors. Grose, however, does believe there are positives when it comes to having the freedom to choose what kind of education a child receives.
"If they're not doing well in public school, if they have some unique needs that the public schools cannot accommodate, being able to send your child to a school that you select feels like a lifeline for some people,” she said.
Despite this, she worries that public schools are still receiving an unfair hand.
"We are asking public schools to compete with private schools, but we're putting many more restrictions on public schools and private schools,” she said.
