Dec 11, 2024
Ohio County Board of Education member Andy Garber is concerned that the Hope Scholarship program is taking needed funding away from West Virginia’s public schools. (File Photo)
WHEELING — Ohio County Board of Education member Andy Garber fears the current method of funding the Hope Scholarship in West Virginia is going to leave school districts short as they try to fund public education.
He made his thoughts known while speaking out at this week’s board of education meeting.
Garber explained the responsibility for education in West Virginia rests on the local school boards, “but our local school boards must also take direction — and our schools must take direction — from the (state) Legislature.”
In return, the funding the Legislature provides to school districts “is imperative,” he continued.
“Without the money, we cannot properly educate our students,” Garber told board members.
He suggested public schools in West Virginia are losing money first because of decreasing enrollment, and secondly because of funding lost through students taking advantage of the Hope Scholarship. The Hope Scholarship gives West Virginia parents the choice to use an equivalent portion of the per-pupil expenditure for their children from the state’s school aid formula for educational expenses such as private school tuition, homeschool, tutoring, learning aids and other acceptable expenses.
The Hope Scholarship takes no money from the school aid formula, but students who use the Hope Scholarship no longer count toward the enrollment-based formula, which means less money for school districts for the next year.
“They (Hope Scholarship recipients) may also spend the money on a laundry list of items – tuition at accredited and non-accredited private schools (both in-state and out-of-state), microschools, virtual programs, vendors offering software … to karate and music lessons.”
In addition, he said, Hope Scholarship students may use their funding to pay to participate in the same sports and extracurricular activities that public school students must pay for out of pocket.
Ohio County Schools has 4,755 students enrolled, while 213 students are homeschooled, Garber continued. Another 283 students in the county receive the Hope Scholarship and attend non-public schools.
Each school district’s funding is based on the number of students enrolled, and they lose $4,700 in funding for each student receiving a Hope Scholarship.
“The Hope Scholarship money comes out of Ohio County Schools’ budget to the tune of $4,700 per student,” Garber said. “When you multiply 283 times $4,700, you get $1,330,100.
“We have that kind of money coming out of our budget, and it’s a shame we have to pick up the price for that. If it comes out of anywhere it should be the state budget. They should look at that.”
Garber also wishes the West Virginia Legislature would put more emphasis on the 240,000 students in the public schools across the state. He estimates public school enrollment accounts for about 90% of school children in West Virginia.
“In order for the public schools to maintain or keep from consolidating, in order to keep from reducing staff or losing resources, the Legislature needs to take a hard look at this (money lost to the Hope Scholarship). I am very concerned.”
He encouraged the public to express their thoughts on the matter to their state legislators.
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