PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack announced the maximum estimated budget for the 2026-2027 school year is now around $244 million.
On Monday, September 8, he released the revision stating, “Based on updated traditional homeschool data provided by the West Virginia Department of Education and the current Hope Scholarship participant data, we were able to revise our estimates. The largest contributor is the population of newly eligible students for the 2026-2027 school year dropped from around 54,000 to roughly 43,000.”
In January, the West Virginia Treasury projected $315,013,760 if 100% of newly eligible students participated in the Hope Scholarship next school year.
The new estimate is now $244,580,215.
The good news is that this will save the state around $70 million. Regardless of the expected cost, we look forward to helping our parents and students find the right education that fits their unique needs.
The release says the projections will be further refined in December, if needed, to get the most accurate Hope Scholarship funding estimate before the 2026 Legislative session.
The Hope Scholarship award amount varies each school year depending on the amount of state aid funding per pupil provided to county boards of education for public school students, according to the release. The projected scholarship amount for the 2026-2027 school year is $5,435.62.
The Hope Scholarship will open to all school-age children residing in West Virginia beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year.
The deadline to apply for 75 percent of this year’s Hope Scholarship funding amount is September 15.
Click here to read more on the Hope Scholarship.
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