Governor Patrick Morrisey campaigned for the school selection and wanted to enable the West Virginian families and money for options outside of public school.
In the penniless and rural state, most students exploit their public schools, which offer free meals, special debt services and other programs that are not always guaranteed at private schools and micro -schools or through homeschooling.
“There are no options for school selection for most West virginians,” said House speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay. “I don’t want us to lose sight of it … The idea that we will have a widespread migration to other options, I think it’s unrealistic.”
When the legislative period begins on Wednesday, several Republicans – the party, which has a firm grip in both chambers, return from districts that lose public schools. School finances are in difficulties, and local headmaster say that the Hope scholarship, the state educational program for educational savings account, is partly responsible for the financing charges that are responsible Dozens of community schools are closed.
“If you take this school away, this small community will die completely. Nobody will want to move there, ”said Del. Dr. Buck JenningsR-Preston. His district will close two primary schools after the closed coalemins have led to a decline in the local population. “We have to find a way to keep these small schools open.”
Hanshaw is the husband of a public school teacher, and Clay County, his rural district, will lose His only middle school At the end of the school year 2026-27 due to a lack of financing.
“In most cases, the public school system is the working animal of West Virginia,” he said. “I think most West Virgins expect the legislator not lose sight of this and focus on what most students have in West Virginia.”
In Clay County, dozens of students exploit the Hope scholarship that the district no longer corresponds to government funds of $ 157,000, since according to the County Superintendent, some school financing are bound by enrolling students.
The Hope scholarship offers families in tax money for private schools, homeschooling and much more around 4,400 US dollars per student. Hanshaw said the house had no appetite to escalate the crowd.
Morrisey has not yet challenged Specific legislation for the Hope scholarshipBut the legislators will at least vote on the financing of the program. The authorization of the program will open from school year 2026-2027 for all public, private and domestic children.
According to several Republican legislators, this could cost up to 300 million US dollars.
The price sign was always a problem for Hanshaw. It led him to vote against The The invoice The Hope scholarship program created this in 2021.
“Back then I had concerns about whether we could afford what we suggested at the time, and I’m not sure if we can afford it now,” said Hanshaw. “I don’t know how much more needs to be done in the Hope scholarship. I think we have done more than our finances. “
The budget is probably a focus of the 60-day session. Morrisey says that former governor Jim Justice, now a US senator, has left him with a projected 400 million US dollars deficitwhile Hanshaw said reporters that he doesn’t do “Share the conviction that we are in the same type of budget situation that others have proposed. “
HB2013 Rollcall 2021
Kanawha with several private schools feels the effects of the expenditure of hope
Fifty -three public schools in West Virginia have closed in the past five years, and the counties this year have closed or approved 25 schools in the next few years. The state’s total population decline is the largest driver for closures, said County Superintend.
In November the state school authority agreed to close or consolidate six schools in the Kanawha County The district has lost thousands of students in recent years. The county, which is the most populous of the state, has the highest number of children who exploit the Hope scholarship.
Del. Andy Shamblin, R-Kanawha, teaches citizens and history at the Nitro High School. His colleagues and voters talk a lot about the effects of the Hope scholarship on local school finances.
“It is definitely a balancing act for me as an educator for public school and someone who is a product of the public school system. It has always been a balance between the philosophical commitment that so many in the GOP or the selection of the school, but the vast majority of our students are trained in the public school system, ”he said.
The superintendent of Kanawha County Schools Tom Williams told state school board members in November that the district In the past 11 years, 5,000 students lost and corresponded to a financing reserve of $ 30 million. More than 1,200 students went to exploit the Hope scholarship. That of the district excess delivery Didn’t cover the necessary costs, he said.
“For some of these communities, especially for rural communities, it is devastating if you lose your community school,” said Del. Mike Puschkin, D-Kanawha. The eastern part of his district will consolidate four primary schools in a modern building.
Shamblin said that public school finances differ when he coordinates.
“For me, one of the most important things we do is and I think we have to concentrate much more on the public education system,” he said. “I think we have a lot of challenges.”
In Wood County, More than 300 students exploit the Hope scholarship this school year. The superintendent said that the district received no state funds of $ 1 million because these children were no longer counted in the registration formula.
Del. Dave Foggin, R-Wood, a teacher of public school, supports the Hope scholarship and says that it benefits taxpayers who pay in the education system but do not want to exploit public schools.
“I can’t explain why you go, but if you offer a good product, people will buy it, ”he said. “If we as a state school system can offer a better product, we will exploit more people this product.”
He did not want to comment on how he would vote on any legislation in connection with the hope this year, since he had not yet seen any legislative templates.
“I also feel like any other government program, there are probably some problems and some inefficiency, but I still have the feeling that the program is based on a good idea,” said Foggin.
House members, including Hanshaw, Foggin and Shamblin, elected in May To Add an additional 27 million US dollars To the Hope scholarship from non -used state dollars. Together with some Republicans, Puschkin voted against the measure.
Potential legislative changes in education
Puschkin, who is a member of the House Education Committee, said that the house democrats would like to sponsor a measure that would forbid the exploit of hope for schools outside the state.
The last school year, while most of the money was spent in the state, was used by the Hope scholarship In 12 other countries For schools and educational services. According to a Hope scholarship report, $ 210,311.41 was used for non-public school payments in Virginia. New Mexico received 7,115 US dollars from the program, which included the New Mexico Military Institute.
“Our biggest problem with the Hope scholarship is the serious lack of oversight,” said Puschkin.
Some legislators, including the chairman of the Senate training, Amy Grady, R-Mason, have again visited the school aid formula after the state’s decline. Grady also said Disruptive and violent students If the state wants to keep its public students.
Jennings suggested reducing the number of school days to return money to the school budgets.
“When we go to 160 days, it reduces how many people you have to have in administration and everything. We can take this money and exploit it to support them [schools]”, He said.
Morrisey has asked for an escalate in teachers because West Virginia has a continuing lack of teachers in public school teachers and low wages. Hanshaw supports the proposal and said he worked well with Morrisey before the session.
“The governor called for the increase in his opening speech to salary increases. We tried to march this path as unfortunate as possible. I would certainly support more to do there, ”he said.
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