Kanawha County leads the state in the amount of students participating in the Hope Scholarship during the 2025-26 school year, according to an annual report released Monday by the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office. Calhoun County has 52 students utilizing the Hope Scholarship Program.
The 2025-26 school year is the last the Hope Scholarship had restrictions on eligibility. In the current school year, any resident student can receive the scholarship, regardless of whether or not they have ever participated in public schools. In prior years, it was only open to students in public school or in-coming kindergarteners.
The report showed the Hope Scholarship cost $68 million in 2025-26, with $45 million of it going to non-public schools. Computer purchases ranked number one for educational supplies, coming in at $2.3 million, followed by instructional materials and curriculum at $1.8 million. More information on the Hope Scholarship can be found here.
