In a December 2023 Report by the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, West Virginia’s public schools are reported to likely lose more than $21.6 million with students who have left the system to use the Hope Scholarship for private schooling, homeschooling or other options.
The greater majority of school-age children in West Virginia attend and receive their education through the public school system, and West Virginia’s state constitution requires a thorough and efficient system of free schools. But a growing Hope Scholarship voucher program diverts public resources away from the public education system and the nearly 250,000 children served by it. In a recent in-depth look from the WVCBP impacts of diverting taxpayer dollars away from the public education system private schools will cause public school to lose $21.6 million in state aid funding for the 2024-25 school year, including funding for approximately 364 staff: 301 professional educators and 63 school service personnel.
Due to a number of factors, including a growing Hope Scholarship voucher program and the damage done during the pandemic-era, school districts across West Virginia are facing a funding cliff going into the 2024-25 school year, and will have fewer resources to serve the students that remain. The Hope Scholarship gives West Virginia students roughly $4,400 per student in taxpayer money that would otherwise go to public schools. Lawmakers put no enrollment caps or income limits on the program. Eligible students must be new students entering kindergarten or children already in school who have attended public school for at least 45 consecutive days, according to the State Legislation.
Last year, more than 2,300 students used the Hope Scholarship. Schools are also facing the end of COVID-19 funding, which covered costs associated with keeping schools open during the pandemic. That money has been used in some districts to pay for staff.
State Treasurer Riley Moore, in an effort to increase transparency, recently made the decision to post annual reports recapping the last academic year. School choice has been a key issue for the state’s Republican supermajority, and in the last few years, lawmakers have passed a number of bills aimed at bolstering parents’ education options. Moore, whose office oversees the Hope Scholarship, has already indicated that he’d like to — with the help of the state Legislature — allow year-round applications for the program. Right now, the application window runs from March 1 to May 15.
In 2022, West Virginia public school students’ math and reading scores dropped to historic lows.
According to www.schooldigger.com Calhoun Middle High School ranks in the bottom 11.6%, being 99th of 168 in WV High Schools and 97th in WV Middle Schools according to data recently released for 2023. The amount of expenditures per student in CMHS was $11,621 for each of the 524 students enrolled.
Test Scores were reported in December 2023 as follows showing the percentage meeting standards
| Grade | Math | English | Science |
| 5th Grade | CMHS – 41.3% WV – 38.1% | CMHS – 39.7% WV – 44.3% | CMHS – 27% WV – 30.8% |
| 6th Grade | CMHS – 24.2% WV – 30.2% | CMHS – 30.3% WV – 45.4% | |
| 7th Grade | CMHS – 30.2% WV – 30.7% | CMHS – 45.3% WV 38.8% | |
| 8th Grade | CMHS – 21.9% WV – 28.2% | CMHS – 37.5% WV – 42.7% | CMHS – 25% WV – 27% |
| 11th Grade | CMHS – 9.7% WV – 21.5% | CMHS – 33.9% WV – 49.9% | CMHS – 19.4% WV – 27.9% |
With the window opening for parents to apply for the Hope Scholarship Ridgeview News will be following the numbers to see how many parents opt into it for the upcoming school year. In addition to Homeschooling and the Little Kanawha Valley Christian School, the Avalon Campus will now house the added option of a Non-Profit K-12 Private School, Koios Academy, which will focus on STEAM education in a Christian environment.
