Digging Into W.Va. Education Issues | News, Sports, Jobs

I feel many of the state was shocked to see the West Virginia Supreme Courtroom of Appeals issued an order final week reinstating the Hope Scholarship program two days after listening to oral arguments.

Certain, the state Supreme Courtroom agreed to expedite the case contemplating that greater than 3,000 households had been in limbo after Kanawha County Circuit Courtroom Choose Joanna Tabit granted a everlasting injunction for the state’s new instructional financial savings account/voucher program.

The Hope Scholarship program lets eligible households use $4,300 per youngster of tax {dollars} put aside from the state scholar assist formulation for particular schooling bills – something from tutoring, supplemental instructional assets, and even personal/non secular faculty tuition.

This system is restricted to college students already within the public schooling system for no less than 45 days or extra, however this system opens as much as all youngsters of West Virginia residents by 2026 and will take away funding that might in any other case go to public faculties and price the state greater than $100 million if all eligible households take part.

I perceive that some personal faculties and spiritual faculties had prorated tuition for Hope Scholarship households with the hope, pun unintended, that the Supreme Courtroom would dissolve the injunction and this system may begin sending out the scholarship funding.

We don’t know why the Supreme Courtroom dominated the way in which it did.

A majority opinion has not been launched and no dissents have been printed. I can be very curious to see how the vast majority of justices come down on the state constitutional points.

∫ ∫ ∫

Talking of schooling, the libertarian Cause Basis had some fascinating stats in its annual Okay-12 Training Spending Highlight launched in August.

In West Virginia, there was a 15% improve in whole income (federal, state, and native) per pupil over 18 years adjusted for inflation. Per-pupil income between 2002 and 2020 elevated from $12,350 per pupil to $14,163 per pupil. Enrollment throughout the identical timeframe decreased by 6.6%, from 282,245 to 263,486.

Prices maintain going up whereas the variety of college students served retains taking place. As of the newest end-of-year enrollment numbers for Spring 2021, numbers dropped to 249,375. We’ll see if the brand new brick-and-mortar charters, statewide digital charters, and Hope Scholarship households selecting personal or non secular faculties add to this decline, however the decline has been happening for some time.

∫ ∫ ∫

As a reporter, I discover typically individuals attempt to determine the place I stand on points primarily based on how I write a information story. I definitely have private opinions as somebody who lives in West Virginia, owns property right here, pays taxes right here, and many others. Objectivity is not possible, however it’s at all times the objective I goal for.

Within the curiosity of full disclosure, I’ll admit I don’t have an opinion particularly on the Hope Scholarship.

I’ve no points with faculty selection, and I don’t take challenge with the concept that dad and mom ought to be capable to use the portion of taxes they pay and use these {dollars} for no matter instructional possibility they deem finest.

However I really feel the identical manner about Hope as I do about public constitution faculties: neither are silver bullets for fixing this state’s instructional attainment points.

It’s a proven fact that college students on this state lag behind different states on the subject of math and English/language arts. It was true earlier than the educational loss attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic faculty shutdowns, and scores are rebounding since 2020 and 2021, however they’re rebounding to ranges that had been unacceptable pre-COVID.

We have now excessive commencement numbers, however these graduates are going proper into faculty remedial packages. Those who don’t go to varsity are going out into the world unprepared. I’ve written about this challenge earlier than, however as a state, we actually undervalue schooling.

I think the dad and mom placing their youngsters within the handful of public constitution faculties or signing up for the Hope Scholarship care very a lot about their youngsters’s schooling. I feel it’s secure to say that the dad and mom who homeschool or pay for personal and spiritual faculty schooling care.

However what are we, as a society, going to do to assist the scholars who determine to stay in public faculties who don’t have the assist system at dwelling that encourages them to do higher at school?

It seems like each the state Board of Training beneath President Paul Hardesty and the state Senate with new Senate Training Committee Chair (and public faculty trainer) Amy Grady are going to deal with public schooling and serving to academics versus being hostile. Home Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, had a one-year head begin with payments he supported offering extra aides for academics and requiring college students be proficient earlier than leaving third grade.

If lawmakers can steer among the extra reactionary members away from among the scorching button points standard on the nat-con proper, they may make some progress in 2023.