HOPE SCHOLARSHIP COSTS UNDER SCRUTINY

Local school boards are sharing their priorities with lawmakers ahead of the next legislative session. The Monongalia County Board of Education has raised concerns about the Hope Scholarship. Board president Shawn Smith says the program is really a voucher program. He says enrollment has grown from about 2-thousand in 2021 to more than 26-thousand for the 2026-27 school year, at an estimated cost of about 155-million-dollars. House Education Chairman Joe Statler says the Hope Scholarship Board reviews each spending request, and the money goes to vendors, not families.