Latest news with #HopeScholarship
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Notre Dame High School in Clarksburg offering bus from Fairmont
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — Notre Dame, the private Catholic high school in Clarksburg, announced that it will now offer daily bus transportation for students from Fairmont. The new transportation option will pick up and drop off students at Fairmont Catholic School in downtown Fairmont, which only offers education up to grade 8. The transportation will serve both Notre Dame High School and Saint Mary's School in Harrison County. Pickup in Fairmont will be at 7 a.m., the bus will depart from the campus in Clarksburg at 3:15 p.m. daily. According to Notre Dame, the bus will be offered through a partnership with Marion County Transit Authority. Marion County does not have a Catholic high school or a substantial private school option for high school students. Arcade games, weapons, crystals on new 'unallowable' expense list for West Virginia's Hope Scholarship Private education is expected to expand in West Virginia in the coming years because of the Hope Scholarship, a program that lets parents choose to invest their tax dollars into alternative education for their family instead of public education. Qualifying students can get up to $5,000 for private, homeschool or alternative education tuition and expenses. A new charter school, Clarksburg Classical Academy, opened in Harrison County at the start of the 2024-2025 school year after the scholarship met the required number of participants to expand starting in 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
State lawmaker slams Raleigh County Board of Education for counselor layoffs
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — A Fayette County lawmaker criticized Raleigh County School officials for terminating a number of school counselor positions earlier this year. Republican Delegate Elliott Pritt of Fayette County said that school counselors were now a necessary aspect to the state's education system because West Virginia has the highest number of foster children in the U.S. Counselors are equipped to help with both special needs and student behavior. In March the Raleigh County Board of Education voted to terminate, transfer or cut the hours of a number of school counselors. Pritt said recent legislation could force the Board to rehire some of the counselors. 'We had to pass a bill this year in response to a decision Raleigh County made to fire so many of their school counselors, which is a terrible decision,' said Pritt. 'A terrible decision. Whoever made that decision should have their education degrees removed, and I don't mind going on the record and saying that.' Raleigh County Board of Education members said in March that they were forced to balance a budget with less funding from Charleston. CEO of WV Coal Association says trade war with China will impact coal operations Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Dr. Serena Starcher said in March that the Board was following the wishes of school principals, who had suggested the cuts the BOE later approved. Public schools are expected to lose more funding to private schools and providers of homeschool curricula through growth of the Hope Scholarship program, which transfers tax dollars from public schools to support private institutions. Pritt also called on private schools to admit a growing population of children in the foster care system, many of whom need the services of school counselors and individualized educational plans. Prosecutor warns of potential charges against women who miscarry in West Virginia The president of the West Virginia Education Association has said that most private schools do not pay professional wages, which would be required to attract school counselors and many certified teachers. State law now requires one counselor for every 250 students in public schools but does not make the same requirement for private schools. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kingwood Elementary evacuated for kitchen fire
KINGWOOD, (WBOY) — Students and staff evacuated Kingwood Elementary School in Preston County on Monday after a small fire was reported in the school's kitchen. The Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department was called to the school at 1:18 p.m. because an oven was on fire, according to a release on social media. School staff used a fire extinguisher to put the fire out and turned off power to the oven before emergency crews arrived, the fire department said. Students and staff were evacuated, and no injuries were reported. Arcade games, weapons, crystals on new 'unallowable' expense list for West Virginia's Hope Scholarship One fire truck responded, and firefighters investigated the cause of the fire. The school announced that the fire was due to an electrical problem with the oven. Kingwood firefighters said that the elementary school did a 'great job' handling the fire and ensuring that everyone remained safe. No scheduling changes were made as a result of the fire and there was 'minimal damage,' the school said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Arcade games, weapons, crystals on new ‘unallowable' expense list for West Virginia's Hope Scholarship
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — The Hope Scholarship, a way for West Virginia families to invest in for alternative education for their children instead of public education, has outlined new new limits on what can purchased with the funds. Hope Scholarship is part of a push in West Virginia to give parents school choice. Qualifying students can get up to $5,000 per year to go toward alternative private, charter or homeschooling options. However, the State Treasurer's office clarified last month that the scholarship can't be used for just anything. A new 'Non-Qualifying (Unallowable) Expense List' for the Hope Scholarship was adopted on May 16 to give families a better idea of what cannot be purchased. The non-comprehensive list includes a number of entertainment-related items, weapons and ammunition, virtual reality equipment, livestock, medications, jewelry, trees, metal detectors, trampolines, 'tourmaline crystal towers,' pool tables, movie theater admissions, and Apple watches. Historic Washington Irving Middle School honored with farewell tour You can see the full list online here, but any items that are 'predominantly for personal use or that pose a high risk of fraud' will also likely be denied by the Hope Scholarship board. Families that are approved for the Hope Scholarship can use it for private school tuition or to purchase many homeschooling and educational items through a portal without additional board approval. The Hope Scholarship, which gives the tax amount that would go to a child's public education back to the family for alternative schooling, has continued expanding since it started in 2022. Opponents of Hope Scholarship say that it adds to the problem of public schools closing in the state because it redistributes some of the state's funding for education. Currently, the scholarship is only open to certain students, but starting in 2026, it will be available to up to 40,000 students across West Virginia, which is expected to reshape education in the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hope Scholarship board says voucher can't be used on ammunition, witchcraft herbs, animals and more
The Hope Scholarship is clarifying how students can use the money for education expenses after parents asked to purchase ammunition, live animals, witchcraft herbs and a cauldron. (Aristide Economopoulos for NJ Monitor) West Virginia's school voucher program, the Hope Scholarship, is clarifying how students can use the money for education expenses after parents asked to purchase ammunition, gaming consoles, live animals, witchcraft herbs and more through the program. 'We had the request for witchcraft herbs and a cauldron,' said Amy Willard, assistant treasurer for the Hope Scholarship Program, at a May 16 scholarship board meeting. The request was denied. The Hope Scholarship, which launched four years ago, provides roughly $4,900 per student in tax-payer funds to be used for private schooling tuition, homeschooling, microschools and more. Around 11,000 students used the program during the 2024-25 school year. Parents who utilize the Hope Scholarship for homeschooling use a portal to purchase a wide range of educational materials, like curriculums, iPads, water tables, bee keeping materials under $200 and more from vendors. Parents are permitted to use the money for horseback riding lessons and dance studio fees. Hope Scholarship funds are not sent to the parents. Carrie Hodousek, communications director for the State Treasure's Office, said some items are pre-approved and don't require a manual review by the board. Other items are reviewed by an individual or multiple individuals either in the Treasurer's Office and/or the Office's contracted program manager, she explained. 'These items are brought to the board for approval or disapproval,' she said. On May 16, the Hope Scholarship Board issued an updated list of unallowable expenses based on parents' requests. Along with witchcraft herbs, live animals and ammunition, the board said the funds may not be used on these additional items and more: travel sports fees; household furniture, including desks and couches; virtual reality equipment; athletic equipment in excess of $500; medications and supplements; chicken brooders; heat lamps and chicken coops in excess of $400. 'In none of these instances were these items successfully purchased without authorization from the board,' Hodousek said. 'If items are placed on the non-qualifying expense list, it means that the Treasurer's Office did not allow those purchases to go through and then requested guidance from the Hope board as to whether they should be permissible expenses,' she added. The Hope Scholarship program is expected to grow to 50,000 students by 2026, and the price tag has already raised concerns among the GOP-led Legislature, who largely back the program as part of their school choice push. Lawmakers recently approved $97 million for the Hope Scholarship for the upcoming school year — up from this year's $58 million in funding for the program. It was the largest funding increase requested by Gov. Patrick Morrisey in his first budget proposal. In 2027, its price tag is expected to skyrocket to around $300 million, when the program will open up to all students in the state. 'We are leaving other vitally necessary programs underfunded because of an increase in this line item,' Del. Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, said in April as the House debated bills that funded the program. Pritt, a public school teacher, noted the state's public employee's insurance program, which insures teachers, continues to struggle. Democratic lawmakers in the House proposed a bill banning the use of Hope Scholarship funds at out-of-state schools, but the measure wasn't taken up for consideration during the legislative session. More than $122,000 in Hope funds were used at out of state schools last school year. Public school leaders have said the growing number of students using the program has continued to financial issues as the state is facing a wave of school closures. Under the current school funding formula, counties receive state funding based on the number of students. West Virginia is also experiencing an overall population decline. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
