WAYNE, W.Va. — Tuesday will provide a moment of truth for Wayne County as voters decide whether to approve an $18 million school construction bond to pay for new schools and improvements at another.
Superintendent Lynn Hurt is hopeful despite similar bonds failing twice previously.
“You never know until you go the polls. You never know what’s going to happen,” she said, “When you run one of these…we’ll just have to see. I’m feeling fairly positive.”
The bond would build a new Ceredo-Kenova Elementary and a new Crum Elementary. Part of the money would also go toward six new classrooms and a secure entry at Wayne High School. The total cost of the project is $42 million. Eighteen-million would come from voters. Another $18 million was approved through the state School Building Authority last month. The final $ 6 million would come from an improvement fund the county and school system started last year.
The last two attempts at a bond failed miserably. That was in part because voters refused to get behind the projects that would only benefit certain areas of the county. However, Hurt said people are finally getting the message.
“(This time) communities are coming together and working together to inform voters. They’ve helped us with as much information as they can get out,” she said.
If the bond fails for a third time, Hurt said the county must devise another plan. Most likely students at Crum would remain in their existing building despite its condition. Wayne High School would have to continue without new classrooms, and students at Ceredo-Kenova would be dispersed to other schools.
That is a faraway thought, said Hurt, who claims she’s thinking positive. “I am so hopeful that our voters will see the investment and the benefit of investing in our kids.”
MetroNews will have full election night coverage, including the Wayne County bond vote results, starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening.