HINTON, W.Va. — President of the Summers County Board of Education Greg Angell says despite the school excess levy the board has been pushing for almost 50 years was defeated yet again that would bring more funding for school resources to the county, it won’t stop its students from receiving a good, quality education they deserve.
Angell said the Summers County School Levy on Tuesday’s Election ballot would have helped fund crucial aspects for the school system, such as school resource officers and bus transportation to sporting events, but after it failed to pass again, the school system will have to make do without that extra funding for the next two years until another levy is potentially proposed in 2026.
He said the school system in Summers County has not had a levy pass in about 45 years.
Angell said it’s unfortunate, because all of the counties surrounding them have school excess levees.
“I wish I knew why it didn’t pass and get more support, but it’s just the way it has been for quite some time,” said Angell.
Angell said the levy would have allowed them to continue some of the programs that had been implemented based on federal funding they were provided during COVID.
He said they were able to acquire two resource officers from that funding and are now down to just one for this school year, and they had to cut down on truancy officers in the county as well.
Angell said the levy defeat also affects their athletics in a major way, because they can no longer provide busing for some of its sports teams to go to competitions and games, and parents and students will now have to manage transportation to and from those events on their own accord.
However, he said a lack of funding for the county’s school system is something they’ve been facing for a long time, and they had already been managing expenses on a tight budget prior to COVID funding. Angell said making adjustments when times are tight is something the school system is used to doing at this point.
“We know that we’re going to have to be very cautious and review each item that comes across for funding or for approval for funding, and we’ll have to determine from those items that comes to us what’s going to have the most impact,” he said.
Angell said moving forward, the school board plans to hold more discussions with the community to determine what they will support in the next proposed excess levy.
He said they’re trying to acquire the funding that will have the best impact on the school system, while also taking into account that it involves increasing citizens’ property taxes to raise such funding.
Angell said it ultimately comes down to what the community is willing to support.
“So, if the levy is ran again in 2026, I feel like the board as a whole would continue with that process, we would try to listen to the community and see what they would be willing to support, what amount they would be willing to support, and then the levy order would be drafted,” said Angell.
Angell said Summers County is a very small county, falling below the 1,400 student threshold which the state funds each county for.
He said while funding remains a challenge for the school board, and even though they haven’t had a levy in 45 years now, they have had very successful students come out of the county regardless.
“Even though we don’t have the funds that other counties have, it’s possible to get a quality education in Summers County, and as a single board member, and I feel like the other four board members feel the same way I do, we’re going to do everything in our power to ensure that the students in our county get the best education that we can provide to them based on the funding that we have,” said Angell.
Angell said he feels their board is very student-centered, and they care a lot about their staff as well, and there’s something to be said for that.