CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Education officials joined local business and government leaders Tuesday night in the Capital City to champion the Kanawha County Schools Excess Levy.
The levy will appear on ballots in November for renewal. The levy funds nearly one-quarter of the school system’s operating budget and dates back to 1937. The Vote Yes on Schools Campaign hosted a rally at the City Center at Slack Plaza to highlight the importance of the levy. The levy runs on a five-year cycle; the current cycle expires on June 30, 2029.
Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango, commissioner Natalie Tennant, South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens, Kanawha County Board of Education President Kate White, and many more local officials were on hand to support the levy.
While some elections in the past allowed individual counties to hold a vote on levies on a freer timeframe, current state code requires the levy to appear on election ballots. With a three-year cushion until the current levy ends, Kanawha County Schools is being proactive in hoping to secure the levy for 2029 through 2034.
Adam Krason, whose four children all attended Kanawha County Schools, is a co-chair on the Vote Yes on Schools Campaign Committee. He said that Tuesday evening’s event was quite important.
“It really is all about awareness,” Krason said. “It’s letting people know what this levy is for, what it’s going to fund, the importance that it plays for the continued success of Kanawha County Schools.”
No taxes are changing with this levy, Krason emphasized.
“What’s written in law is the amount that you can run the excess levy for,” Krason said, “but the voters have to every five years come out and support this and say, ‘we want to provide these additional funds beyond the base levy to our county school system.'”
Kanawha County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paula Potter said without the levy’s funds, education in the area would suffer. She said the school system is relying upon voters to get behind the levy like they have for nearly a century.
“It is something that we rely on,” Potter said. “We rely on the extra services for our students. So, we are just hoping that our voters will continue to support the levy as they’ve done since 1937.”
Tuesday’s event was an opportunity to highlight the unique opportunities lent through the levy’s funds, she said.
“To remind people of the importance of helping our younger generation become better than we were, and so they can contribute to our community and our community’s success,” Potter said.
Krason said the levy goes toward many important efforts in Kanawha County.
“This levy supports, in addition to continuing investment in facilities and personnel, this is going to support an expansion of the robotics program,” Krason said. “It’s going to support Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities for middle school students. It going to support, improve playgrounds with equipment for students with special needs across the county. These are investments that wouldn’t be made through the traditional funding and investments that we think are really critical.”
Potter noted that the levy funds don’t just support programs themselves, but the educators and additional staff that are involved in those opportunities. Along with that, she said, student support staff are funded by the levy.
“We employ about 200 additional employees from the levy, which means our students receive additional services that are needed,” Potter said. “For example, we have extra counselors for social and emotional development. We have additional nurses, cooks, custodians, and teachers. Those all directly impact student involvement and improvement and help them be more successful at school.”
Potter said that the expansion of the robotics program follows parent and student feedback throughout the past year in ‘town hall-style’ meetings around Kanawha County. She said robotics have become popular in the area. Furthering that program comes through the levy’s funds.
“We have so many students that participate, and we would like to open that up for more participation,” Potter said. “We also had students to ask us for transportation to athletic events, and we aren’t funded for that, so we’ve put this in the levy as well. Our security team is in the levy, (along with) continuing more HVAC projects and roofing projects, which are needed, and some of our older buildings. We have quite a bit on this levy that will benefit students, staff, and the community.”
Krason was heartened by the turnout of officials, parents, and kids at the rally.
“This is our community’s chance to support Kanawha County Schools,” Krason said. “When we do this, it’s really to draw that broad support from across the community. It is politicians. It’s educators, it’s administrators, but it’s parents and it’s students; that whole broad spectrum of the people that support public education in Kanawha County.”