CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Education leaders in Kanawha County will be keeping a watchful eye Tuesday night on the results of their excess levy.
The longstanding Kanawha County Schools Excess Levy, approved by voters since 1937, funds nearly one-quarter of the school system’s budget. The levy runs on a five-year cycle, with the current period expiring June 30, 2029. Officials are hoping to get approval on the next five-year cycle, from 2029 to 2034.
The Vote Yes on Schools Committee has promoted the levy in the months leading up to the November General Election. Adam Krason, one of the co-chairs on the committee, told MetroNews there’s been a ton of support so far.
“The last three times we’ve run this campaign, there’s been a ton of community support, and I don’t think it’s ever been higher than this time,” Krason said. “The number of people that are organically out, doing honk-and-waves with our signage to help support the levy all throughout the county is really impressive. I think people realize it’s just a great time to support public education.”
Krason emphasized that the levy is nothing new; there won’t be any additional taxes with this. He said the levy does many things, funding 22 percent of the school system’s budget. He said it funds instructors and other student services, such as nurses, aides, clerks, and bus drivers. Additionally, the levy supports roofing and HVAC replacements, the 12 Kanawha County Schools security officers, along with athletics and other extracurricular activities.
“This time, there’s a particular focus on supporting robotics programs in elementary schools,” Krason said. “Career and Technical Education opportunities for middle school students, and elementary school playground improvements, specifically to provide opportunities for accessibility for some of the students with special needs.”
Recent enrollment numbers in Kanawha County revealed a 933-student drop since last year. Krason said there are financial adjustments that come with that, underscoring the importance of the excess levy going forward.
“Kanawha County now operates with $10 million less in funding because of that declining enrollment,” Krason said. “So, knowing that that challenge exists, it’s never been more important for the community to step up and say, ‘we support Kanawha County Schools. We’re going to give them the long-term stability’ — because this extends the excess levy all the way through 2034 — that they need to really plan for the challenges and some of the headwinds that they face.”
Kanawha County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paula Potter said that the system funds more than the state minimum, thanks to the levy. She said they’re funded for 200-day contracts for employees, so if the levy went away, anyone with over 200-day contracts would see pay reductions.
“Without the levy, there are quite a few positions that would be eliminated,” Potter said. “Salaries would be adjusted. But the most important factor is the services that are available to the students that we wouldn’t see with our current school funding formula goes away.”
Potter said that the community benefits from the levy’s impacts.
“We know, even if you might not have a student in Kanawha County Schools, that we need an educated workforce,” Potter said. “Since we have the majority of the students in Kanawha County, we feel support from the levy is needed to continue to provide an educated workforce, to help our economy grow and develop in the future years.”
Krason agreed that investing in students is an investment in the future. He said that the community has really stepped up, including volunteers and businesses, have spread the word about the levy. He thanked co-chairs Briana Warner and Aaron Reid for their hard work and expressed hope that Kanawha County would once again lend its support.
“We need to invest in our schools because we want our next generation of leaders, business leaders, political leaders, neighbors; just having a good community,” Krason said. “They’re all sitting in Kanawha County Schools right now. We need to provide Kanawha County Schools the resources that’s going to give them the best chance of success in their lives.”