Kanawha County Schools presents unchanged levy rates, previews FY26 budget; board to vote March 19

The Kanawha County Board of Education convened a statutory session at 3 p.m. to hear a reading of the district's proposed property-tax levy schedule and to review a preliminary budget for fiscal year 2025–26. "The purpose of this meeting is for me to read to you the schedule of proposed levy rates," Miss Meadows said during the session.

The proposed regular levy rates presented for FY 2025–26 are unchanged from the prior year: class 1 — 19.4; class 2 — 38.8; class 3 — 77.6; class 4 — 77.6. The district also said excess-levy rates established by the November 8, 2022 ballot will remain at the previously approved levels (class 1 — 21.91; class 2 — 43.82; class 3 — 87.64; class 4 — 87.64). Separately, the district said the public-library excess-levy is expected to generate $3,368,757 in net revenue for FY2026, with library levy rates listed as class 1 — 1.04; class 2 — 2.08; class 3 — 4.16; class 4 — 4.16.

Why it matters: Levy rates determine the local share of school funding and affect taxpayers and programs supported by excess levies, including the public library and a slate of projects described in the district's ballot. The board will vote on the proposed levy schedule at 12 noon on Wednesday, March 19, at 200 Elizabeth Street in Charleston so the approved schedule can be sent to the State Auditor and the West Virginia Department of Education.

Budget highlights and enrollment

Miss Meadows described the FY2025–26 budget as preliminary and noted the district has received only preliminary state aid computations. She said the budget document consolidates more than 8,000 individual line items for presentation; the full accounting will expand as the year proceeds. The district reported an assessed property valuation of $10,916,656,889 for FY2026 and said, because levy rates are unchanged from the prior year, "there will be no increase in cost to taxpayers." (The presentation did not state the taxable-unit basis for the levy numbers.)

Enrollment changes are driving part of the budget shift: Kanawha County Schools reported a net decline of 336 students compared with the prior year. Charter-school enrollment increased to 194 students from 115 last year; the district had 400 new homeschool registrations for the current year and 502 new enrollments in the district's virtual school program. Because state aid is tied to enrollment, the district said it lost funding equal to 32 positions this year (about 18 professional positions and 14 service positions), and those reductions were largely covered by recent middle-school consolidations.

State aid and costs

Miss Meadows said the district is down approximately $787,740 in basic state-aid steps (steps 1–10) compared with the prior year, though some allocations moved in opposite directions. The district's PEIA (health-insurance) allocation is expected to increase—staff cited an estimated 14% premium increase—pushing the district's net PEIA-related allocation up roughly 11% when offset by other changes. The district said its retirement allocation (described in the presentation as the unfunded retirement liability or OPEB-related allocation) will decline about 3% because fewer employees remain in the older, higher-benefit retirement tier and because staffing levels have declined.

Excess-levy projects and other spending

The district reiterated items included in the current excess-levy ballot that will continue to be funded while the levy is in effect: additional counselors and special-education staff; $3,000,000 for safety and security (staff and equipment); $12,000,000 for HVAC and roofing projects; and $8,000,000 for extracurricular needs including stipends/pay increases for coaches and other sponsors, turf for middle and high school fields, and playground surfacing. Miss Meadows said a curriculum adoption (arts, wellness and driver’s education) is scheduled for FY2026–27 and is expected to cost about $500,000; that adoption would be paid with excess-levy funds and anticipated carryover.

The district also noted ongoing long-term debt service tied to Edgewood Elementary: the related bond obligation continues and is expected to end in July 2027.

Questions and follow-up

Board members asked how unrequested projects in ballot categories would be handled and whether funds reserved for items such as a pool would remain available in later years. Miss Meadows explained that excess-levy facility dollars are grouped by ballot category; if a given project does not proceed, the board may reallocate those dollars to another project that is explicitly listed in the ballot in a later year. She said Mr. Andrew Crawford (facilities planning was mentioned) has prioritized turfing, tracks and tennis courts in early years of the levy implementation and set smaller projects for later years, leaving flexibility to reassign funds within ballot categories.

Board members also raised equipment and vendor performance issues related to school safety systems. "The first company took everything back and did not charge us a restocking fee," one staff speaker said regarding a vendor; district staff said they are researching alternatives, including different detection technologies and possible integration with surveillance, and that the safety category was written to allow flexibility among types of safety spending.

On school meals, Miss Meadows said the district's universal free-meals status currently means "all of our kids eat free," and the district is monitoring federal guidance after a USDA executive order change. She said the removal of one local grant (Fresh Fruits and Vegetables) has already been noted and that the district's food-service director will attend federal-level meetings; the district said it would watch whether students must again complete free-and-reduced-price forms and whether meal billing would resume.

No levy vote; procedural adjournment

The board did not take action on the proposed levy schedule at the statutory session. The district stated the official board decision on the levy rates will occur at the March 19 meeting at noon. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote.

Ending

District staff said a public budget hearing is scheduled for May 12 and the board is expected to adopt the final budget on May 14. Staff noted the public will be able to view the published proposed budget when it is posted in late April and on the district website.