Monongalia County Board approves proposed 2025–26 levy rates, multiple contracts and waivers

The Monongalia County Board of Education on March 11 approved proposed levy rates for fiscal year 2026 and voted to award or approve a series of contracts and routine items, including a demolition test, a bus‑wash replacement, athletic lockers and an annual waiver for University High School.

Treasurer Nicole Kemper presented the district’s proposed levy schedule and assessed valuations. She said the district’s total assessed valuation for fiscal 2026 was $7,300,000,000, comprised of Class 2 properties at $3.2 billion, Class 3 at $2.7 billion and Class 4 at $1.3 billion. Kemper said the district expects an approximate 6.72% decrease in valuations tied to oil and gas, a reduction she described as about $500 million.

Kemper described the district’s levy pools (regular levy, excess levy and bond/debt service levy) and presented the rates per $100 of assessed value as they appeared in the board materials: regular levy rates for Class 2 at 38.8¢ and for Classes 3 and 4 at 77.6¢; an excess levy for Class 2 at 33.5¢; and debt service (bond) levies shown at small per‑$100 values. She said the rollback threshold was 21.63¢ and that the proposed Class 1 excess levy rate was 16.75¢; based on the presented calculations the district would be below the rollback threshold and would not be required to roll back rates.

Kemper also presented projected gross and net tax collections as shown in the board packet: projected net taxes for the current regular levy of about $36.4 million and projected net taxes for the…