SUMMERS COUNTY SCHOOLS details $3.9 million, four‑year levy to fund aides, trips and safety projects
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Summary
SUMMERS COUNTY SCHOOLS officials outlined a proposed four‑year excess levy expected to raise about $990,000 a year (roughly $3.9 million total) at a 20% rate to cover service personnel salaries, curricular and extracurricular travel, playground renovations, safety upgrades, transportation equipment and other staged facility needs. Presenters described oversight plans, tax‑impact examples and a recent electric bus grant.
SUMMERS COUNTY SCHOOLS officials presented details of a proposed four‑year excess levy at an informational meeting, saying the measure would raise about $990,000 per year (approximately $3.9 million over four years) at the 20% rate included in the proposal. The package lists line items for service personnel salaries, curricular and extracurricular trips, playground renovations, a Jumping Branch safe‑school entrance, transportation vehicles and facility and security improvements.
A central office staff member said the levy is intended primarily to cover positions and expenses already budgeted at the school level rather than to provide raises. "Nobody is getting a raise," the central office staff member said when outlining the levy’s salary coverage; the presentation estimated that 80–85% of the district’s budget goes toward personnel under state funding formulas.
Why it matters: Officials said the levy would allow the district to staff certain service positions, reduce reliance on fundraising for student travel and stage larger capital or safety projects over multiple years. Speakers said the levy would also provide funds that could be held across years for specified purposes — for example, a $75,000 annual earmark for a safe‑school entrance at Jumping Branch that would be reserved until construction could proceed.
Officials broke down several major line items. Central office staff described roughly $422,000 intended to cover school‑level service personnel and student support positions for fiscal year 2027, $165,000 per year earmarked for playground renovations (to be done in stages and in consultation with PTOs), and $133,000 per year for facility improvements and repairs including the transportation garage. Other listed items include a service vehicle for transportation, security window tinting and exterior lighting near athletic facilities and the hospital area.
Levy administrators said the revenue picture will vary with collections and property valuations. They proposed creating a separate fund (fund 12) for levy receipts and publishing monthly reports so the public can track revenues and expenditures by school location and category. Board members and directors would decide how any surplus within a specified category would be spent, the staff said.
Tax impact example: staff walked through a sample calculation for a homeowner with a $50,000 assessed value (using West Virginia’s 60% taxable assessment rule) and estimated that the levy would amount to roughly $4 per month (about $48.40 per year) at the presented rate; presenters noted different property classes are affected differently and that personal property and rentals (class 3) bear more of the 20% impact.
Electric bus and grant: staff also discussed a recent EPA grant and bus purchase. "This bus is approximately $400,000 bucks," the central office staff member said, adding that the charging station cost and federal/state replacement formulas affect fleet value and reimbursement. Officials said the electric bus is wheelchair‑accessible, requires daily charging on its route and will influence future replacement planning.
Next steps and public information: staff said the fiscal year 2027 budget will be posted and that the audit report will be discussed at the next board meeting and made available on the county website. The next informational meeting was announced for Monday, April 20, at Sandstone Landing Store at 6:00. No formal vote on the levy was recorded at this informational meeting.
