Voters in Cabell County on Tuesday rejected an overlevy to fund the county's schools and some parks and libraries.
According to WSAZ, 64% of Cabell County voters rejected the levy, with all precincts reporting.
The total levy for the district over the next five years is expected to be approximately $30.5 million. Of that $30.5 million, nearly $1.6 million, or about 4.5% of the total levy, will go to the Cabell County Public Library ($1.4 million) and the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District ($200,000). It turns out.
The failure of the levy was, at least in part, due to community organizing The Cabell County Board of Education's move to drastically cut funding for both parks and libraries, and what residents viewed as a hasty negotiation process.
Those organizers said they hope rejecting the levy will buy them time to find better solutions to support schools, parks and libraries.
However, Cabell County Superintendent Ryan Sachs said in March that there was no guarantee another levy would appear on the November ballot and that this would be the last time the levy would be increased until the 2026 election. Ta. The current levy he will expire in 2025.
organizer But Cabell County residents were unimpressed with the changes that resulted from negotiations with the school board, saying the proposal was rushed and underfunded and that, if approved, both the library and park would be He said cuts to services were inevitable.
To buy time, community members started an organization to oppose the levy. urge voters to reject The proposal hopes to bring a better option to the vote in November.
In August, board members approved unanimously The proposal for 2025 would sharply reduce funding to the Cabell County Public Library System while eliminating funding for the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District.
The funding change comes in the face of a $4.5 million budget shortfall by district leaders. Said This is a result of declining enrollment and the expiration of one-time COVID-19 relief funds.
Both organizations filed a lawsuit The school board approves the proposed levy and opposes it to the school district, with the goal of keeping the levy at its current funding level for the next few years because the school board cannot override the will of the voters. do.
Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Howard a favorable judgment was given parks, libraries, etc. meaning The district would have been required to fund both groups under a policy passed by voters through the 2018 school excess tax. However, the case was appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. where judge took side The school board said it is not obligated to fund parks or libraries.
Through negotiations with members of both organizations, the district increased its allocation to the level listed on Tuesday's ballot.
The Cabell County Library System serves more than 90,000 patrons and is the third largest library in West Virginia.