Raleigh excess school levy fills in funding gaps

Mar. 15—Millions in funding for Raleigh County Schools, including teacher salaries and benefits, textbooks, athletics, construction projects and more, will be in the hands of voters in May.

Raleigh County residents can vote for or against the Raleigh County Schools excess levy, which has been in place since 1941, during West Virginia's primary election on May 14.

The proposed excess school levy is estimated to generate around $22.8 million annually and will be in effect for five years, from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029.

Darrin Butcher, treasurer and chief school business official for Raleigh County Schools, said the proposed excess school levy rates are the same as in previous years and will not raise residents' property taxes.

Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Serena Starcher said the funds from the excess levy are divided into five categories: instructional support and resources; health services, maintenance and transportation; community services; athletics and student activities; and employee benefits.

"The excess levy touches most everything in the school system in some form or fashion," Starcher said.

According to an info sheet on Raleigh's excess school levy, $1.58 million of the funds are designated to "provide for the employment and retention of qualified teachers and service personnel not provided within the State Aid funding formula."

The district is already preparing to cut 33 professional and 19 service personnel positions due to a drop in state and federal funds. That number would increase without excess levy funds.

The excess levy also contributes to construction projects.

While the school board has allocated $1 million in excess levy funds for capital improvement projects, Butcher said the dollars can be strategically used to leverage additional funding at the state level for construction projects.

"Where Raleigh County has really been successful of the years is leveraging levy and county funds for (School Building Authority of West Virginia) projects," Butcher said.

Butcher said they were able to do this with when building the new Ridgeview Elementary and Stratton Elementary, with the renovations at Shady Spring High School and, most recently, with the project at Park Middle School for a new gym and classrooms.

For the Park Middle project, which is estimated to cost around $9 million, the School Building Authority contributed $1 million. The remainder of the project will be paid for using excess levy and county funds.

Butcher said the School Building Authority is more willing to commit funds when the district is also willing to pitch in its own funding.

"The (School Building Authority) likes partners. They don't want to just give a county money, and Raleigh County has always been a really good partner with the (School Building Authority) because we go with significant resources of our own when we construct a building," he said.

Starcher said a portion of the excess school levy funds are fed directly into the schools to cover instructional supplies, technology, the arts, textbooks, field trips and more.

Starcher said the decision of how those funds are spent is left up to the schools.

"They can use this funding to purchase things they think are necessary for their school," she said.

The funds are also used to support the county's one-to-one technology initiative, which aims to equip all students and teachers with laptops, iPads or other technology.

"It also keeps all of our teachers' devices updated every four years," Butcher said. "So it's multifaceted in what it does."

The excess levy also contributes to the salary and benefits for professional and service personnel as well as coaches, school resource officers and substitutes.

Just over $7 million in the school excess levy is designated for professional and service employees' salaries and roughly $2.1 million contributes to employees PEIA premiums, dental, optical and life insurance.

Around $2 million goes to pay for substitutes and $982,000 for coaching staff and athletic programs.

The funds from the proposed excess school levy will be used as follows:

—Free textbooks — digital and print textbooks, workbooks, supplemental materials and hardware: $1,000,000

—Instructional support — supplies and equipment: $724,000

—Physical education/student wellness — elementary and secondary schools: $35,100

—Curricular program incentive — reading, science, social studies, technology, engineering, arts and math enrichment: $164,000

—Technology integration — maintenance, upgrades, hardware, software, and training: $758,000

—Library supplies — books, newspapers, periodicals, equipment, and software: $91,000

—Music supplies and equipment — elementary schools: $20,000

—Band/choir/music — supplies and equipment (secondary schools): $105,000

—Students — truancy diversion / dropout prevention: $236,000

—Students — universal pre-k support: $300,000

—Students — performing arts enrichment: $15,000

—Students — academic competition and fairs: $5,000

—Student athletic programs — support for coaching staff: $982,000

—Student activities — curricular and extra-curricular trip support: $228,000

—Student health services — student health care needs: $200,000

—Student security — safe schools (school resource officers, training, security needs): $500,000

—Staffing support — professional and service employees (to provide for the employment and retention of qualified teachers and service personnel not provided within the state aid funding formula): $1,580,000

—Substitute support — substitute personnel: $2,060,000

—Extended learning opportunities — summer school, school repairs, fleet maintenance: $165,000

—Community support — WVU Extension Services — Raleigh County Schools: $80,000

—Community support — Youth Museum — Southern WV: $15,000

—Community support — Raleigh County Convention Center: $75,000

—Maintenance — building and grounds upgrades: $200,000

—Capital improvement — major improvement, upgrades and compliance recommendations $1,000,000

—Salary support — professional and service employees: $7,118,500

—Fixed cost — employer's share of social security, retirement, workers compensation $1,775,425

—Group insurance — PEIA premium reduction benefit, dental, optical, and life insurance: $2,194,500

—Personal leave incentive — reduction of substitute cost and promote continuity of instruction: $955,500