To the Editor –
In her recent letter to the editor, Ms. Neely, current Vice-President of the Cabell County School Board, repeatedly declared that the Cabell County Board of Education (CCBOE) has tried to negotiate with the Greater Huntington Park & Recreation District (GHPRD) and the Cabell County Public Library (CCPL) to resolve the current funding dispute fairly and equitably. In fairness, Ms. Neely has not been present at any of the meetings between representatives of the CCBOE, the GHPRD, and the CCPL so she may believe this to be true. However, this is not the case and she has either been misinformed or is deliberately misleading the public.
In her letter, Ms. Neely conflates the details of excess levy funding and regular levy funding repeatedly. In the interests of transparency, allow us to clarify her misconceptions. Every 5 years the Cabell County Board of Education issues a request to the voters to approve a levy that is IN ADDITION to the monies provided to the schools by the regular levy. The Board of Education provides a list to the public as to how their excess tax monies will be spent, and the request for the public to decide goes on the ballot. For over 50 years the CCBOE was the fiscal agent that your excess tax dollars would flow through in order to provide funding to our parks and libraries. And this worked well until, in April 2023, GHRPD and CCPL received a letter from Dr. Ryan Saxe, Superintendent of Cabell County Schools, stating that he would not be producing the rest of the funding owed to the parks and libraries for 2023, while the levy was still in effect.
The financial hit to our parks and libraries was immediate and came without warning. Dr. Saxe unilaterally made the decision to halt these payments and pocket money that the taxpayers allocated to the parks and libraries. We want to emphasize: This is YOUR money, and because it is the EXCESS levy, you voted on how you wanted it to be used. That vote is now being ignored by CCBOE. The directors from both the parks and the libraries, went to the regularly scheduled CCBOE meeting in July 2023 which is when they found out that they were also planning to exclude parks and libraries in their budget for the excess levy going forward.
So, not only did they halt payments that had been voted on by the public, and budgeted by the organizations, they were now defunding both organization altogether with no warning, no dialogue, and absolutely no attempt at compromise. In private and in public, the libraries and parks, as well as private citizens, begged for a real solution; one that would not pull the rug out from under our parks and libraries by nearly or completely eliminating 50 years of dedicated funding. One example of this was the August 1, 2023 BOE meeting, where hundreds of witnesses were present, and close to 100 individuals pleaded with their representatives on the school board to continue to provide funding to our parks and libraries or, at minimum, postpone the vote on the excess levy so a solution could be reached. These pleas were ignored.
Each one of the Cabell County School Board members dismissed the will of their constituents and chose to move forward, defunding our parks and libraries. It was a terrible decision and they have been backpedaling ever since, making every attempt to manipulate the public and lie about the reality. No compromise was discussed at that time, and no sincere proposal has been put forward since. Again, Ms. Neely has not been in attendance at the private meetings between the three organizations, but it is no surprise to those who have been involved in this situation. It is the way our current CCBOE operates.
What they like to call “compromise”, others in the room call exploitation. Ms. Neely continually conflates the regular school board levy and the excess levy. Ms. Neely also claims that the School Board’s proposed funding of the Cabell County Library, $195,089, is 100% of the recommended contribution set forth by the West Virginia Department of Education.
While this is true, Ms. Neely is not being transparent. These funds are expected to be included in the REGULAR levy.
The excess levy is approved by the voters to fund educational resources including, but not limited to, classroom learning. Ms. Neely also claimed that no other School Board in the state is “required” to provide funding for parks and recreation in their regular levy. Again, she is misrepresenting the intent of an excess levy. To address further misinformation, the current levy does not expire until July 2025. If the levy on the May ballot does not pass, Ms. Neely and the School Board have the opportunity to finally choose to listen to the people – you, their constituents – fix it and put it back on the ballot in November, with no negative impact on funding for the schools.
Unless the CCBOE restores, at minimum, the full funding to the GHPRD and the CCPL, vote NO on the excess levy at the ballot box on May 14th and demand a revision before voting for passage at the general election in November.
A statement will be forthcoming with regard to our recommendations for the two seats that are up for election on the BOE in the May 14th election.
– Amanda Beach