This editorial letter serves to share just a few meaningful ideas and facts pertaining to passing the Summers County School Levy on Nov. 5.
It has been forty-five years since our school levy has passed. What are we, the citizens of Summers County, waiting on? What are we waiting on to pass our school levy, to help our children, our future leaders and the future growth of our county?
What has been the reason for not passing our school levy for the past thirty years, twenty years and all the way back to ten years ago? Why would we not want to help our children, by passing the school levy and, ultimately, boosting the vitality and economic growth in Summers County?
Here are some of the “Vote No” reasons that seem to be discussed around town:
1. The money goes to school officials.
2. We don’t want our taxes to go up.
3. I have no children in the school system.
4. It will never pass. It hasn’t in forty-five years and we ain’t changing now.
Simply stated by a dear friend: The “Complaint Department” is officially closed (after 45 years) and the “Move Forward Department” is officially open. It is time, let’s pass the school levy, please.
Let’s go over some of these “Vote No’ reasons and provide a better understanding why we all need to “Vote Yes”. But first let’s start with EXACTLY what is a school levy? This levy is a property tax. This school levy fills the gaps between state funding and the actual cost of the programs and services we provide to our students. This school levy needs to pass by 50% or better of votes.
1. The money goes to school officials:
These levy funds have absolutely nothing to do with any school official’s salaries or perks. These funds are STRICTLY for the children, to move them forward with the academic tools they need to succeed, to move our county forward with well-educated future leaders, to grow our county with families who want to live here, work here, shop here, maybe open a business here and, most especially, stay right here and grow our local economy. The State Department of Education as well as a third-party auditing service closely audit the funds allocated for the school levy ensuring they stay with the school levy. These funds are not going into any school official’s pockets. Please come to the school board meetings and let your voice be heard if you have concerns on spending or allocation of funds.
2. We do not want our taxes to go up:
Compared to surrounding counties asking for 80 – 100% for their school levies and PASSING them, 30% is more than reasonable to help our children in our small county. It is not taking away money. It is INVESTING money into the future of our county, the place you call home. Statistically, counties that fail their school levies have lower test scores, declining family population and declining overall county growth. In contrast, the counties that pass their school levies score higher on test scores, and, as a result invite new families and boost economic growth for their county.
Ask yourself, why would any family move here, or any corporations move here when they know we have not passed a school levy in forty-five years and, as a result, we are at the bottom rung for academic test scores in the state? There is no pride in that statistic.
And please note, the majority of counties pass their levies in WV and in our country, for that matter.
We are in the minority here with only 10 other counties that do not pass their levies.
And if your taxes are going to have to go up, what better to have them go up on – than our children ~ our future leaders.
In addition, please consider the fact that there are three tax credits for property taxes paid which will, in turn, offset a potential financial strain from the school levy. These tax credits are the following: 1) Motor Vehicle Property Tax Adjustment Credit, 2) Disabled Veteran Real Property Tax Credit and 3) Small Business Property Tax Adjustment Credit. Please note: These refunds will be on the End-of-the-Year Income Tax Return.
3. I have no children in the school system. It does not affect me:
These are our future firefighters, bankers, retail workers, and nurses to just name a few. These are the people that impact your life as you get older. Do you not want people with a solid education base? This is our 3rd generation of students that does not have the support of the school levy, and these students are graduating with some of the lowest test scores in the state. We must do better to keep up with the times, to move forward, to be competitive with our surrounding counties and our world. How do we do this? Pass the school levy, please.
4. It will NEVER pass: Why? Because it hasn’t passed in forty-five years, and we ain’t about to change now.
We cannot become what we want to be ~ by remaining what we are…
We cannot become a thriving economic community ~ by remaining a, seemingly, stagnate economic community with minimal support for our children and schools. Blame cannot be fully put on the school officials. Our children are a shared responsibility where we all contribute to their academic success: Parents, Teachers and Leaders all need to work together. And that happens by passing the school levy. Why would you not? It is a win/win. Our children win. Our county wins.
There are people that want to move forward for our children and our county. But there are those that do not want to pass the school levy and the misinformed are pushing a negative campaign to vote no for our children, to vote no for our school levy, to vote no for the future of Summers County. They took the liberty of hiding business cards with negative comments and placing them in the merchandise of our local businesses.
Here are some of the things written on them:
Don’t be shamed into voting yes for “the kids”.
It goes both ways. Don’t be shamed into voting no! There is such a HUGE negative stigma attached to voting yes for our children. But talk to anyone from any surrounding county ~ or state, for that matter. I did so. And a lot of them while visiting for Railroad Days expressed, they were saddened that we have not passed a school levy here. They could not believe it, especially when told it has been forty-five years. And the folks we spoke to had all passed their school levies. They were all very nice and they were all cheering us on hoping we passed our school levy, too.
The hard-working people of Summers County are already struggling…
Perhaps, you would not have to work so hard or struggle so much if you were in a growing economic community. We are struggling because folks with families are moving away. When they move away, more pieces of our economy goes with them. Retirees and tourism will not sustain us. It absolutely helps but it will not move us forward without good schools as well. It is all encompassing, the city, the county, the school system. Large corporations will not move their businesses here with a poor school system. Having a reputation of not passing our school levy is the biggest stain on our county.
You can’t afford another tax bill.
You cannot afford a declining family population and declining economy by turning out young people whose test scores are some of the lowest in the state ~ thus making them non-competitive with those students from surrounding counties. And that creates a declining economy because families and corporations are not going to move here. And that contributes to a declining growth in our county.
Grant funding already in place:
Grants are not a guarantee for long term needs. The school system applies for a grant. They might get it, or they might not. There is no guarantee. And it is not guaranteed income for all the important academic needs that will be met by passing the school levy. Passing the school levy is a guarantee. Additional funding will help to enhance, add to, and increase those programs. Grant funding is not a consistent flow of funds to support the programs our students need to succeed.
Support a specific program:
Yes. Absolutely donate to a specific program. That will help. But, on a larger scale, there are great, expensive needs in our school system that require more than personal donations to move our children forward with the academic tools they need to be competitive and well educated.
Don’t just give a blank check to the superintendent to free spend.
This money is specifically allocated for the items on the levy call. By law, the funding CANNOT go to anything other than what is in the levy call.
In addition, the people against the levy are complaining about problems but present no solid solutions. They would rather just not pass the school levy. Some, because their dislike for certain school officials is greater than their love for our children.
Moreover, blame shifting, making excuses, pointing fingers towards others is just more of the problem than the solution. Let’s all, as a united community, accept responsibility for our children and together, pass the school levy. That is the solid solution to move our children, our future leaders and this county forward.
So, what does the school levy encompass that will truly help our children, our schools and, ultimately, help our county thrive:
1. Staffing to reduce split classes and class size.
2. Academic support including tutoring, intervention & credit recovery.
3. Extended learning opportunities including summer school and after-school programs.
4. Technology integration and security.
5. Truancy diversion and dropout prevention services.
6. Student safety including school resource officers, training and essential security needs.
7. Curricular and Extra-curricular trip support.
8. Building and grounds maintenance, improvements and upgrades.
9. Playgrounds and alternative learning areas.
These are all great tools to help our children, and our schools move forward. They are necessary to be competitive with our surrounding counties that pass their school levies.
In closing, the greatest gift we can give our children, aside from our love…. Is a great education. Don’t they deserve that?
Please vote FOR the School Levy on the election ballot. It is on the back side of the ballot. It is at the very bottom on the left side. Thank you for your kind consideration.
My name is Elisa Camara and I am the Chairperson for the Summers County Committee for Excellence in Education. I grew up right here. My Daddy served on the school board in addition to being one of the town doctors. My brother, Mecot, my sister, Threase, and myself all grew up and attended schools here. But this is not about me nor my family. This is about the children in our county and the future growth of our county. I am not ashamed to stand up for things that I believe in or things that are right to do. And rest assured, I have no hidden agenda. I respectfully submit this editorial because I genuinely care about our children and the future of Summers County.
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