Excess/School Levy -- Important Issue in November Election

As a parent of three children in our public schools, I want to make fellow parents and citizens aware of a very important issue in our upcoming November elections. On the ballot, there will be an item that you can vote for or against called the renewal of the "Excess Levy".

The renewal of the Excess Levy is NOT a new tax. It is a continuation of a tax that has been in place since 1946. West Virginia code allows school systems to seek voter approval for additional local funds. This is done through an excess levy.

This levy accounts makes up about 25% of the school system budget!!!! Without this money, our schools will be grossly underfunded. The levy money pays for things like textbooks and technology, personnel not funded by the state (nurses, counselors, aides, etc.), substitute employees, and it supplements salaries of our personnel to help make them more competitive to keep quality teachers here.

I urge you to get the facts at : citizensforjeffschoollevy.org and then get out and VOTE for the levy on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Better yet, vote early at the courthouse starting on October 13th.