Cabell community stands with parks and libraries, against board of education

A visitor sifts through children's books at the Cabell County Public Library Main Branch in Huntington, West Virginia, on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch)

See what happens when you come for the heart of Huntington?

Cabell County parks and libraries are enjoying a wave of support that seems poised to wipe out the fiscally reckless Superintendent Ryan Saxe and the Cabell Board of Education.

The BOE is counting on voters having short memories when we head to the ballot box May 14. Frankly, they have good reason.  We often don’t “Remember in November” as the saying goes. Voters will remember this excess levy debacle in May, though. How could anyone forget after all that has transpired in the past seven months?

In this day of divisiveness there’s precious little that brings both sides of the political spectrum together.  This is one. In fact, both the Democratic Executive Committee of Cabell County and Cabell County Republicans have mutually decided to encourage a NO vote May 14 on any excess levy that excludes appropriate funding for the Cabell County Public Library and the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District. Longtime Delegate Matthew Rohrbach expects the levy to “fail overwhelmingly.” He’s right. And just to push home the bipartisan point here, Del. Rohrbach and I are far apart on a whole lot of issues.

This matter has brought the whole community together to address the question of what our parks and libraries mean to us. What would Huntington be without them? Our parks and libraries are the cultural, artistic and recreational hub of the city.  They are vital to our education and economy. And they greatly enhance our health and wellness physically and mentally. Better yet, their many benefits are for everyone, of all ages, and any background. We love our parks and libraries and I love how much we’ve shown it over the past seven months.

We don’t love our BOE, though. Their actions in the summer of 2023 were sneaky and underhanded. To say they have been bad stewards of our money is putting it mildly. Furthermore, their treatment of the community ever since has been disparaging and contentious.

I don’t know how the BOE does not realize how much damage has been done, but their current, half-hearted, “let’s move on” tour is not going to work. In fact, it seems to be making matters much worse. When you lose the respect of your constituents, it is very difficult to earn it back.

Don’t blame voters for exercising the “nuclear option” here and voting against the excess levy on May 14. That’s on the superintendent and the board.  They have known from the outset that this levy, in its current form, does not have the necessary community, constituent support.

It is my hope that this summer, after the dust has cleared, the superintendent and the board will be able to pick up the pieces, listen to their constituents, and craft a better, fairer excess levy that includes full funding for parks and libraries and can stand on the November ballot and earn the backing of voters.  If they are not up to that task, perhaps the Superintendent and members of the board should resign.  There are plenty of people in the community ready to step up and serve our children and Cabell County.

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