Cabell Co School Board approves new budget, discusses plans for new excess levy

HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) — The Cabell County School Board met Tuesday evening to approve their new budget for the upcoming school year. This comes after the proposed school excess levy failed during the primary election.

During the meeting, members of the public commented on the school’s new budget and the excess levy being added to the November ballot.

Some residents say they do not agree with Superintendent Ryan Saxe’s previous statement following the primary election saying the levy failed because the school board did not educate the public enough about what it entails.

However, others are saying they’re glad the school board is working with the libraries and parks but moving forward they want “transparency.”

Superintendent Ryan Saxe responded to the comments on the situation with the parks and libraries, saying he did reach out to the park and library boards and he’s hopeful they can work together to create a levy that will be beneficial for everyone.

“This is too big of a deal to do without consultation and without collaboration. I feel strongly that we’re going to work to bring a revised excess levy consideration to the voters that the entire community can support,” Saxe says following the meeting Tuesday night.

No further details on what changes could be included in the new excess levy proposal are available at this time.

Saxe also stated in the meeting that the school board is already taking action to help with their current budget issues. So far, they’ve eliminated eight positions in the school district, but one of those will be re-added later.

The school board says more changes should be expected in years to come, but adjusting the budget is a normal occurrence each year.

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