Photo by Emma Delk Marshall County Schools Superintendent Shelby Haines said the county was prepared for the decrease in levy revenue for the 2026 fiscal year during Tuesday’s board of education meeting.

By EMMA DELK

Staff Writer

Marshall County Schools Treasurer Nan Hartley told board of education members that its tax levy revenue decreased by $44 million for Fiscal Year 2026 compared to FY 2025 during Tuesday’s meeting.

Marshall County Assessor Eric Buzzard shared the levy information with Hartley last week. Board members did not have to approve the levy information Tuesday, as it will be an agenda item at the next school board meeting on March 25.

Though the decrease is “significant,” Superintendent Shelby Haines informed board members the district was prepared for the decrease reported in the current and access levies.

Despite the decrease from FY2025 to FY2026, Hartley said FY2026 still saw a comparative increase of $4.5 million in the levy compared to FY2024. Regarding the decrease from FY2025 to FY2026, Hartley noted that last year was an “odd year” for the levy.

“When we look at 2024 to 2026, we’re still an increase,” Hartley said. “We did plan for it (the decrease), and we will be getting aid and probably have an extra $50 million in investments compared to the prior year.”

In other matters Tuesday, board members unanimously approved closing the Gateway Achievement Center’s checking account to move the funds to the county. Last summer, board members approved creating a new checking account for Gateway since the school writes its own checks and performs its own bank reconciliations.

Due to the account only having $500 in it and Gateway Principal Amy Trowbridge not having a secretary to perform bank reconciliations and track credit card usage, board members decided to close the account and move it back to the county.

“Amy (Trowbridge) will work with us personally to write the check and do the things she needs,” Hartley said.

Haines also gave an update on how schools in the county were affected by the Friday structure fire on Jefferson Avenue. Since she was out of town on Friday, Haines commended the work of Assistant Superintendent Karen Klamut in handling the situation.

Electricity to the Jefferson Avenue area was shut off by American Electric Power during the fire, resulting in power outages at Moundsville Middle School, McNinch Primary School and Gateway. Those schools did not have backup generators, but Haines said the district is working on getting generators installed at all schools in the county.

Though the schools did not have power Friday, Haines said they made the decision to keep the children in the classrooms, as they were safe, fed and the temperature in the schools was “fine.”

Haines added that Facilities Director Michael Price shut the dampers off at Moundsville Middle so no smoke was drawn into the building.

“It’s a tough decision when you don’t have power. Sometimes people automatically think, ‘We’re going home,'” Haines noted. “There’s a lot of reasons sometimes you do (send children home), but sometimes you stay where you are because the kids are safe. They (first responders) were trying to keep people off the roads and in their homes, and so keeping the children where they were was the best decision we could make at that time.”

Haines commended Klamut’s “flawless decision-making ” in keeping students in school on Friday.

“I appreciate she (Klamut) and the principals and their work,” Haines said.

Board President John Miller said Klamut filling in for Haines during the fire was the “classic example” of staff “working together as a team, where each person picks up when the other is not there.”