Ohio County School Board Approves Library Levy Rates
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WHEELING - The Ohio County Public Library wants its funding restored to levels it had before Ohio County Schools reduced its allocation to the library, and a levy will go before voters next year to ensure those dollars.
Ohio County Board of Education members Thursday morning approved a rate for the library levy that will run alongside the school district's excess levy renewal last year.
The board in 2021 voted to cut by one-third the money it provided the library as a share of revenue from its excess levy. The move reduced the library’s funding from 3 cents per $100 in appraised property values to 2 cents.
That move dropped the money the school district provided $884,547 annually to $589,698, according to data provided by the school district at that time.
Superintendent Kim Miller and Steven Bieniek, the school district's business manager, attended a meeting Wednesday of the library's board of trustees. They said at that meeting, the trustees indicated they wanted their levy to generate revenue at least equal to its prior 3-cent allocation.
Bieniek said the library told him the 3-cent amount had been allocated by the school district to the library since 1888 before the change in 2021.
Bieniek ran the numbers, and came up with millage rates for the library's upcoming levy he sees generating an estimated $1,006,223 annually. Class 1 properties would be assessed at 0.92 cents per $100 in assessed value; Class 2, 1.84 cents; and Class 3-4, 3.68 cents.
The bigger Ohio County Schools excess levy, meanwhile, is expected to generate about $23 million a year.
The language for both levies has now been approved, and the paperwork is being sent to the West Virginia Auditor's Office for approval, according to Bieniek. He hopes to bring the levies back to the board of education at their Jan. 8 meeting for final adoption.
If both levies were to pass, the library would share in the excess levy revenue resulting in an estimated loss to Ohio County Schools of about $330,000 annually. Bieniek said the school district "has had good carryovers" in recent years, and he doesn't expect the cut to affect any programs in the school district.
The meeting on Thursday morning lasted just 35 minutes. It included a short 10-minute executive session to discuss personnel matters.
After reconvening in public session, the board took action to suspend bus driver Pam Bowman for 15 days.
The board will next meet at 6 p.m. Jan. 8 at the board office, 2203 National Road, Elm Grove.