Voters to Decide on Excess Levy

The Kanawha County Board of Education is asking voters in November to renew the excess levy for $108 million and another five years. The money would pay for pay for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning improvements to 15 schools, including six of the eight high schools. Classes have been canceled several times in the past two years because of malfunctions with heating and AC. Other expenses in the levy include textbooks, salaries and benefits, pest management, and other maintenance. The Gazette Mail reported if the levy doesn’t pass, school officials would either have to cut about 20 percent of the system’s expenses or quickly hold a special election and ask voters again to pass an excess levy.