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Wyoming County Schools officials will host two public informational meetings concerning a proposed $20.1 million facilities bond sale.

Monies from the proposed bond sale will replace two aging school buildings in Mullens, construct a new auditorium at the Career and Technical Center, in addition to funding safety enhancements and other improvements at schools across the county – if approved by voters in the Nov. 8 general election.

Total cost for all the proposed projects is nearly $34 million.

Additional funding sources will include the West Virginia School Building Authority, local monies, and others.

The first community meeting is scheduled Monday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. in the Wyoming County East High School auditorium, and the second will be conducted Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. in the Westside High School auditorium.

During the meetings, schools officials will share information and field questions about the facilities bond.

“Wyoming County Schools invites all citizens of Wyoming County to attend community meetings regarding the upcoming Wyoming County Schools facilities bond election,” emphasized Deirdre Cline, county schools superintendent.

“The goal of the facilities bond is to provide substantial improvements to the school facilities in our county.

“We encourage the public to attend one or both of the meetings,” she said.

Additionally, officials will talk with town council members in the county's three municipalities.

On Thursday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m., schools officials will talk with Mullens City Council, and on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m., Oceana City Council.

On Monday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m., officials will discuss the facilities bond with Pineville Town Council members.

The planned projects are designed to improve the health and safety of students as well as the communities, Cline noted.

The proposed $16.5 million school will consolidate Mullens Elementary, constructed 70 years ago, and Mullens Middle, constructed in 1928 – almost 100 years ago.

Throughout the years, schools officials have done a remarkable job of maintaining the county's schools, making wise use of county monies, state School Building Authority grant funding, along with other financial resources, Cline said previously.

Officials have also done the “hard work of consolidating schools” when it became necessary, she noted.

“I am so happy and proud to live in a community that values education, where county voters support education, and the county does right by our children every time,” Cline emphasized.

“This is what's right for our children,” she said of the proposed facilities bond.

“We have to get our children out of that three-story, wooden building in Mullens (Middle),” she emphasized, adding there's no metal in the structure.

Cline noted the county has two buildings “rated poor” by McKinley Architecture and Engineering, an independent firm based in Wheeling.

“And both those schools sit in Mullens,” she said.

In August, the bond rate was 8.28 cents per $100 of assessed property value, or about $108 per person per year in the county, according to Robert Steptoe, of Crews and Associates.

By next year, when the bonds will be sold, the rates could be lower, he said.

The bond rates will also likely be lowered over the 15-year life of the bond; thus, county property taxes will also be reduced.

Once the bond debt is repaid, the extra taxes will be removed from county taxpayers.

Officials are also applying for an $8 million state School Building Authority grant to assist with the costs.

County voters' approval of the bond will very likely influence the SBA decision concerning the grant, officials said.

The facilities bond order will include the following projects:

• New Mullens Elementary and Middle School that will serve children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grades, cost estimate is $16.5 million;

• Auditorium for the Wyoming County Career and Technical Center, cost estimate is $6 million;

• Artificial turf for the football field at Wyoming County East High, cost estimate is $2.1 million;

• Auxiliary gym and artificial turf for the football field at Westside High, cost estimate is $6.7 million;

• Security vestibule that includes security window and package transfer, electrical system upgrades, and new gym floor at Pineville Middle, cost estimate is $675,000;

• Security vestibule that includes security window and package transfer, Americans With Disabilities Act upgrades that include a new elevator, and a walking track for school and community use at Oceana Middle, cost estimate is $300,000;

• New playground equipment and walking track for school and community use for Road Branch Elementary and Middle, cost estimate is $100,000;

• New roof at Herndon Consolidated Elementary and Middle, cost estimate is $775,000;

• Security vestibule that includes security window and package transfer, replacement of the wastewater treatment plant, and walking track for school and community use at Baileysville Elementary and Middle, cost estimate is $315,000;

• Electrical system upgrades at Berlin McKinney Elementary, cost estimate is $250,000.

This is the first time a facilities bond will be included on a general election ballot in the county. Previously, voters have made the decisions during special elections.

Facilities bonds are earmarked for constructing or improving facilities only, much different from the excess levy – known locally as the “free textbook levy” – which funds services to children, such as textbooks and consumable workbooks, extra personnel not funded in the state school aid formula, field trips, school nurses, among numerous other items.

Wyoming County's last facilities bond was approved by voters in 1998 to build Westside High School.

Added to the regular tax levy residents pay on personal property, the excess levy has been approved by county voters every five years since 1927 and the next levy will come before voters in 2024.

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