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The 2018 excess levy call, which expires next year, gave more than $1.4 million to the libraries and more than $455,000 to the park district. The parks and libraries received additional funding when property tax collections were more than anticipated. The levy call rejected by voters in May would have reduced the libraryòòò½ÊÓƵ™s funding to about $1.3 million and the park districtòòò½ÊÓƵ™s to $200,000. It also would have eliminated the additional funding from higher tax collections.

The thing is, the funding levels in the 2018 levy call were set by a law the state Supreme Court voided earlier this year. The main reason the county school board should consider retaining those levels or something close to them is how strongly voters want those funding streams to continue. Judging by the overwhelming rejection by voters when the board attempted to cut those subsidies with its levy proposal in the May primary, it seems that voters are not in the mood to cut spending on libraries and parks so drastically.

Whatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s not said in negotiations is as important as what is said. Itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s easy to see what the library system and the park board want, but what are the schoolsòòò½ÊÓƵ™ needs, and how much do those needs cost in a time when expenses trend upward? And yes, operating costs for libraries and parks are on the increase, as well. But thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a limit to the amount of money the excess levy can raise, and the political calculations of what voters expect and what they are willing to pay for must be considered.

Thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s also the question of what input other parties may be giving. The county school board must answer to the state Board of Education and the state Department of Education. Itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s hard to imagine that officials at the Capitol Complex arenòòò½ÊÓƵ™t involved in these negotiations, even indirectly.

The board must submit its levy question to the Cabell County clerkòòò½ÊÓƵ™s office by mid-August if it is to be presented to voters in November, so thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s no rush here two months out from that date. Yet.

Whatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s submitted to voters for their approval in November could set funding for the schools, library and parks for the next five years. It could set the precedent for funding streams beyond that, or it could be the last time parks and libraries get a large part of the school systemòòò½ÊÓƵ™s excess levy capacity. No one really knows. In the here and now, though, thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a lot riding on how these talks go.