The Barbour County School District has added both a bond and a levy proposal to the ballot for November, and it's hoping to get public support for both measures.
As part of an effort to get a bond and levy passed, supporters are visiting senior centers around the county to explain how they will affect voters.
Former teacher and Barbour County grandparent Sandy Lantz said something in the county has to change.
"We need to be providing more for our students and without the bond and levy, it's almost impossible to give our students really what they deserve," Lantz said.
The two measures would help fill different needs for the district. The bond would provide funding for new athletic facilities around Philip Barbour High School. Superintendent Dr. Joe Super said the new facilities would benefit all students in the district, not just the athletes.
"We have gym classes that are outside, it'll give them an excellent surface to have their classes on, weather-permitting. Kids learn to win and lose on the athletic fields as well as the classrooms," Super said.
Both the bond and levy would be assessed based on property values in the county at the following rates. While the bond would go to fund improvements, the levy would help the schools with other programs from extracurricular activities to free student meals. Super said having the levy would do more than help Barbour County schools, it would also benefit the county's economy.
"When they're trying to recruit professors, and the hospital, when they're trying to recruit new doctors, they look at our educational system, what's going on in the classroom, and what's going on outside the facilities and we have to be able to meet the standard where people want to relocate and live in Barbour County," Super said.
For more information on the proposals, including a calculator to determine how much the bond and levy will affect you, visit Barbourcitizensforqualityschools.com.
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