WV Farm Bureau Magazine January 2015 | Page 17

49. SCHOOL FUNDING The State of West Virginia currently allocates over $1 billion annually for education, including higher education. Additionally, approximately 70% of the counties’ property taxes comprise the local share for county school boards. School financing needs to be shared by all the citizens of the state, not just property owners, therefore, West Virginia Farm Bureau encourages the legislature to develop a school financing plan that would be equitable to property and non-property owners. In addition, we urge funding be continued to rural county budgets to offset high costs of rural transportation. We also recommend funding be added for building maintenance. 50. CONTROL OVER COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEMS West Virginia is a diverse state and our county school systems reflect that diversity wi Y