Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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January 29, 2010

Despite the snow, Mercer school levy vote will proceed today

By GREG JORDAN

PRINCETON — Snow or no snow, a vote determining whether the Mercer County School levy will be approved for another five years will go ahead today as scheduled.

Polling places will open at 6:30 a.m. today and remain open until 7:30 p.m., said County Clerk Verlin Moye. The county cannot reschedule, so the vote will proceed as planned.

“Rain or shine, we’re going to open the polls as soon as we can get them open. If one of the poll workers is late, we’re going to deal with it,” Moye said. “We’re going to proceed with the election.”

Thursday was the last day for casting early ballots at the Mercer County Courthouse. Approximately 248 county residents voted that day, bringing the total of early ballots cast up to 857, Moye said.

Since there is only one question being considered by voters — whether to pass the Mercer County Schools levy — electronic voting machines will not be used. Voters will use paper ballots.

Despite the weather forecast, poll workers were ready, Moye said.

“We’re kind of excited. It’s a really busy, wonderful time for us. That’s part of the attraction, I think,” he said Friday. “We’re hoping for a lighter snow than what they’re calling for. The really important thing here is that it’s a non-partisan election. It’s a really important election, but it’s non-partisan.”

The school levy election was scheduled for today because the West Virginia Board of Education must have county school budgets by March. The levy provides approximately $10 million a year to the Mercer County schools budget each year. Levy funds help pay for supplements to teachers’ salaries, extracurricular activities, textbooks and other needs, said Greg Prudich, president of the Mercer County Board of Education. The levy can raise more funds only if the county’s tax base increases, and will not increase taxes, he said.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

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