For Fiscal Year 2022 (which began July 1, 2021), West Virginia’s revenue collections are $394 million above estimates so far. In fact, just this past December alone, tax revenue was $124 million above what the state predicted for the last month of the calendar year.
Which got us thinking … Gov. Jim Justice’s administration has been good about bringing in surpluses at the end of the fiscal year. But it’s also been notorious for squirrelling the money away in a “rainy day” fund while public services and amenities struggle to stay afloat.
So here are some things Gov. Justice should spend that $394 million on (and still have surplus from the second half the fiscal year!).
○ Schools. West Virginia schools are chronically underfunded. While the governor recently approved a 5% pay raise for teachers, but still lags behind our neighbors. In 2021, the average West Virginia teacher made around $53,000 a year; in Pennsylvania, $62,000; in Maryland and Ohio, $59,000; and in Virginia, $57,000, according to Salary.com.
Monongalia County has some of the best schools in the state — and some of the best wages to attract quality teachers. However, Mon County is only able to stay competitive because Mon County voters consistently pass the education levy. But not every county has the tax base to support their schools or the generosity of their residents to make up the difference between what the school needs and what the state gives. In order for all West Virginia schools to exceed national standards, they all need to be adequately funded.
○ Roads. A single word that covers multitudes: Road repair, snow preparation and removal and flood control.
How do people know when they’ve crossed into West Virginia? The roads go from smooth to pot-holed in the blink of an eye. West Virginia’s state flower is the orange construction cone: It first appears in spring and sticks around until mid-winter sometimes. And yet, as much as roads seem to be constantly under construction, they remain awful.
Despite the best efforts of the DOH and its workers, Thursday’s winter storm left many roads slick and dangerous. There are only so many trucks and plows, so much salt and so many drivers — but some extra funding could get the DOH more of all three.
Speaking of hazardous roads … This summer’s torrential rains left roads across the state flooded and impassible. This is technically a sewage and water treatment problem, but the flooding caused by outdated and inadequate sewage systems quickly became a road problem. Updating water infrastructure to handle more frequent flood events can save millions of dollars in damage to roads, buildings and vehicles.
There are many more worthy services and amenities we could mention, we don’t have the space to list them all.
There are dozens of services and amenities that are chronically underfunded, while Justice and his administration sit on mountains of “surplus” tax dollars. These are taxpayers’ funds, and the money needs to be invested back into the things that benefit the state as a whole. That $394 million shouldn’t be put away for a rainy day when West Virginia is barely treading water now and a “rainy day” will only drown us.
