PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Nearly 65 percent of voters in Putnam County voted to approve this year’s school bond, funding a new Hurricane High School and improvements to athletic fields in all middle and high schools.

Zander Wagner is the owner of Bubbarino’s Bites and Bubbles in Hurricane. He said voters who approve the growth will only help the community.

“It’s nice to see something new emerge because that just means we’re getting better as a society and as a community,” Wagner said.

Twenty-five of the nearly $75 million for the projects will be used to help build the middle school, but it must still be approved by the School Construction Authority. Andy Neptune, executive director of the SBA, said if the project is approved, there are other options to make it work.

“The authority members will agree to do this for several years and phase it out one or two years, which will help, you know, some overhead costs and maybe allow us to do other projects as well.”

Rob Cunningham, president of the Putnam County Board of Education, said if the funding is not approved in December, the bond projects would have to be suspended for two years.

“I mean, that’s all we could do. We do not have the financial means to build a $50 million school on our own. So, I mean we’re going to have to have the assistance of the SBA to be able to do that.”

Neptune said they have superintendents across the state applying for funding, but it’s competitive: only $54 million is available.

“It’s a difficult and notable process when counties pass bonds and those communities support them with taxpayer dollars.”

Neptune said superintendents will present their plans to authority members starting Nov. 18 and will look at the overall outcome of building a new school when selecting which counties will receive funding.

If you are a taxpayer in Putnam County, Cunningham said there will be no change to the tax rate until funding is approved.

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