14. If the debt represented by this Bond issue shall be approved by the voters, such Bonds, together with all existing bonded indebtedness heretofore incurred under Section 1, Article X, of the Constitution, will not exceed in the aggregate five percent (5%) of the taxable property in the School District ascertained in accordance with Sections 8 and 10, Article X, of the Constitution of this State and will be payable from a direct annual tax levied and collected in each year on all taxable property in said School District, sufficient to pay the principal and interest maturing on said Bonds in each year, which maximum rates are provided for tax levies for school districts on the several classes of property in Section 1, Article X of the Constitution, but in the same proportions as such maximum rates are levied outside the limits fixed by Section 1, Article X of the Constitution.
15. If the debt and Bonds submitted to the voters shall be approved, by virtue of Section 8, Article X of the Constitution, known as the “School Bond Amendment,” and the enabling legislation enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia Regular Session, 1951, amending and reenacting Sections 3 and 4, Article 1, Chapter 13, of the Code, and the enabling legislation enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia, Regular Session, 1959, amending and reenacting Section 4 and adding Section 34, Article 1, Chapter 13, of the Code, levies hereinbefore provided will not violate any constitutional or statutory provisions of this State establishing maximum levies, said levies herein provided shall be levied and allocated each year for the purposes of discharging the interest and principal of the Bonds to be authorized, and for such purposes shall be laid separate and apart from all other levies made for all other purposes of the School District, and the Board does further find that after laying and allocating said special levies for payment of principal and interest requirements of said Bonds, there will be, out of the levies authorized by law and apportioned for current expenses, a sufficient levy authorized by law which, when added to other income, will be sufficient to carry out the proper requisite functions of said Board and of said School District.
16. Bowles Rice LLP is hereby approved, authorized and retained to serve as bond counsel to the Board in connection with the Bonds, and Piper Sandler & Co. is hereby approved, authorized and retained to serve as municipal advisor to the Board in connection with the Bonds.
17. The commissioners and clerks appointed and certified for the purpose of the primary election shall be the same commissioners and clerks designated, appointed and certified by the County Commission and, if necessary, as adopted by a supplemental order of this Board.
18. Notice of this question shall be given by publication of this Order as a Class II-O legal advertisement, at least once each week for two (2) successive weeks before the election and within fourteen (14) consecutive days next preceding such primary election in The Journal, a qualified newspaper of primary circulation in the School District as certified by the Secretary of State of the State of West Virginia, all in accordance with the West Virginia Code.
19. The ballot shall be in the form set forth on the following page:
OFFICIAL BALLOT
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE COUNTY OF BERKELEY
PRIMARY ELECTION HELD TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2026
Shall The Board of Education of the County of Berkeley incur debt and issue Bonds, in one or more series, in the amount of not more than ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN MILLION FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($115,400,000), with maturities on such Bonds to run not more than fifteen and three-quarter (15 3/4) years from the date of such Bonds, with interest not exceeding the rate of five and one-half percent (5.50%) per annum, payable semiannually, for purposes of designing, planning, developing, constructing, acquiring, improving, renovating, equipping, and/or furnishing certain school building facilities and related real property, as more particularly described in the project list set forth below (collectively, the “Projects”) in the Berkeley County School District (the “School District”) to provide adequate, safe and convenient educational facilities for the School District, and levy taxes sufficient to pay the interest on and the principal of such Bonds:
PROJECT
LOCATION
ESTIMATED COST Funded by SBA/Other Sources*
ESTIMATED COST Funded by Bond Proceeds
Total Estimated Project Cost (including costs of Issuance)
New Hedgesville Middle School
Plan, develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, and improve a new Hedgesville Middle School facility. The new school will offer a safe, modern and engaging learning environment and will include space for Career and Technical Education (CTE) programming.
The existing Hedgesville Middle School facility will be converted to a secondary Alternative Instruction Learning Center which may hold day and evening programs for alternative programming and/or other instructional purposes. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
In the vicinity of the current Hedgesville High School or within the City of Hedgesville, West Virginia
$21,000,000
$45,000,000
$166,406,000
Workforce Development Career and Technical Education Center
Plan, develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, and improve a comprehensive Workforce Development and Career and Technical Education Center to serve Berkeley County Schools students in grades 9-12 as well as support regional workforce development. The scope of this project is not limited to, the acquisition, repurposing, expansion of an existing or new facility. The Center will address both foundational and advanced technical skills training for high-skill careers and other specialized technical fields through hands-on training and mentorship. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
Berkeley County, West Virginia
$19,000,000
$21,300,000
Cafeteria and Kitchen Additions and Renovation at Tomahawk Intermediate School
Plan, develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, and improve the cafeteria and kitchen facilities at Tomahawk Intermediate School. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
Existing Tomahawk Intermediate School, Berkeley County, West Virginia
$4,900,000
Classroom Additions and Improvements to Harpers High School
Plan, develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, and improve classroom additions and renovations to Harpers High School, including, without limitation, the renovation of food service infrastructure to support efficient and expanded food service. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
Existing Harpers High School, Berkeley County, West Virginia
$5,600,000
HVAC Improvements to Martinsburg High School
Develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, improve, and pay all fees and expenses associated with HVAC improvements to Martinsburg High School and/or improvements.
Existing Martinsburg High School, Berkeley County, West Virginia
$1,100,000
Additions and Improvements to Musselman High School
Develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, improve, and pay all fees and expenses associated with additions and improvements for improved athletic facilities at Musselman High School, including, without limitation, the renovation of the existing ticket room, the replacement of the existing press box and the renovation of locker rooms. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
Existing Musselman High School Athlete Facilities, Berkeley County, West Virginia
$1,700,000
Cafeteria and Kitchen Additions and Renovation at Tomahawk Intermediate School
Plan, develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, and improve the cafeteria and kitchen facilities at Musselman High School. The project includes improvements to kitchen areas, installation of new serving lines and equipment, flexible service infrastructure to support efficient and expanded food service. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
Existing Mountain High School, Berkley County, West Virginia
$6,300,000
Spring Mills Campus Additions and Improvements
Plan, develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, and improve Spring Mills Campus to enhance traffic flow, access, and safety. The project includes, without limitation, the addition of parking, turning lanes, a potential expansion of Campus Drive to provide alternative access routes, and other related site improvements. Funding for this project, if approved, may be used to satisfy local matching requirements for any state or federal funding. If such grants or external funding becomes available, additional improvements may be made to the development of the campus. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
Existing Spring Mills Campus, Berkeley County, West Virginia
$2,500,000
Classroom Addition and Improvements to Rosemont Elementary School
Plan, develop, acquire, design, construct, equip, furnish, and improve classroom additions and facility renovations at Rosemont Elementary School to accommodate student capacity. The project includes, without limitation, the addition of portable classrooms, renovation of cafeteria and gymnasium areas to better accommodate facility requirements. All estimated project costs, including any associated and necessary fees, professional services and expenses, are included.
Existing Rosemont Elementary School, Berkeley County, West Virginia
$7,100,000
* The Estimated Project Costs Funded by Other Sources may be an amount greater or less than $45,000,000, depending on the amount of any commitment by the School Building Authority of West Virginia or other sources, final designs, plans and specifications of the respective Projects and actual costs of construction of the Projects. If the School Building Authority of West Virginia or other sources (i) does not award the funding contemplated above or (ii) commits to fund an amount less than $45,000,000, and the Bonds are approved by the voters, the Board currently intends to proceed with the Bond issuance and the Projects, utilizing Bond proceeds in the estimated amounts set forth above together with the amount, if any, committed to by the School Building Authority of West Virginia to complete the Projects. The Board reserves the right to reduce the scope of the Workforce Development/Career and Technical Education Center (“CTE Center”), additions and renovations to Martinsburg South Middle School (“MSMS Additions”) and/or other projects in this bond proposal, to the extent necessary, consistent with the amount of bond proceeds and SBA funding available for the completion of the CTE Center and/or MSMS Additions and the other provisions of this ballot.
The amounts set forth above as “Total Par Amount of Bonds” for the Projects includes the estimated Costs of Issuance for the Bonds, which may be funded from the proceeds of the Bonds that would be issued in the aggregate principal amount of One Hundred Fifteen Million Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($115,400,000). The Board shall be authorized to pay such Costs of Issuance from its general funds and/or from the proceeds of the Bonds, as the Board deems appropriate at the time such Costs of Issuance are required to be paid.
If the Bond issue is approved by the voters of the School District and the Bonds proposed hereby are issued, then, in connection with the Projects proposed in this Order, upon the completion of the new Hedgesville Middle School, the existing Hedgesville Middle School will be closed as a middle school, and certain of those students in grades 6 through 8, together with certain students in grades 6 through 8 that currently attend Spring Mills Middle School (approximately 150 students), will attend the new Hedgesville Middle School.
The commitment or awarding of funds by the School Building Authority of West Virginia shall not be a condition precedent to the issuance of the Bonds.
If the voters of the School District approve the incurring of said debt and the issuance of said Bonds, the Board will lay annually upon the assessed valuation of all the taxable property within the School District an additional levy sufficient to provide funds for the payment of the annual interest upon the Bonds as such interest accrues semiannually and the principal of the Bonds at maturity, for which purposes a levy upon each $100 valuation, based upon the last assessment of such property for State and County purposes, will be required as follows:
Upon Class I Property approximately 5.16 cents
Upon Class II Property approximately 10.32 cents
Upon Class III Property approximately 20.64 cents
Upon Class IV Property approximately 20.64 cents
For the avoidance of doubt, the levy rates set forth above are in addition to any other levies currently in place in the School District, including the levy in connection with the Board’s outstanding Public School Bonds, Series 2023 and the other levies applicable in Berkeley County, West Virginia.
The foregoing estimated Project Cost amounts include the costs of capitalized interest, acquiring any necessary lands, sites and rights-of-way and easements, if necessary to complete the Projects, the payment of interest on the Bonds while the Projects are under construction and up to six months thereafter, and any engineering and architectural costs, construction costs, including, but not limited to, construction manager fees and expenses, the cost of using county maintenance personnel, the costs of erecting, improving, equipping and furnishing the Projects, the costs and estimated costs of the issuance of the Bonds, and such other costs, fees, and expenses as may be necessary and/or properly incurred in carrying out the Projects. All Handicapped and E.S.S.I.A. Title 1 expenditures are subject to written approval by the West Virginia Department of Education.
The estimated Project Costs set forth above are based upon the estimates provided to the Board by its architects, engineers and other professional advisers, and the actual costs of completing any one or more of the Projects may vary due to circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the Board. The Board may, in its discretion, allocate to and expend for any one or more of the above described Projects and/or for capital additions, renovations or improvements to existing school facilities in the School District any sum remaining unused upon completion of the Projects, whether any such sum remains unused upon such completion by reason of lower than estimated costs for such Projects or a grant or grants upon the cost of any such Projects received by the Board from the state or federal government, and/or any state or government agency, or from any other source whatsoever.
If the proceeds of the Bonds and/or amounts allocated for the above-stated purposes are insufficient to complete the Projects, then the Board, in its discretion, shall allocate such shortfall to one or more of the above-stated purposes. In the event the Board shall obtain additional money by grant or otherwise from the State or Federal government, or from any agency of either, or from any other source (including private funds, local funds, lease purchase proceeds, or other funds made available to the Board), for use in the acquisition, construction, renovation, improvement, furnishing, and/or equipping of the Projects, such additional money may be used either in substitution for or in addition to the proceeds of the sale of the Bonds proposed hereby, as may be determined by the Board and the granting body or agency.
To vote in favor of the proposition (for the Bond Issue) submitted on this ballot, mark an “X” in the box next to “Yes.”
To vote against the proposition (against the Bond Issue), mark an “X” in the box next to “No.”
NOTICE TO VOTERS:
☐ Yes (For the Bond Issue.)
☐ No (Against the Bond Issue.)
* * * * END OF SAMPLE BALLOT * * * *
20. The Secretary of the Board is hereby authorized to take any actions, and execute and deliver any documents, that may be necessary or appropriate to assist the Clerk of the County Commission of the County of Berkeley in connection with the primary election and the official ballot approved by this Order, and said Clerk is hereby designated and appointed as an agent of the Board to perform all actions and duties imposed by law upon clerks of the County Commission in relation to said primary election.
21. Ab