Bd. of Educ. of Cty. of Cabell v. Cabell Cty. Pub. Libr.

900 S.E.2d 44

The BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the COUNTY OF CABELL, Respondent Below, Petitioner,

v.The CABELL COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY and the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, Petitioners Below, Respondents.

No. 23-691

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Submitted: February 20, 2023

Filed: March 15, 2024

West Codenotes

Recognized as Unconstitutional

W. Va. Code Ann. §§ 18-9A-11, 18-9A-12

Syllabus by the Court

1. " ‘The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law which this Court reviews de novo.’ Syl. Pt. 1, State v. Rutherford, 223 W. Va. 1, 672 S.E.2d 137 (2008)." Syl. Pt. 2, State v. Connor, 244 W. Va. 594, 855 S.E.2d 902 (2021).

2. " 'In considering the constitutionality of a legislative enactment, courts must exercise due restraint, in recognition of the principle of the separation of powers in government among the judicial, legislative and executive branches. Every reasonable construction must be resorted to by the courts in order to sustain constitutionality, and any reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of the constitutionality of the legislative enactment in question….’ Syllabus Point 1, Appalachian Power Co. v. Gainer, 149 W.Va. 740, 143 S.E.2d 351 (1965)." Syl. Pt. 2, in part, Hartley Hill Hunt Club v. Cnty. Comm’n of Ritchie Cnty., 220 W.Va. 382, 647 S.E.2d 818 (2007).

3. "Because education is a fundamental, constitutional right in this State, under our Equal Protection Clause any discriminatory classification found in the State’s educational financing system cannot stand unless the State can demonstrate some compelling State interest to justify the unequal classification." Syl. Pt. 4, Pauley v. Kelly, 162 W. Va. 672, 255 S.E.2d 859 (1979).

4. To the extent that Chapter 207 of the Acts of the Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, and Chapter 187 of the Acts of the Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, require the Board of Education of the County of Cabell, West Virginia, to include funding for the Cabell County Public Library and the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, respectively, on its excess levy proposals, while the boards of fifty-three other counties are free to seek voter approval of excess levy funding without such restriction, the Acts violate the equal protection guarantees of the West Virginia Constitution, article III, section 10, and are thus unenforceable.

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cabell County, The Honorable Gregory L. Howard, Judge, Case No. 23-C-339

Kenneth E. Webb, Jr., Esq., Joshua A. Cottle, Esq., William M. Lorensen, Esq., BOWLES RICE LLP, Charleston, West Virginia, Counsel for the Petitioner

Marc E. Williams, Esq., Randall L. Saunders, Esq., Thomas M. Hanock, Esq., Alexander C. Frampton, Esq., NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP, Huntington, West Virginia, D. Martin Warf, Esq., NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOUGH LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina, Dennis C. Taylor, Esq., Debra C. Price, Esq., TAYLOR CONWAY PRICE PLLC, Huntington, West Virginia, Counsel for the Respondents

WOOTON, Justice:

The petitioner, The Board of Education of the County of Cabell ("the Board"), appeals from the December 1, 2023, order of the Circuit Court of Cabell County, West Virginia, granting The Cabell County Public Library’s ("the Library") and The Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District’s ("the Park District") (collectively "the respondents"), petition for a writ of mandamus and motion for judgment on the pleadings. The circuit court’s rulings were based upon its conclusion that Chapter 207 of the Acts of the Legislature, Regular Session, 1967 ("the Public Library Special Act") and Chapter 187 of the Acts of the Legislature, Regular Session, 2011 ("the Park District Special Act") (collectively "the Special Acts"),¹ which respectively require the Board to provide funding for the respondents through special and excess levies, are constitutional because they "do not infringe upon the fundamental right of the children of Cabell County to an education."²

Upon careful review’ of the parties’ briefs and oral arguments, the appendix record, and the relevant law, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court and remand for that court to enter an order dismissing the respondents’ Verified Petition for a Writ of Mandamus, Declaratory Relief, and Injunctive Relief.

I. Facts and Procedural Background

On March 9, 1967, the West Virginia Legislature passed the Public Library Special Act for the stated purpose, inter alia, of "provid[ing] a stable method of financing the operation of [the Cabell County Public Library]." 1967 W. Va. Leg. Acts, ch. 207, Reg. Sess. To effectuate this purpose, the Public Library Special Act requires the Board to "provide funds available to the board through special and excess levies," such funds levied at specific rates for specific classes of property during specific five-year periods in which a levy is in effect.³ Id. On April 5, 2011, the Legislature reenacted and passed the Park District Special Act, which requires five different governing authorities to provide for maintenance and operation of the Park District: the Cabell County Commission, the Wayne County Commission, the Board, the City of Huntington, and the Town of Milton. 2011 W. Va. Leg. Acts, ch. 187, Reg. Sess. With specific reference to the Board, the Park Distinct Special Act requires that it "shall provide funds available to the board through special and excess levies for the first year of the act and annually thereafter[,]" again at specific rates for specific classes of property during specific five-year periods.⁴ Id.

On May 18, 2018, Cabell County voters approved the Board’s excess levy proposal for fiscal years beginning July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2025. The proposal included $1,471,869.00 annually for the Library and $455,229.00 annually for the Park District, figures which were based on estimated revenue from the relevant tax rates specified by the Special Acts. The ballot presented to the voters provided, in relevant part, that this was an

[e]ection to authorize additional levies for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2020, July 1, 2021, July 1, 2022, July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024, in the total amount of $24,128,149.00 annually for the purpose of paying the current expenses of The Board of Education of the County of Cabell, for the following purposes:

….

Cabell County Public Library – The operation of the Cabell County Public Library as required by Section 5, Chaptr 207, of the 1967 Acts of the West Virginia Legislature - $1,471, 869.00

Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District – The operation of the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District as required by Section 7, Chapter 194, of the 1983 Acts of the West Virginia Legislature - $455,229.00

….

In the event The Board of Education of the County of Cabell shall obtain additional money by grant or otherwise from the state or federal government, or from any agency of either, or from any other sources, for the purposes aforesaid, levy monies specified for these purposes may be used for the general operation of the school system. The additional levies shall be on Class I property 22.95c; on Class II property, 45.90c; on Class III property 91.80c; on Class IV property, 91.80c, for each tax year that property tax revenues are not projected.

The excess levy was passed by the citizens of Cabell County. Thereafter, for the first three of the subject fiscal years the Board paid the respondents the amounts specifically approved by the voters, plus an "equalization" payment representing the difference between the amounts the relevant tax rates had been estimated to generate for the respondents, i.e., the amounts shown on the ballot, and the amounts actually assessed and collected over the course of each fiscal year. However, the Board did not make any equalization payments for fiscal year 2024 and informed officials from the Library and the Park District that it would not make such payments for fiscal year 2025. Additionally, because the Board had determined that its funding needs for the upcoming five fiscal year periods, fiscal years 2026-2030, would exceed its maximum levying capacity under the legislatively determined rates,⁵ it informed the respondents of its intent to reduce the funding sought for the Library to $195,089.00 annually and to eliminate funding for the Park District altogether in the excess levy proposal that was to be placed on the ballot and voted upon during the 2024 primary election.

On September 14, 2023, the respondents filed a petition for a writ of mandamus, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief, in the Circuit Court of Cabell County, seeking restoration of the equalization payments withheld and to be withheld, and requiring the Board to put library and parks funding on the upcoming excess levy proposal. In opposition, the Board contended that the Special Acts are unconstitutional pursuant to this Court’s resolution of a closely analogous issue in Kanawha County Public Library Board v. Board of Education of County of Kanawha ("Board II"), 231 W. Va. 386, 745 S.E.2d 424 (2013). Following briefing and argument, the circuit court granted the respondents’ request for mandamus relief and their motion for judgment on the pleadings. The court found that the decision in Board II, which invalidated Special Acts requiring county school boards in Berkeley, Hardy, Harrison, Kanawha, Ohio, Raleigh, Tyler, Upshur, and Wood Counties to fund public libraries, does not apply to this case because here, the Board is not faced with what we deemed to be the Hobson’s choice given to the Board II counties of "pay[ing] their re- spective ‘Special Act’ mandatory library funding obligations from their discretionary retainage⁶ or transfer[ring] the obligation to their excess levies[.]" Board II, 231 W. Va. at 389, 745 S.E.2d at 428, Syl. Pt. 12, in part (emphasis added). In the instant case, the circuit court reasoned, because funding for the respondents comes solely from the Board’s excess levy funds pursuant to...