The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE, VA (VR) – During their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, October 13th, Alleghany Highlands Public School Board Superintendent Kim K. Halterman, along with AHPS Communications Specialist Darrell Gleason, spoke to the town council and community members about the “1 percent sales tax referendum” up for vote on this upcoming November 3rd, 2026.
As explained by the school board to the town council, “Virginia General Assembly approved legislation allowing counties and cities to ask voters to approve an additional local sales and use tax of up to 1% to help pay for eligible school construction and major renovation projects”. According to Halterman, if the referendum is passed, these funds received by the school system via the new sales tax would be put toward large capital projects such as roof replacements for Mountain View Elementary and Clifton Academy, as wells as smaller projects like better access to the stage area at Alleghany High School. The money would also be used for periodic updates to HVAC systems, etc., as well, as most of Alleghany Highlands Public School buildings are at least 15 years or older. Halterman said the school system’s current “Capital Improvement Plan lists 109 school capital projects” desired to be completed in the coming years.
As of right now, any money that the school board ends up with from the VA lottery is used toward operating expenses rather than capital improvements, which of the latter, Halterman claims the schools are in more desperate need of. “What happens with our revenue stream right now, is we get a lot of generous funding from local and state government”, Halterman explained. “We get to the end of our fiscal year, and we take the money that is leftover, for operating expense funds (not capital funds), and give it all back to the local governments. With the Virginia State Code the way it is, we are not in a position to save anything or set it aside for a rainy day, so to speak”.
AHPS Communications Specialist Darrell Gleason mentioned how while grants are not impossible to get, grants solely for school capital improvement expenses are very few and far between. Gleason told the council that a sales tax increase could benefit Clifton Forge because not only would locals be contributing to school needs, but out of town tourists would pay the tax as well when stay at hotels and local restaurants, bringing the school system even more revenue.
Michael Foster, who is on ballot again for Clifton Forge Town Council this year, and who also owns Jack Mason’s Tavern and Brewery in Clifton Forge, did express concern about the tax. While the sales tax would not apply to personal hygiene items, groceries or gas, it would include restaurants like Jack Mason’s. “A 1% increase on a meals tax would mean a 14% increase in the tax on our customers”, Foster claimed. “I can only imagine the reaction that some of them are going to have, and I just want that to be heard”. Foster further questioned Halterman on being able to trace expenditures made for school capital projects if the tax passes, and Halterman reassured him and the rest of the Clifton Forge Town Council that the school board would be “as transparent as possible”.
Halterman went on to clarify “everything that the school division spends money on of any type, we report out to the appropriate parties, and we are subject to audit as everyone else is. We would make sure that with these segregated funds, they would be used appropriately”. While Halterman told the council it wasn’t the school system’s aim to “sway the voter either way”, she wanted to make sure the community knew this existed as an option for school capital funding in the future, and to make sure people have enough information to make an informed decision on the matter on November 3rd.
