As matters currently stand, Judge Robinson must decide when the state has provided an equitable funding plan. The tax panel advised submitting to state voters a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove the courts from the debate. It also recommended eliminating statewide property taxes as the funding source for the state's allocations for basic education. The commission advised making the change as part of a general restructuring of West Virginia taxes. But the panel recommended against eliminating the excess levy, which Judge Recht cited as a cause of school system inequity.
Counties use the extra money for such things as school programs, salaries, and facilities.
Counties too property-poor to easily impose such a tax miss out on the extra money, although since the late 1980s the state has put money into the equalization of teacher salaries. The panel considered but in the end also decided against recommending a statewide excess levy. Commission members argued that as the state's population ages and fewer households have school-age children, the electorate will turn an even colder shoulder to such levies. Twice in the past 15 years voters have rejected them. Still, proponents of the tax commission's recommendations argue that if the state were to take over almost all of the cost of a basic education, the lighter burden on property taxes might make it easier for counties to pass the excess levies.