{"id":819,"date":"2014-02-26T11:00:44","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T16:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/?p=819"},"modified":"2014-02-26T11:00:44","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T16:00:44","slug":"brooks-mccumbee-on-the-schools-the-levy-the-rich-and-the-trash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/?p=819","title":{"rendered":"Brooks McCumbee on The Schools, The Levy, The Rich and The Trash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">Brooks McCumbee is running for a seat on the Morgan County Board of Education.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He\u2019s also in the leadership of a group working to defeat the school levy &#8212; aptly named Citizens Against the Levy.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oUtjHKnOVak\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">They have a clear and concise <a href=\"http:\/\/citizensagainstthelevy.com\/\">web page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">And McCumbee runs his own Facebook page, where he is in constant combat with the pro-levy forces.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The special election will take place on May 13.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee, Jeannie Ford and Frieda Ickes sued the school board, claiming the election should have been held in November not in May. But <a href=\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/?p=732\">that lawsuit was rejected<\/a> earlier this month by Jefferson County Judge David Sanders.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The case is on appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court. The appeal won\u2019t be heard until after the election. If the levy loses, the appeal will not be heard and the case will be over.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee says the reason he\u2019s running for Board of Education is because \u201cthere is too much waste in the school system right now.\u201d McCumbee says too much money is being spent on cell phones, hotels, teachers pay, coaches and excess service personnel.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee believes that fully a third of what he believes to be the school system\u2019s 350 or so employees are against the levy.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIf they cut back on some of their wastefulness, maybe they could get the teachers to buy in a little bit more too,\u201d McCumbee said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get people at the school level to buy into things when the board office is so wasteful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If elected, he will seek to cut the superintendent David Banks salary from the current $101,295 to $90,000 and the Board Treasurer\u2019s salary from the current $83,000 to $50,000. He would also do away with the position of assistant superintendent. He would not renew the summer program Energy Express, which was axed after the defeat of the levy last year.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee says he favors advanced placement programs for juniors and seniors in high school. But when asked about claims that those programs will be affected if the levy goes down, McCumbee called the school board \u201ca bunch of liars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThey will say anything, do anything, twist it anyway to get the levy attempted to be passed,\u201d McCumbee said.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee said that before the levy election of May 2013, the levy was at 98 percent. The school board raised it to a 100 percent levy, and it went down to defeat by a vote of 1,637 (55 percent) to 1,329 (45 percent).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cNow they are lowering it to 70 percent, which is still too high,\u201d McCumbee. \u201cIf you want the citizens of this county to vote for something they can afford, you run it at about 35 percent and you will win 80 to 20. It won\u2019t be close because people aren\u2019t against the kids. I would vote for it in a heartbeat at 35 percent. I couldn\u2019t justify not. It can\u2019t have anything in there for supplements for teachers. One hundred percent goes to the kids &#8212; school books, maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When asked whether he thinks he\u2019s going to win his seat on the school board, McCumbee says he doesn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI\u2019m big picture,\u201d McCumbee says. \u201cI would rather lose the battle and win the war, which is defeating the levy. It\u2019s the greatest thing that could happen. The next greatest thing that could happen would be &#8212; I win my seat and the levy gets defeated. The worse thing that could happen is I win my seat and the levy passes. That would be a sad day for Morgan County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee says that he has lost friends over the levy fight.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI do have friends who aren\u2019t friends anymore,\u201d he says. \u201cThey don\u2019t consider me a friend. But I can separate the issue from friendship. We\u2019ve never had a topic &#8212; not even zoning &#8212; that was this much of a hot button, day and night, no matter who you run into. It\u2019s on everybody\u2019s lips and minds. That\u2019s great. Embrace debate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">On his Facebook page this week, McCumbee posted a picture of downtown Berkeley Springs before 1973 &#8212; \u201cbefore the trash started arriving in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Who are \u201cthe trash\u201d?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee won\u2019t name names. And it\u2019s not easy to pin him down as what he means by \u201cthe trash.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cYou\u2019ve got to understand, this town was a nice small town, I\u2019ve lived here my whole life,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve had the city people, in a lot of cases, come in and take over. A lot of it is what is wrong with the county &#8212; not just the town &#8212; but the county today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Are the city people \u201cthe trash\u201d McCumbee is referring to?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cYeah, because our local people do not have a say anymore in this county,\u201d he says. \u201cThe transplants have moved in, taken over, taken control &#8212; oh, this is how it\u2019s going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Are all of the transplants \u201ctrash\u201d?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cNo,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Who are \u201cthe trash\u201d?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cYou can make a lot of self-conclusions on that,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a lot of people who are involved with so-called new age, for lack of a better term. We don\u2019t need the Ice House down there in Morgan County schools. The Ice House is a big part of what is wrong with Morgan County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Would McCumbee close down the Ice House &#8212; which is the headquarters for the Morgan Arts Council?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIn less time than you would take to say yes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee says that the still unnamed \u201ctrash\u201d should leave Morgan County.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe were doing quite fine until all the ship-ins arrived,\u201d he says. \u201cWe ran our county. We ran it well. We had native leadership. No pressure from outside interests saying &#8212; you\u2019ve got to do this because this is a good thing. Well, it isn\u2019t a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">What percentage of the county is \u201ctrash\u201d?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/brooksontrash.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-811\" title=\"brooksontrash\" src=\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/brooksontrash-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI would have no idea of a number,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen they come in, when they try to take over, and run things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Should \u201cthe trash\u201d leave Morgan County?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe\u2019d be a whole lot better off if they did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Is my family \u201ctrash\u201d?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cNo, because you conduct yourself in a good way, in a nice manner,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cLet me ask you something? Where can you go downtown and buy a new shirt \u00a0in the town limits?\u201d McCumbee asks. \u201cWhere can you go downtown in the town limits and buy a new piece of jewelry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In McCumbee\u2019s world view, this has less to do with big box stores like Wal-Mart crushing the small towns across America.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Why can\u2019t you buy a new shirt in downtown?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cBecause it\u2019s not wanted by those in power,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">That\u2019s because of \u201cthe trash\u201d who have moved into Morgan County?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThat would be about 99 percent correct,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee works as a referee at the high school and middle school levels.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">What if a coach calls McCumbee \u201ctrash\u201d &#8212; right to his face?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWell then he\u2019s probably going to get a technical,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Should we then call a technical on McCumbee for calling his fellow citizens \u201ctrash\u201d?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cPeople do that all the time,\u201d he says. \u201cThey fire back at me. And that\u2019s okay. This whole thing, from now until election day, there\u2019s going to be a lot of mud-slinging. It\u2019s like any other issue that gets people\u2019s hair up. But that\u2019s good, because it stimulates the mind, gives people something to talk about. It shows people cares strongly about an issue. Whether they agree or disagree, it doesn\u2019t matter. But it does bring awareness to our kids, our schools and our county.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In McCumbee\u2019s mind, \u201cthe trash\u201d are one problem and \u201cthe rich\u201d are another.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/brooksmccumbee.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-810\" title=\"brooksmccumbee\" src=\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/brooksmccumbee-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In one post on his Facebook page, dated February 22, McCumbee identifies \u201cthe rich\u201d as a driving force in the pro-levy campaign.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cTime to set the pro-levy people straight again,\u201d McCumbee writes. \u201cThey say the rich isn\u2019t for the levy and I say they are telling more lies again. Fact: Gat Caperton came out in favor of the levy, as did Charles Trump, Bill Harmison, Connie Perry, Reed\u2019s Pharmacy, Morgan Messenger, pro levy leader Janice Didawick and family, all of which are worth millions. The biggest supporter is Citizen National Bank because they stand to lose millions of dollars not being deposited in their bank when this levy fails.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">We ask McCumbee &#8212; what about the wealthy landowners who are funding his organization &#8212; Citizens Against the Levy?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWho would that be?\u201d McCumbee asks.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">People like Andrew Gosline, who owns the Berkeley Springs Castle.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gosline has been a financial supporter of the group, although Jeannie Ford and Gosline would not say how much he has given.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">So, what about \u201cthe rich\u201d who are fighting the levy? Why doesn\u2019t McCumbee mention them?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThere may somehow have more than others who are [fighting the levy],\u201d he says. \u201cI know a businessman downtown who pays $13,000 a year in property tax. About $6,000 of that is the levy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Is he opposed to the levy?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cMost definitely and I can\u2019t blame him,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s a big chunk of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Who is that?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cDoesn\u2019t need to be named,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee says everything will be okay \u201cif we can run our own county.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Who is we?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe natives of Morgan County,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">How long do you have to be here to be a native?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIn my case 55 years,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to blend in with the native way. We\u2019ve got plenty of people in this county that don\u2019t blend into the native way. They don\u2019t do the native things. They don\u2019t think the way they should. They didn\u2019t like it where they came from, so they came here and tried to enforce their ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe so-called trash come in, and they don\u2019t like it where they came from, but they try to push their ways on us,\u201d he says. \u201cIf we wanted that, we would have told them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Who is we?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe natives,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Who ought to leave?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe Icehousers,\u201d he says. \u201cThe Ice House should be put back to what it was when I was a kid &#8212; a furniture store. How is the Ice House gang voting on this now, since they have been defeated and not getting their thousands of dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">What if an Icehouser voted against the levy, could they stay?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cMore importantly, can they act like the natives?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If an Icehouser votes against the levy and acts like you want them to act, can they stay?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe would appreciate it if they did something like that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But can they stay?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThey can stay as long as they want, because there is no way you can force them out,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But you want them to leave?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cAs does a bunch of the natives,\u201d he says. \u201cWe would love to see them gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">We asked McCumbee to predict what the vote will be on the levy in May.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">McCumbee predicts the levy will lose &#8212; 58 percent to 42 percent.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brooks McCumbee is running for a seat on the Morgan County Board of Education. He\u2019s also in the leadership of a group working to defeat the school levy &#8212; aptly named Citizens Against the Levy. They have a clear and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/?p=819\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}