“Journalism is literature in a hurry.” – Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), British poet and cultural critic.

Legislators are working on OPEB, but school boards are ready to sue

By Jim Wallace

Work toward finding solutions to West Virginia’s massive OPEB liability problem is picking up in the Legislature with work groups in both chambers now dedicated to the issue.

OPEB stands for “other post-employment benefits.” In West Virginia’s case, the OPEB liability is estimated at $7.8 billion and growing, mainly because of health care benefits promised to current and future retirees in the public sector.

A Senate work group led by Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, has been working on possible solutions for weeks. This week, a newly formed House work group led by Delegate Steve Kominar, D-Mingo, began its consideration of the OPEB problem by meeting with McCabe to get an explanation of what the Senate has done.

“In my opinion, the Senate did a good job of recognizing the problem,” Kominar said. “It’s an educational process right now. It’s just bringing everybody up to snuff, up to date on what needs to be done and what the recommendations might be.”

“It’s such a complicated and convoluted issue.” – Delegate Steve Kominar

Kominar said House Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, has given his group no deadline, but he hopes lawmakers will be able to take some action during the current legislative session.

“There’s no guarantee,” Kominar said. “It’s such a complicated and convoluted issue. It takes into account every state employee, every school system, every non-state agency. I mean it’s very, very complex.”

McCabe said he is trying to get the House group additional information and answer the questions members have.

“They’re doing some of their own independent research to get comfortable at their level,” he said. “I would really hope from my perspective that next week we could start really interacting in earnest to try to create some legislation that would be necessary. That’s me speaking, not Delegate Kominar. He’s driving the effort on the House side. From my perspective, I’m just trying to push it as fast as we can.”

Lawmakers’ efforts are welcome but late.

Rick Olcott, president of the Wood County school board, said he’s encouraged to hear lawmakers are making some progress on OPEB, although he wishes they had reached this point much earlier.

“I do understand there is a very, very different focus on it this year,” he said. “I would encourage them to keep up the good work.”

Olcott, whose board is one of 50 school boards that have threatened to sue the state over OPEB, said he thinks a good approach for the Legislature would be to decouple the long-term liability from “the accountability piece.”  That accountability piece is the Legislature’s decision a few years ago to require school boards to carry on their books the OPEB liability for their employees and retirees. That requirement has already taken effect for the three biggest school districts, including Wood County, and most of the rest of the districts will have to do so soon.

The school boards are considering suing the state because they contend it was the state, not the school boards, that made the decisions that created the huge liability and because most of the salaries of teachers and other school workers are paid by the state through the School Aid Formula. Thus, they contend that the state should be responsible for most of the OPEB liability.

Lawmakers hope school boards will wait before suing.

When someone intends to sue a government agency, the law requires notice of the proposed suit to be given to the agency at least 30 days before the expected filing. In this case, such a notice was sent on Dec. 18 to the attorney general, the state auditor, the secretary of the Department of Administration and the director of the Public Employees Insurance Agency.

“The suit papers are ready. Legal counsel is holding those papers until instructed by the school boards to proceed.” – School boards’ attorney Howard Seufer

“The 30-day notice period expired last week, which means that the school boards are now permitted to file the suit,” Howard Seufer, attorney for the schools boards, said. “The suit papers are ready. Legal counsel is holding those papers until instructed by the school boards to proceed.”

Both Kominar and McCabe said they hope the school boards hold off on their proposed lawsuit long enough to give lawmakers time to address the OPEB problem.

“My personal opinion, yes, but obviously that’s their decision to make, not mine,” Kominar said. “It doesn’t motivate us one way or the other. That’s their right to do whatever they want. I think our charge is to find a workable solution and hopefully save the state some money long term.”

Similarly, McCabe said, “I would hope they would withdraw. We’re beginning to provide them with some information and will encourage them to do so.”

Olcott, who is president of the West Virginia School Board Association, deferred to the school boards’ lawyers for comment on whether the lawsuit might be held up while legislators work on the problem, but he noted that the boards have already waited a long time for OPEB to be addressed. “We’re in a situation where we have to do something,” he said.

 

School calendar bill sails through House and Senate

By Jim Wallace

For a subject that got stuck in the legislative process last year, Gov. Manchin’s proposal to give school boards more flexibility in the school calendar sure found the fast track this year.

“We had passed the school calendar two or three times through every committee that did more than what that did, so we obviously were supportive of that.” – Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale

From its introduction in the House of Delegates on Jan. 15, House Bill 4040 went through the House Education Committee without amendment, received the approval of the full House with just one vote against it in just 10 days after its introduction and then the unanimous approval of the full Senate one day later. The Senate didn’t even bother to send it through its Education Committee.

“We had passed the school calendar two or three times through every committee that did more than what that did, so we obviously were supportive of that,” Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, said. “We went ahead, suspended the rules and passed the bill after that.”

Suspending the rules meant that the Senate did not have to give the bill readings on the Senate floor on three separate days. Instead, the Senate passed the bill as soon as it received it from the House.

“Maybe we should have 200 days in the school year.” – Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler

Hours earlier at a breakfast meeting sponsored by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, endorsed the school calendar bill and suggested perhaps going even further. “We have no way to compete if we don’t improve the quality and quantity of education,” he said. “Maybe we should have 200 days in the school year.”

The only change the Senate made in the bill was to make it effective on July 1, 2010, “because if it’s effective 90 days from passage, it could possibly get into this year’s school calendar,” Plymale said. That meant the bill had to return to the House for approval of that change before it could go to Gov. Manchin for his signature, but the House went along with the Senate’s change on a unanimous vote of all the delegates present Wednesday, although House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, didn’t think it mattered much.

“I agreed with them to make sure it doesn’t affect current contracts,” she said. “All we did was change beginning and end dates, and how can you do that under the current school law? There’s still plenty of potential for them under current law to make up all these days they’ve been missing.”

The bill would leave it up to county school boards to determine the beginning and ending dates of the school year, a change from the current mandate for the beginning to occur no sooner than Aug. 26 and the ending to occur no later than June 8. The bill also would require each school board to make “an icy conditions and emergencies plan designed to guarantee an instructional term for students of no less than [180] separate instructional days.”

Last year, the Senate passed a bill that removed the mandated beginning and ending dates of the school year and gave school boards the flexibility to schedule 180 instructional days within 43 weeks. The House favored a version that would have left the beginning and ending dates in place, allow school boards to convert non-instructional days into instructional days and count instructional minutes toward meeting the requirement. The Senate and the House were unable to agree on a common version before the 60-day regular legislative session ended.

This year, the snowy weather that forced schools across the state to close for several days helped renew interest in adjusting the school calendar. As Gov. Manchin said in his State of the State address, “Our current law requires students to attend school for 180 days a year, but let’s face the facts: This is not happening. That is why I am asking you to pass a bill that guarantees that every county is able to comply with this law and provide 180 days of instruction.”

Bob Brown, executive director of the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association, said recently, “I find it ironic that the discussion regarding lost instructional days only centers on snow days. I have yet to find a politician or superintendent who will publicly acknowledge the fact that many counties lose more instructional days because of the state basketball tournament than they do because of snow.”

SBA plans for digital mapping of schools concern senators

By Jim Wallace

Mark Manchin, executive director of the School Building Authority, went before the Senate and House Finance Committees this week for budget hearings and to talk about all the schools his agency has built and renovated since it began in 1989, as well as ask for help in financing more projects.

But members of the Senate committee were more interested in what’s being done to make schools safer through the School Access Safety Act.

“That’s very much on our radar,” Manchin responded. He said the SBA is preparing a request for proposals for companies interested in providing digital mapping and risk assessment of school buildings. Those maps could be used by police, firefighters and other first responders when they need to get into school buildings during emergencies.

“As they approach a building, they would be able to bring the information [on the building’s layout] up,” Manchin said. The police who responded to the shooting incidents at Columbine High School in Colorado and at Virginia Tech did not have such information available to them, he said.

State might compete with private bidders.

Nine companies responded to a request for interest, Manchin said, but the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety might be able to do it more efficiently.

“[It’s] a grab for dollars without the ability to follow through.” – Sen. Erik Wells

“They do some mapping but not to this level,” he said, adding that he felt comfortable with the department’s ability. Mapping exterior doors would be the first priority followed by interior doors, Manchin said.

But Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, said he was concerned it might be just “a grab for dollars without the ability to follow through.”

Manchin responded that the possibility is just in the discussion stage. He said the National Guard and the Division of Homeland Security, which are part of Military Affairs and Public Safety, have had extensive training, and the department has been part of the review process for the project.

The department “would be able to do it more efficiently,” Manchin said, but unlike the process for private-sector firms, there is no mechanism for Military Affairs and Public Safety, as a government agency, to respond to a request for proposals. He said the SBA would assess the private companies’ bids first and then look at what Military Affairs and Public Safety could offer.

But Wells protested that he was concerned “the state is not competing in a fair way.”

“I feel you’re using the knowledge of private industry and sharing it with the state and then awarding a contract to the state.” – Sen. Erik Wells

Manchin said a task force created two years ago on the matter “knows what it’s looking for.” That still did not satisfy Wells.

“I feel you’re using the knowledge of private industry and sharing it with the state and then awarding a contract to the state,” he said.

Reiterating, Manchin said the task force has determined what it wants. He hoped the request for proposals would come out in a week to 10 days after the Senate Finance Committee meeting, which was held on Monday.

In response to further questioning from committee members, Manchin said the SBA has $5 million available for the project, and there is a request in next year’s budget for another $5 million.

 

Senator worries about old buildings left behind.

“We’re leaving some real blighted areas in West Virginia.” – Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick

Although the SBA’s primary purpose is to build new schools and improve old ones, Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, expressed concern about the old school buildings being left behind in communities across the state.

“We’re leaving some real blighted areas in West Virginia,” he said, noting that Elkins has two such abandoned buildings. “We’re going to have to from this point forward provide money for them. We just can’t continue what we’ve been doing, leaving those buildings.”

Manchin, who previously served as superintendent of the McDowell County schools, said he realized the problem because McDowell County has several old school buildings no longer in use. The trouble is, he said, that old buildings can be very expensive to demolish – about $400,000 for a small elementary school.

Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, said a long-range comprehensive plan for both new schools and old schools is being worked on. Manchin added that the state fire marshal is now part of the process for reviewing school plans. Plymale said the goal is to develop a “sustainable model” for schools that could be replicated statewide.

“I think it’s critical,” Manchin said.

SBA seeks more room for bonding.

It was only after all that discussion and more that the committee let Manchin get to his main purpose of the budget hearing: asking for lawmakers’ support to free up some of the SBA’s bonding capacity for more construction projects. That capacity is capped at $5 billion, but the way the law was written, it includes all of the projects the agency has done since it was formed in 1989. Under the proposed change, bonds that have been paid off would no longer count toward that cap.

Changing the language of the law would give the SBA access to about $78 million in bond money, Manchin said.

The next day after the Senate Finance Committee meeting, the Senate Education Committee approved Senate Bill 229 to clarify that the cap is on the amount of outstanding SBA bonds, not all the bonds since the agency’s inception. That sent the bill to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.

In other business, the Education Committee approved Senate Bill 141 to provide foundation allowance for professional student support personnel. A staff lawyer explained that the bill simply changes the law to make it work the way it was intended to work. That bill also was sent for further consideration to the Senate Finance Committee.

 

Strings attached to Race to the Top funds worry delegates

By Jim Wallace

State Supt. Steve Paine told members of the House Education Committee Thursday that he thinks West Virginia has a good chance for getting some of the $4.3 billion available in federal Race to the Top funds. The state has applied for $80 million.

“It’s an opportunity to continue down the path we already started,” Paine told the committee.

“I’m watching carefully to make sure we don’t give up anything.” – Supt. Steve Paine"

But Delegate Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie, said he was worried that West Virginia would be tied into complying with provisions for a national curriculum. Paine said he also was concerned about that.

“I’m watching carefully to make sure we don’t give up anything,” he said. The biggest change could be in kindergarten through third grade in what is called the Common Core. “We have more rigor in K through three than the Common Core,” Paine said.

 

Student achievement data could be linked to performance.

Another part of the Race to the Top program that could be controversial, he said, is one that would link student achievement data to teachers and principals. “If we’re going to do that, you don’t want to base it on a single day of testing,” Paine said. He added that teachers might be able to opt into such a system for additional compensation.

If West Virginia doesn’t get selected in the first round of Race to the Top funding, Paine said, it probably would be because state law does not have a provision for charter schools. The state code is silent on charter schools, neither providing for them nor prohibiting them, he said.

“I don’t know how I feel about charter schools,” Paine said. For them to be useful, he said, what they do should be able to be scaled up and used across the state.

“Charter schools – the evidence is very inconclusive,” Paine said. “In fact, there are more negatives than positives.”

“I have seen several ‘silver bullet’ programs that go to the wayside. I hope this isn’t one.” – Delegate Larry Williams"

Delegate Larry Williams, D-Preston, wondered whether Race to the Top might go the way of previous education reform programs.

“I have seen several ‘silver bullet’ programs that go to the wayside,” he said. “I hope this isn’t one. We need to get back to basics. Do you think we can do that?”

“Yes,” Paine responded. “There are no silver bullets in education.”

House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, said lawmakers tend to be afraid of federal requirements that come attached to money. “The money may not be worth it,” she said.

“If it comes back to us with a mandate when we are headed in another direction, I would be concerned.” – House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling

“There are other grant proposals out there,” Paine said. “There are some other ways to get this.”

Poling responded, “If it comes back to us with a mandate when we are headed in another direction, I would be concerned.”

(For more on the state’s Race to the Top application, see Paine’s column, “West Virginia Goes After Race to the Top Funds.”)

 

Committee passes a few bills.

In other business this week, the House Education Committee approved House Bill 4031 to change how the foundation allowance is allocated for Regional Education Service Agencies.

The committee also approved House Bill 2967 to encourage teachers who have achieved a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificate to renew their certifications when they expire after 10 years. It also would continue the salary bonus for teachers with renewed certificates.

Another bill approved by the committee was House Bill 2639, which would allow for more teachers to be reimbursed for approved course work.

 

Senator tries to revive the “lab school” concept

By Jim Wallace

Amid all the talk about education reform, Sen. Evan Jenkins wants to try an innovation that has a precedent in West Virginia.

Jenkins, D-Cabell, is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 9, which would establish a pilot project allowing West Virginia University and Marshall University to operate public schools in cooperation with the Monongalia County and Cabell County schools boards. Such schools would be like the “lab school” that Marshall operated a few decades ago.

“The lab school, of course, no longer exists, but it has a rich reputation.” – Sen. Evan Jenkins"

I went to the lab school, which essentially is an innovative place,” Jenkins said. “The lab school, of course, no longer exists, but it has a rich reputation.”

Jenkins got involved in the charter school movement back in the 1990s and even attended events involving then-President Clinton. The subsequent Bush administration switched the nation’s attention from charter schools to vouchers, but Jenkins wasn’t interested in them. He put his education reform ideas aside until President Obama brought renewed attention to charter schools.

 

What was old is new again.

The new bill is similar to one Jenkins introduced in the 1990s.

“Working with education experts, I crafted this bill as kind of a first step,” he said. “Rather than simply opening up all of West Virginia to the charter school concept, I said, ‘Who are the experts?’ It’s our two teaching programs at Marshall and WVU. If it was going to be done right, they ought to do it, and candidly, Marshall had an experience doing it.”

“I think it’s unfair to create schools that offer different guidelines than we have in the public schools.” – WVEA President Dale Lee"

Jenkins admits that when he introduced his proposal in the 1990s, it was met with outrage from teachers’ unions and little interest from fellow legislators. This time, teachers’ union leaders are a bit puzzled and not very enthusiastic. Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, said he could support it only if it would operate under the same requirements as other public schools.

“But I think it’s unfair to create schools that offer different guidelines than we have in the public schools and say look how great they’re doing,” he said. “The best example I can give is class size. Everyone knows that the lower the class size, the better the opportunity for those students. Is it fair to create a school like this that mandates a 15-to-1 class size when our public schools have as many as 38 or 45 in a class. We’re not on an equal playing field here.”

Upon looking at the bill, Judy Hale, president of the West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, recognized the proposal as similar to Marshall’s old lab school. She said the people who operated it supposedly had an incubator for new teaching methods, but she’s not sure anything memorable came out of it.

“I don’t know that they provided much in terms of innovation,” she said. “Basically, they made it convenient for the people who worked at those universities with their own children as well as any of the elite groups around town who could get their children there and back on their own.”

 

Legislative backing is slim.

As for support from fellow lawmakers, Jenkins at least has Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, as a co-sponsor for the bill. But he doesn’t have the support of one important colleague: Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne.

I probably will not take that one up,” Plymale said of the bill. “I don’t have any interest to do that right now.”

“You have the opportunity to do it under Innovation Zones legislation, because we did include institutions of higher education.” – Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale"

In addition to Plymale’s power to kill the bill by not bringing it before the Senate Education Committee, his opposition is significant because he shares a district with Jenkins that includes Marshall University. He said the university has expressed no interest in the bill to him. Plus, he thinks such a pilot project could be tried without passing Senate Bill 9.

“You have the opportunity to do it under Innovation Zones legislation, because we did include institutions of higher education,” Plymale said. “They’ve already had the opportunity. Why would you want to bring it back through legislation?”

Lee also thinks what Jenkins wants could be accomplish better by working through the Innovation Zones law that was passed last year.

“It gives the opportunity to make some changes that teachers have directed that need to be made,” he said. “Then we can replicate the successes on every county and every child. Again, the child in McDowell County should have the same opportunity as the child in Monongalia County and Cabell County. The child in Webster County and Wirt County should have these same opportunities, and this doesn’t allow that.”

But Hale doesn’t believe the proposal in Senate Bill 9 would fit into the Innovation Zones concept.

“This seems more like a top-down approach.” – Judy Hale of AFT-WV"

“At least the idea behind the Innovation Zones was to have innovation from the ground up, to have it bubble up from the teachers, for them to have an idea of what they think could work in their schools,” she said. “This seems more like a top-down approach.”

Jenkins also doesn’t think his proposed pilot schools could be created as part of the Innovation Zones law.

“You’ve got lots of provisions about certain percentage of support from elections of folks,” he said. “This whole idea is to try to break down the bureaucracy and the centralized government and free up schools. Candidly, I think the Innovation Zones [law] is an effort in that direction. It probably didn’t go far enough. It, in and of itself, has lots of bureaucratic mechanisms and measures that I think my approach does not.”

 

Another bill might do it.

In regard to Plymale’s inclination not to bring the bill before the Education Committee, Jenkins said, “He certainly knows of my interest in it, but that’s his prerogative as the chair of the committee to run bills.”

However, Jenkins said he intends to co-sponsor a charter schools bill that Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, is working on, so his proposal might fit into that. As vice-chairman of the Education Committee, Wells might have a better chance of getting the committee to consider his bill.

“Whether it be my bill that is a decade old or a new bill introduced in this session for the first time, I just applaud any effort to head in another direction,” Jenkins said.

 

Editor’s Note: -- Jim Wallace is a former government reporter for the Charleston Daily Mail and former news director of West Virginia Public Radio. He now works for TSG Consulting in Charleston and writes for several national and West Virginia publications.

 

 

 

Agreement is reached on Jobs Cabinet goals

By Marybeth Schubert and condensed by Gretchen Grove DeJarnett

After intensive discussion, study, and feedback from hundreds of statewide stakeholders, the Governor’s 21st Century Jobs Cabinet found that there is enthusiasm at all levels – in the Legislature, among state Board of Education members, teachers, students and community leaders – to develop an ambitious plan to raise educational expectations and performance.

We have found consensus on three key areas in need of attention: “Effective Use of Technology,” the need for “Great 21st Century Teachers,” and cultivating more “Students Who Believe and Achieve.” All of our legislative action items fall under one of these three categories. Our action plan for 2010 includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Creating a five-year technology plan and budget, through the creation of an Ad Hoc Technology Strategy Committee of the Jobs Cabinet;
• Piloting the advanced teacher technology training program that has been developed by the Jobs Cabinet Curriculum Transformation and Teacher Excellence Committee in cooperation with Cisco Systems;
• Passing legislative recommendations of the Jobs Cabinet Stakeholders Study Group on Teacher Recruitment, Hiring, and Retention;
• Developing a charter school taskforce to participate in discussions about any charter school legislation that may be introduced in 2010 and to study the performance of charter schools and the elements of West Virginia charter school legislation that can be widely supported in the Legislature and elsewhere; and
• Adopting the Jobs Cabinet Workforce Planning Council recommendation to form a new Technical Magnet School to provide high-quality career technical training.

To view the full document outlining the Jobs Cabinet’s vision for 2010 and beyond please visit http://www.wv.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/SUMMITREPORT.pdf.

 

Administrative Perspective

Concerns remain about school calendar despite bill’s passage

By Martha Dean, Ed.D.

This week started with some action relevant to education on the House side.  It was third reading (passage stage) for House Bill 4040, the bill to change the school calendar. 

Prior to the vote, Delegate Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie, rose to say he was in favor of the bill and would vote for it, but he went on to say he believed that we were focusing on the wrong thing. He said that Colorado only has a 160-day instructional term, but that the students there ranked 15th in math whereas West Virginia students rank 48th.  His point was that we need to focus on learning not days in school. 

House Bill 4040 passed on a vote of 92 yes, one no and seven absent and not voting.

 

Criteria change for School Building Authority.

Economies of scale are no longer the driving force for SBA project approval."

The Senate Finance Committee had a presentation by Mark Manchin, executive director of the School Building Authority.  He revealed that economies of scale are no longer the driving force for SBA project approval. Instead, projects are being evaluated on student health and safety issues with the final decision based on the best use of funds. 

According to Manchin, the SBA has allocated approximately $4 billion dollars and has been responsible for 31 new high schools, 27 new middle schools, 54 new primary or K-8 schools and 1,400 additions to school facilities.

Tucker County Schools Superintendent Rick Hicks, Legislative Committee chair for the West Virginia Association of School Administrators, came down on Monday and remained through Tuesday.  He felt he had a productive couple of days as he got to talk to several legislators regarding the legislative priorities of WVASA.

 

Bills on the dropout rate go to subcommittee.

Both education committees met at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The Senate meeting was pretty brief as they moved right through the agenda. The first action was to assign Senate Bill 26 (requiring the state Board of Education to create a school drug safety program) and Senate Bill 343 (increasing the minimum age for ending compulsory schools attendance) to a subcommittee chaired by Senator Randy White, D-Webster. 

The next item was to pass a committee substitute for Senate Bill 141. This bill provides foundation allowance for professional student support personnel and was needed to clean up the previously passed bill to amend the School Aid Formula. It includes nurses and counselors in the calculation for Public Employees Insurance Agency allocations.
 
The final bill, which passed as a committee substitute, was Senate Bill 229, authorizing the SBA to issue outstanding bonds.

 

Senate moves more quickly than expected.

The action that was unexpected by Rick or me was that the Senate, in general session on Tuesday, suspended the rules and passed House Bill 4040 on first, second, and third readings. This bill is now with the governor and awaits his signature. 

There is still a concern regarding snow days and less instructional time than 180 days would provide."

At the Senate Education Committee meeting on Thursday, a resolution originating in committee passed to request the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the issue of student performance in relation to instructional time and the issue of counting as full instructional days those days which have two-hour delays or early dismissals.

 I was not there to hear any discussion since both education committees met at the same time Thursday, as well, but it appears that there is still a concern regarding snow days and less instructional time than 180 days would provide. I would not be surprised if additional legislation emerges before this session is over that will impact the school calendar.

 

OPEB gets more attention.

As all of you know, Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) is a big issue to both superintendents and school board members. 

The Senate has had a work group studying the issue, and on Tuesday, Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, shared the group’s suggestions for correcting the unfunded liability of OPEB with a work group appointed by the speaker of the House. 

The House group is chaired by Delegate Steven Kominar, D-Mingo, and includes: Delegates Brady Paxton, D-Putnam (vice chair); Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier; William Anderson, R-Wood; Walter Duke, R-Berkeley; Stan Shaver, D-Preston; and Sharon Spencer, D-Kanawha.
 
The group met again on Thursday and each suggestion was discussed by Fred Lewis, policy analyst and staff attorney. 

Consideration is being given to increasing the minimum retirement age and increasing the vesting period for retirement."

Some of the suggestions may be quite controversial:  One big step to manage the debt has already been taken by eliminating the low-cost health insurance available to retirees for new hires. However, consideration is being given to increasing the minimum retirement age and increasing the vesting period for retirement.
 

One thing that is beneficial to the position of county boards is that they are suggesting that the obligation for OPEB liability for employees hired according to the Public School Support Plan (PSSP) would change. 

The boards would have a liability for those employees paid out of county funds or federal grants. The work group is planning on meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m., and the meetings are open. They will be gathering information from a variety of interested parties.

 

RESA funding changes.

In House Education on Thursday, they passed out to the Finance Committee House Bill 4031. This bill concerns the funding for Regional Education Service Agencies. It removes the percentage calculation for the RESA allocation and replaces it with a flat $4.2 million which is what it has been capped at for the past few years.

 It further says that if the state Board of Education’s budget is decreased due to low revenues, RESAs’ budgets also may be cut.

  The rest of the meeting was devoted to Dr. Paine explaining the Race to the Top Application for West Virginia. Many of the Delegates had questions and concerns regarding the application.

Martha Dean is executive director of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators.

 

WVSBA Direct

Charter schools, dropout rate, LSICs and higher education form focus for association’s 2010 Winter Conference

A presentation called “Good, Bad, Indifferent: Implications of Charter Schools for West Virginia” forms the basis for the first general session of the West Virginia School Boards Association’s 2010 Winter Conference. 
The Winter Conference will be held February 19-20 at the Charleston Marriott Town Center.

 

Federal program puts more emphasis on charter schools.

The charter schools segment, which will commence at 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 19, features a discussion concerning an emergent issue in many of the 10 states lacking chartered schools. A large part of the “focus or refocus” on charters is being prompted by federal Race to the Top funding which, in essence, places some degree of weighted value on charter schools as part of the requirements to secure those federal funds, according to WVSBA Executive Director Howard O’Cull.

“There are significant differences between charter schools and ‘Innovation Zones’…” – Howard O’Cull

With or without the “Race to the Top situation,” O’Cull said education officials and policymakers may not want to “parlay” charter schools and Innovation Zones as being “comparable.”
 “There are significant differences between charter schools and ‘Innovation Zones.’ Can the concepts be reliably compared? The former are actually free-standing - chartered schools - that exist outside the operations and oversight of boards of education or other governing structures in most instances, while the latter amount to reform initiatives within the existing setup and system of schooling,” according to O’Cull.
“Innovation Zones are extremely important and the decisive step toward long-term, long-lasting reform within the present system – the key observation. By comparison, charter schools exist external to educational governance structures. In practical terms, some may be good and, of course, some charters may be  deficient. Their track record probably is mixed,” he said.

 

Concern over dropouts heats up.

“County boards will bear the onus of responsibility for ensuring that the graduation rate improves.” – Howard O’Cull"

The second program segment relates to the state’s high school completion or graduation rate. “This is a red-hot topic now,” O’Cull said, adding that a report from the Legislative Auditor’s Office provided a new impetus for discussion.
“How the rate is calculated is the issue,” he said. “The consequences of a high dropout rate, of course, are known, especially in long-term personal and societal costs. But the ‘picture’ is framed around the snapshots of who calculates the rate, or more precisely, ‘how’ the rate is calculated.” 
O’Cull said it should “prove to be an enlightening program in that, in the end, county boards will bear the onus of responsibility for ensuring that the graduation rate improves. The state will shift the focus toward local boards and school administrations. That is no secret, but that move also can provide a certain policy satisfaction as well.”
The program format features a panel presentation that includes state Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine.

“Education orphans” get renewed attention.

“These entities are the proverbial orphans of the 1990 special legislative session.” – Howard O’Cull "

Friday’s sessions will end with a discussion on Local School Improvement Councils.
“The LSIC record is, at best, spotty,” O’Cull said. “These entities are the proverbial orphans of the 1990 special legislative session called by then-Gov. Gaston Caperton. Once the entities were established, no one, especially at the state level, was in charge of their promotion, efficacy and progress. What has occurred, of course, is a blend of effectiveness and ineffectiveness across the state.”

State Assistant Supt. Pam Cain will lead this program discussion.

 

Higher education’s relevance to public schools will be considered.

Other programming will relate to the state’s higher education system.

“How can county boards best ensure that students are prepared for higher education?” – Howard O’Cull"

“It’s almost a dichotomy: On the one hand we have public education and on the other hand we have higher education,” O’Cull said. “The conventional wisdom is that the two don’t exist in a seamless fashion. In this session, we are going to explore the ‘hows and whys’ of the higher education system as it can be informed by public education. In other words, how can county boards best ensure that students are prepared for higher education – certainly an important consideration given the state’s low college-going completion rate? That’s the program focus.”
Two other session programs will relate to generalized discussions regarding education and education-related issues as well as a review of legislative actions this session. A copy of the conference program is included under “WVSBA Direct.”
For more information regarding the program, please contact the association’s office at 304-346-0571. You may contact O’Cull by e-mailing him at: hocull@wvsba.org. His mobile telephone number is: 304-549-9463.

Tentative Program

West Virginia School Board Association
Winter Conference - February 19-20, 2010
Marriott Hotel/Charleston, W. Va.

Friday, February 19, 2010

10:45 a.m.	West Virginia School Board Association Executive Board
1:00 p.m.	Charter Schools: Good, Bad, Indifferent Implications for West Virginia? – Includes Panel Discussion (Refreshment Break Included)
2:45 p.m.	Apples/Apples – Oranges/Oranges: The ‘Whys’ of West Virginia’s School Drop-out Rate – And Why County Boards Must Respond – Includes Panel Discussion
4:15 p.m.	Break
6:00 p.m.	Dinner (Provided)
7:15 p.m.	Local School Improvement Councils: Nuisances or Worthy Educational Entities? Pam Cain, Assistant State Superintendent
8:45 p.m.	Adjournment

Saturday, February 20, 2010

6:45 a.m.	Buffet Breakfast
8:00 a.m.	FY11 Annual Business Meeting
9:00 a.m.	Readily Packed Suitcases, Commuter Campuses:  Realities of Secondary Education Preparedness and the Higher Education Experience in West Virginia (Includes presentations by higher education officials)
10:30 a.m.	Break
10:45 a.m.	Select One: No Agenda Session Rick Olcott (Wood), WVSBA President, presenter Legislative Briefing Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D., WVSBA Executive Director, Presenter
11:45 a.m.	Adjournment

 

Resources

 

 

Globaloria makes learning playful

Globaloria WV is a game design and Web 2.0 curriculum being implemented as a daily, 45-minute or 90-minute course in middle schools and high schools throughout West Virginia. (Four West Virginia colleges also are offering Globaloria to their students).

"Students and educators learn how to play and create their own social issue or subject-related Web-games."

Hailed by local, state, and national education leaders as a model for education reform/transformation, it is increasing students’ mastery of state content standards and objectives as well as 21st-century knowledge and skills via learning-by-doing through technology. Now in its third year of a five-year pilot, Globaloria WV is currently in 24 schools in 16 counties and will be in at least 40 schools starting in the fall of 2010.

In the Globaloria course, students and educators learn how to play and create their own social issue or subject-related Web-games. They also learn how to use social media technology, such as wikis and blogs, to do independent learning and research and to openly share and exchange ideas, game code, questions and progress. West Virginia educators who teach Globaloria are supported (with training and stipends) throughout the year to lead and learn alongside their students in a 1:1 student-to-computer environment.

 

It works by itself or in other courses.

Globaloria has its own WVEIS code (7692) and can be taught as a stand-alone elective course. The Globaloria curriculum also is being incorporated into core classes like mathematics (Sandy River, Eastern Greenbrier and Bridgeport Middle Schools), biology (Capital High School), and English 12 (Riverside High School).  In addition, Globaloria is being taught as a civics enrichment course in several schools (including Randolph Technical Center, South Harrison High School, Greenbrier East High School, and the Florence Crittenton Center for Girls). In these classes, students are learning about citizenship, as well as the functions and ideals of our government, and creating civics games that they will enter in a competition. 
Globaloria WV (www.globaloria.org/wv) is a program of the World Wide Workshop (www.WorldWideWorkshop.org), in partnership with Governor Manchin, First Lady Gayle Manchin, the West Virginia Department of Education, the WV Department of Education and the Arts, Benedum Foundation, Verizon-West Virginia, the Knight Foundation, the Caperton Fund, West Virginia University, and Marshall University.

 

Former Supreme Court justice has a connection.

"Laptops and Flash software will be awarded to students who make the best games."

Earlier this year, the World Wide Workshop announced a partnership with Our Courts/civics (an organization founded by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor) to launch the Globaloria Civics Games Competition. Justice O’Connor will be one of the distinguished judges who will play and score the students’ civics games. Laptops and Flash software will be awarded to students who make the best games. All students who enter the contest will receive prizes and a letter of commendation from Justice O’Connor, Governor Manchin and First Lady Gayle Manchin. Similar competitions are currently being created for students who wish to produce video games on other topics, such as science, health, and the environment.

For more information about the program, watch the “Voices from the Field” video series, which features West Virginia Department of Education leaders, county superintendents, principals, educators, and students talking about the effects of Globaloria in their counties, schools, and classrooms. It is available at: http://www.worldwideworkshop.org/programs/globaloria/voices-from-the-field.

February 26, 2010, is the application deadline for superintendents, principals, and other educators who wish to bring Globaloria WV to their counties and schools for the 2010-2011 school year.  Here is a link to the application form that must be e-mailed, faxed or mailed to Globaloria WV State Director David Lowenstein: http://www.myglife.org/usa/wvwiki/index.php/Forms#New_Educator_Application_Form.

His contact information is: david@WorldWideWorkshop.org; 304-957-8379 (office); 304-558-1534 (fax).  His mailing address is: David Lowenstein, State Director, Globaloria WV, 208 Hale St. c/o WVCPD, Charleston, WV, 25301.

 

State Bar seeks student entries for YouTube video contest

The West Virginia State Bar and the West Virginia Department of Education have partnered to offer students the chance to win as much as $1,000 for creating a three-minute video on “Righting a Wrong” to be placed on YouTube. The second-place finisher will win $500, while third place will receive $250.

The contest, which is open to West Virginia public school students in grades nine through 12, gives participants the chance to create a video about a wrong that they would right, an injustice they would correct, or something that they would remedy within the judicial system. The creator of the winning video also will receive basic accommodations at The Greenbrier for the awards presentation during the West Virginia State Bar’s annual meeting in May.

“It is important in a democratic society to encourage students to express their ideas and interest in the law and the role it plays.” – State Bar President Sandra Chapman

"The idea of the video contest is to reach as many West Virginia students as possible to help them understand the importance of the justice system," State Bar President Sandra Chapman said. “It is important in a democratic society to encourage students to express their ideas and interest in the law and the role it plays. I am confident we will get some creative entries.”

Videos will be judged based on originality, creativity, adherence to the theme and overall quality. Entries must include a parental permission form for those under age of 18. Submissions will be accepted from Jan. 25 to April 1. Students interested in entering the contest can download an application and other forms as well as rules at http://wvde.state.wv.us/wvstatebar.

For more information, contact Timothy Haught at the West Virginia State Bar at 304- 455-0172, or thaught@wvdsl.net.

 

Commentary

West Virginia goes after Race to the Top funds

By Dr. Steven Paine

On Jan. 19, West Virginia submitted its Race to the Top (RTTT) proposal to the U.S. Department of Education. (To see it, go to: http://wvde.state.wv.us/tt/2010/WV%20RTTT%20Application%20Section%20VI%20FINAL%20CHANGES%20ACCEPT.PDF). 

West Virginia was one of 40 states to compete in round one for the unprecedented $4.3 billion competitive federal grant. Only 10 states (Alaska, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Washington) chose not to submit an application. 
Race to the Top is one of several federal initiatives aimed at improving education quality in the United States.

West Virginia’s application outlined a comprehensive approach to reform that emphasizes four priority areas:

• Standards and assessments
• Quality teachers and leaders
• Comprehensive data systems
• Low performing schools and struggling students
 

"RTTT highlights the areas of reform that will shape future federal education policy. – Supt Steve Paine"

Race to the Top is important for West Virginia for several reasons:  First, RTTT priorities align with the ongoing work of districts and schools across the state to equip students with 21st century performance skills. Second, RTTT highlights the areas of reform that will shape future federal education policy, including other funding opportunities and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).Finally, RTTT provides flexible funding to strengthen our current educational infrastructure.

Department worked with counties and others.

To garner stakeholder engagement and support, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) provided regular updates throughout the development of the proposal through:
presentations at the Fall Superintendent’s Conference, monthly West Virginia Board of Education meetings, and weekly Webinars with each county’s RTTT liaison, as well as three regional meetings conducted during the first week of December in Bridgeport, Charleston and Martinsburg. 

As a result of these ongoing conversations, WVDE streamlined its processes and targeted fiscal and human resources toward three interlocking goals:

1. Gains in student achievement
2. Improving high school graduation rates and college/career readiness
3. Ensuring students have 21st century performance skills

 

The Race to the Top rules require winning states to pass at least 50 percent of their awards directly through to participating districts for district and school-level reforms. – Supt. Steve Paine"

West Virginia is applying for $80 million. The Race to the Top rules require winning states to pass at least 50 percent of their awards directly through to participating districts for district and school-level reforms. 

All 55 county districts in West Virginia elected to participate in RTTT by submitting the signatures of both the district superintendent and local school board president on the required Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). 

The state also received letters of support from a wide range of organizations, including institutions of higher education, business groups, foundations and teacher organizations, including both the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia (AFT-WV) and the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA). 

The MOU includes a preliminary Scope of Work whereby districts commit to implement the state’s RTTT plan outlined in broad terms around the four priority areas. It also includes a requirement that, upon notification of a successful award, states must work with each participating district to develop a final Scope of Work if or when the application is funded. 

Timeline will be tight.

The final Scope of Work (referred to as Exhibit II in the MOU) must be completed no later than 90 days after a grant is awarded and will outline specific goals, activities, timelines, budgets, key personnel and annual targets for key performance measures specific to the district.

Each participating district will receive its share of the 50 percent of the state’s grant award based on the district’s relative share of Title I, Part A, allocations in the most recent year. (See draft amounts at http://wvde.state.wv.us/tt/2010/ALLOCATION%20PROJECTIONS.XLS). 

It is important to note, however, that the use of RTTT funds is not tied to Title I programs or programmatic restrictions.  Race to the Top dollars are flexible. They are to be used at the discretion of each winning state and participating district to implement the state’s proposal.

Race to the Top awards will be very competitive, and it is likely that only a few awards will be granted in the first round with additional grants awarded in round two. The initial application reviews will be completed by 75 to 100 national, non-partisan experts outside of the U.S. Department of Education. 

After this first level of review, a group of Tier 2 semi-finalist states will be notified on or around March 1, 2010.  Each Tier 2 state will be invited to send a state team to present its proposal in Washington, D.C., the week of March 15, 2010. Winners will be announced in early April. 

More funding could be available.

Finally, this past week, President Obama announced his plans to continue the Race to the Top initiative by requesting an additional $1.35 billion for the program in his fiscal year 2011 budget.
This plan will expand the Race to the Top to school districts.
 
WVDE will provide further information at a later date regarding technical assistance for districts interested in submitting an application. 

West Virginia is well-positioned to secure one of these highly competitive grants based on our past successes, education infrastructure, and collaborative culture.  For more information, please contact Amelia Courts (304-558-2691 or aadavis@access.k12.wv.us ).

Steven Paine is superintendent at the West Virginia Department of Education.

 

 

Legislative Record

“The less people know about how sausage and laws are made, the better they'll sleep at night” – Attributed to Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), Prussian prime minister.

2010 LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

1st  Day - January 13, 2010: First day of session. (WV Const. Art. VI, §18)

20th  Day - February 1, 2010: Submission of Legislative Rule-Making Review bills due. (WV Code §29A-3-12)

41st  Day - February 22, 2010: Last day to introduce bills in the Senate and the House. (Senate Rule 14), (House Rule 91a) Does not apply to originating or supplementary appropriation bills. Does not apply to Senate or House resolutions or concurrent resolutions.

47th  Day - February 28, 2010: Bills due out of committees in house of origin to ensure three full days for readings.

50th  Day - March 3, 2010: Last day to consider bill on third reading in house of origin. Does not include budget or supplementary appropriation bills. (Joint Rule 5b)

60th Day - March 13, 2010: Adjournment at Midnight. (WV Const. Art. VI, §22)
Source: West Virginia Legislatur

 

Bill Derby - And They're Off!

"Remember, Lady Godiva put all she had on a horse and she lost her shirt!" - W. C. Fields (William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer.)

Senate Bills

Senate Bill 6. Providing higher education employees' eligibility for Legislature. Second Reference Senate Judiciary.  Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB6 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=6

Senate Bill 26. Requiring State Board of Education create school drug safety program. Referred to Senate Education Subcommittee chaired by Sen. Randy White, D-Webster. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=RS

Senate Bill 141. Providing foundation allowance for professional student support personnel. Second Reference to Senate Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB141 SUB1.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=141 NOTE: Committee Substitute

Senate Bill 212. Relating to higher education capital facilities. Second Reference Senate Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB122 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=122

Senate Bill 229. Authorizing School Building Authority issue certain outstanding bonds.  Referred to Senate Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB229 SUB1.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=229 NOTE: Committee Substitute

Senate Bill 343. Increasing minimum age for ending compulsory school attendance. Referred to Senate Education Subcommittee chaired by Sen. White.  Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB343intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=343
 

House Bills

HB 2967. Encouraging teachers who have achieved a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificate to renew their certifications when they expire after ten years, and continuing the salary bonus for renewed certificates   Second Reference House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2010_SESSIONS/RS/amendments/HB2967%20HED%20AM%201-26.htm (NOTE: As amended and approved by House Education)

HB 2639.  Allowing for more teachers to be reimbursed for approved course work. Second Reference House Finance. Reference:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2010_SESSIONS/RS/amendments/HB2639%20HED%20AM%201-26.htm (NOTE: As amended and approved by House Education)
HB 4031.  Providing flexibility in the West Virginia public school support plan for funding regional education service agencies. Second Reference House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4031 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4031

House Bill 4016. Strengthening the Ethics Act Financial Disclosure Filing Requirements. Passed House 1/20/10. Referred to Senate Judiciary then Senate Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4016 ENG SUB.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4016 (NOTE: As passed by the House of Delegates – Engrossed Committee Substitute)

House Bill 4026. Relating to Higher Education Capital Facilities Generally. Referred to House Finance.  Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=RS
 

House Bill 4040. Requiring county boards to adopt contingency plans designed to guarantee 180 separate days of instruction for students. referred to governor. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4040 ENR.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4040 (NOTE: Enrolled Bill). 

House Bill 4041. Authorizing the School Building Authority to issue bonds in the maximum aggregate amount of $500 million outstanding at any time. Referred to House Finance.  Reference:htmhttp://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4041 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4041


NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, the bill reference is to the measure as originally introduced.

 

ETC.

 

 

 

Meanwhile in Texas...

Texas high school social students must now learn about the roles that the National Rifle Association, the Heritage Foundation, and the Moral Majority played in U.S. history. The new requirements were set last week on a 7-6 vote of the state Board of Education, which called for teaching about “key organizations and individuals of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s.” Board member Don McLeroy, who pushed for the change, argued that the current curriculum was “rife with leftist political periods and events” and that balance was needed. His opponents failed to pass amendments that would have included the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor in the curriculum.

Source: THE WEEK – January 29, 2010.

 

Wisdom

“You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go.”  – Jeannette Rankin (R-Montana), first woman elected to the U.S. Congress (1916).

Soundbites

“I would really hope from my perspective that next week we could start really interacting in earnest to try to create some legislation that would be necessary.” – Sen. Brooks McCabe on OPEB discussions

“We went ahead, suspended the rules and passed the bill.” – Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale on Senate’s quick action on school calendar bill

“Maybe we should have 200 days in the school year.” – Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler

“I feel you’re using the knowledge of private industry and sharing it with the state and then awarding a contract to the state.” – Sen. Erik Wells on possibility School Building Authority could award digital mapping project for schools to another state agency

“It’s a voluntary program. It would be daunting to require all individuals to become National-Board certified…” – West Virginia Federation of Teachers President Judy Hale responding to a question from Del. Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie. Ireland questioned why all teachers were not required to receive National Board of Professional Teaching Standards credentials, given stated merits of NBPTS certification. Hale said this might require a federal legislative decree in additional to the costs to the state. 

 “I hope this is not the case. The money may not be worth it…” – House Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, discussing how strings attached to federal Race to the Top moneys might affect on-going state education initiatives aimed at greater student rigor   “I have seen several ‘silver bullet’ programs that go to the wayside. I hope this isn’t one.” – Delegate Larry Williams on the Race to the Top program

 

Last Word

“The wide world is all about you; you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot fence it out.” – J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), British writer and author of the richly inventive epic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings.

What’s really happening with high school graduation rates

By Dr. Steven Paine

"I am deeply concerned about recent statements that the WVDE has deliberately inflated graduation numbers"

As West Virginia’s Superintendent of Schools, I know that in today’s world a high school diploma is more important than ever. When young people fail to graduate from high school, they endanger us as a state and a nation. Gone are the days when a good job could be had without a high school diploma. Part of making sure we do all that we can to increase high school graduation rates is collecting and maintaining current and accurate data that is shared freely with the public. I am proud to say that we are doing just that at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). That’s why I am deeply concerned about recent statements that the WVDE has deliberately inflated graduation numbers. As the state superintendent, I want to set the record straight.

In 2002, West Virginia and 30 other states began calculating graduation rates using the Completer Graduation Rate Formula devised by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), an office in the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), to meet requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This formula allowed states to measure actual student progress and to take into consideration students who needed more than four years to graduate or who chose to go the GED route. For example, some of our special needs students take longer than four years to graduate but earn a high school diploma nonetheless. These students work hard to reach such a goal and deserve to be recognized for their efforts.

State’s system does well tracking students.

The WVDE has been able to keep extremely accurate records of students in large part because of our nationally recognized West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS). WVEIS follows every student in West Virginia with a unique identification number. This data collection system is envied by many other states across the country. In fact, the Los Angeles Times in an editorial about the U.S. Department of Education’s plan to regulate graduation data called for California to adopt a student identification system much like the one we have had in West Virginia for years.

"We need one, consistent universal definition of graduation that results in honest, clear information for all."

While our system has allowed us to better follow student progress by capturing a true snapshot of exactly where and when every student graduates, it has made it difficult to compare data with that collected by other states using many different calculations. What needs to be done is simple. We need one, consistent universal definition of graduation that results in honest, clear information for all.

I have been a strong supporter of a common graduation definition. In fact, I penned a guest commentary voicing my support of a common definition that appeared in the Sunday Gazette-Mail on May 4, 2008. At that time, the West Virginia Board of Education and I eagerly joined efforts to adopt a common graduation rate. Shortly thereafter, in December 2008, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced a new graduation definition for the nation. As a result, West Virginia immediately began the process of adopting the USDE’s Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Formula. We have applied for and are awaiting federal approval of our NCLB accountability plan to begin using the new formula in 2010-2011.

The Four-year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate Formula that West Virginia and other states will soon use takes the number of students enrolled in the ninth grade and identifies those who graduate in four years. The cohort is adjusted by taking into consideration those who transfer in and out of school. 

Some students are not figured in.

However, this version does not take into consideration recent immigrant children with limited English skills and special needs students who take longer to complete high school. Nor does it accommodate students who participate in alternative programs, such as the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy at the National Guard’s Camp Dawson in Preston County.

The new four-year cohort formula also does not recognize the success of students like Monroe County teacher April Hobson. She is one of only 50 teachers across the country in 2009 to receive the National Milken Family Foundation Award. She rose to this position after earning a GED, not a traditional high school diploma.

"We not only increased the graduation requirements, but we also increased the rigor of what students are taught."

On a positive note, I am proud to say that, even using the cohort calculation, West Virginia’s graduation rate exceeds the national average. This comes at a time when West Virginia has strengthened the curriculum through Global21. Students deserve it. The world demands it. (For more information, go to: www.global21.com). We not only increased the graduation requirements, but we also increased the rigor of what students are taught.

As a matter of fact, West Virginia’s focus on increasing rigor earned the state an “A” in the area of standards, assessment and accountability in Education Week’s Quality Counts 2010: Fresh Course, Swift Current - Momentum and Challenges in the New Surge toward Common Standards.  We feared that because of the increased requirements there would be a drop in our graduation rate, but instead we flat-lined. Nonetheless, it is clear that with our high graduation expectations, we will continue to face the challenge of keeping all students in school.

Raising the age to compel attendance should be considered.

The graduation problem is fixable if policymakers, educators, parents, students and others in the community focus on the overarching issue. It is time to revisit the idea of increasing the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 17 or 18. In fact, the WVDE supported a bill three years ago that would have done just that. However, there was little interest in advancing the bill. It is my intention to fully back the legislation this year. If the current legislation passes, it is also important that we build a system of support that includes online credit recovery classes and other alternative education strategies.

"We must be ready to take bold moves, work together and face the high school graduation epidemic head on."

According to Robert Balfanz of Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center, researchers can now predict as early as sixth grade which students are likely to leave school without diplomas. These children are often easy to reach because they feel bad about performing poorly in school and want desperately to succeed. I’m happy to say that West Virginia is partnering with Balfanz to design a comprehensive plan for all West Virginia schools to make sure our children earn a high school diploma.

All of us must be willing to take responsibility for students staying in school. We can begin by developing a comprehensive statewide strategy to address the issue. We must be ready to take bold moves, work together and face the high school graduation epidemic head on. We have a moral and economic obligation to work together to ensure that, at a minimum, every student in this state can graduate high school prepared to succeed in college or the work force.

Dr. Steven Paine is superintendent at the West Virginia Department of Education.

 

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The Legislature is published by the West Virginia School Board Association. It provides county board of education members, state policymakers, school administrators and the education community information and opinions regarding West Virginia legislative issues. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official opinion or policies of the WVSBA, unless specifically stated.

West Virginia School Board Association
PO Box 1008
Charleston, WV 25324
Phone (304) 346-0571 • Fax (304) 346-0572 WVSBA.ORG

Rick Olcott (Wood), President

Howard M. O’Cull, Ed. D., Executive Director, Editor
hocull@wvsba.org
Shirley M. Davidson, Administrative Assistant,
Production and Circulation
sdavidson@wvsba.org

Vincit omnia veritas
“Truth conquers all”