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

School calendar bill becomes law

By Jim Wallace

It’s only a matter of time now for a new law to take effect giving school boards more flexibility in setting the school calendar.

Gov. Manchin signed House Bill 4040 into law Thursday in the hopes it would help school districts get the required 180 days of instruction in each year. After it becomes effective July 1, school boards will be able to start the school year as early as they want and end it as late as they want. No longer must the first day be no sooner than Aug. 26 or the last day be no later than June 8.

“It says 180 days. It means 180 days.” – Gov. Manchin

“This, to me, basically reaffirms our commitment to the future of our children,” Manchin said. “It really does. It says 180 days. It means 180 days. Does it do everything we need done? Probably not. I’ve never signed a perfect piece of legislation yet. But I’ve sure signed a lot of them that build a good foundation and build up to a good piece of public policy, and I think that’s what we do. We start building, putting it back together.”

Last year, Manchin also proposed a bill to change school calendar requirements, but the House and Senate could not reconcile their different versions. This year’s bill moved through the House in several days, and then the Senate approved it quickly without sending it through a committee.

“This is a start,” Manchin said. “It makes a major statement. It passed quicker than a lot of things I’ve seen passed here for a long time.”

“This will give us at least an additional eight days. And that would probably take into account about 90 percent of the counties to be in compliance with the 180 days.” – Deputy Supt. Jack McClanahan

State Deputy Supt. Jack McClanahan also called the new law important. “We’re looking for 180 days for students,” he said. “This will give us at least an additional eight days. And that would probably take into account about 90 percent of the counties to be in compliance with the 180 days. We think it’s real important.”

 

Views vary among local school leaders.

However, not all local school officials believe the new law will give them the flexibility they need, partly because they are still limited by contracts for teachers and other employees.

“The new legislation on the school calendar will provide some flexibility in constructing the calendar to provide for 200 employment days but will not provide means to make up more missed instructional days because of the limitation of the 200 employment days,” Carroll Staats, president of the Jackson County school board, said.

Bill Harvey, president of the Brooke County Board of Education, would like to get rid of all Instructional Support and Enhancement (ISE) days in the calendar and place all continuing education days at the beginning or ending of the school year or between semesters.

“I feel that counties should try if possible to end the first semester by Christmas break.” – Brooke County board President Bill Harvey

“I feel that counties should try if possible to end the first semester by Christmas break,” he said. “Inclement weather usually hits after Christmas and during the months of February and March.” 

Tom Innocenti, president of the Ohio County school board, is optimistic about the new law. “The new legislation is accepted in Ohio County with the understanding that it allows a bit more local control concerning the opening and closing of school which could be the solution of missed classroom time because of bad weather,” he said.

Doug Lambert, superintendent of schools in Pendleton County, which is rural and sparsely populated with a wide range of weather conditions, also views the new law optimistically. But he sees potential difficulties for some counties.

“Those counties served by multi-county career and technical centers may have additional problems setting the calendars to suit the particular interests of participating districts and student success,” he said. “All counties have particular days they would like to have off, days that are important to the populace they serve and enhance the culture, climate and positive attitude toward learning. I can only imagine the issues now with a beginning and ending date that could fluctuate between the districts served by the centers.”

Manchin said the new law is important steps toward helping West Virginia students acquire the skill sets they need to be successful in the 21st century.

“I’ve never seen anybody be good unless they put time in to practice,” he said. “I think that’s the whole importance of the 180 days. We have to have time to be in the classroom.”

 

Unions add to discussions about addressing OPEB liability

By Jim Wallace

Members of legislative committees working on West Virginia’s huge liability for OPEB – other post-employment benefits – are hoping to put their ideas into legislation soon.

Meanwhile, two unions are promoting their own proposals to address the OPEB liability, as well as other changes they want at the Public Employees Insurance Agency. The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association call their campaign “Reform PEIA Now” and are running television and radio commercials throughout February to support it.

The OPEB liability is estimated at $7.8 billion and is still growing. Most of that represents health care benefits promised to current and future retirees from the public sector.

A special Senate committee has been working on the OPEB problem for weeks. A counterpart committee in the House of Delegates started later and is working to catch up to the Senate committee.

“I think progress is being made,” the Senate committee’s chairman, Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, said Thursday. “My hope is that we’ll start drafting legislation very shortly. We haven’t resolved everything obviously. The House is still studying the various issues, but I think we need to start the process of drafting legislation. We’ll be looking at that here in the next couple of days. Hopefully, in the next week, we can begin to make some progress in really bringing the House and Senate together.”

Among the Senate committee’s recommendations are to:

• Find a funding source for $200 million to jump-start the Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund;
• Raise the minimum retirement age for state employees from 55 to 60 for those hired from July 1, 2011, on; and
• Increase vesting for pensions from five years to 10 years for state employees hired from July 1, 2011, on.

The Senate committee also wants the state to assume responsibility for the OPEB liability for public school employees paid through the School Aid Formula. That’s a change school boards have been pushing for. Being required to carry the full OPEB liability for teachers and school service personnel on their books is a key reason 50 school boards are ready to sue the state over OPEB.

 

Unions support the school boards on shifting responsibility for the liability.

In a written statement, Bob Brown, executive director of the School Service Personnel Association, said the unions likewise want the state to assume responsibility for OPEB liability for employees paid through the School Aid Formula. “If the boards are required to budget for OPEB, it could mean less money for instruction, less money to hire education personnel and fewer extracurricular activities,” he said. “In other words, the quality of education for our students will be significantly reduced. And that is unacceptable.”

Delegate Steve Kominar, D-Mingo, said the House committee he leads is not as close as the Senate to being ready to put together a bill. “We’re still meeting and we’re just going through all the functions right now,” he said. “There’s nothing new. We’re just working on it.”

So far, the AFT’s plan has not entered into the House committee’s deliberations. “I’m not really familiar with it,” Kominar said. “I asked for the position paper, and I haven’t gotten it yet to see what it is. So I’m not knowledgeable about what their program is or what they have in mind.”

“We still have to resolve some differences between what we’re proposing and what they’re proposing. But I think everyone is looking at it and trying to be helpful and sharing information and ideas.” – Sen. Brooks McCabe

But McCabe said his committee is seriously considering the AFT’s proposals. “They are making some suggestions, some of which are in support of what we’re trying to do, some of which are taking a different approach on it,” he said. “Their information is helpful. We’re considering it. We still have to resolve some differences between what we’re proposing and what they’re proposing. But I think everyone is looking at it and trying to be helpful and sharing information and ideas. So in that regard, we’re making progress.”

 

Time is right for unions to step in.

Josh Sword, who both works for the AFT and serves as a member of PEIA’s Finance Board, said the union thought this would be a good time to get some of its ideas out for discussion as the Legislature addresses OPEB. “Because the OPEB discussion is the 800-pound gorilla in the room right now, we thought it was a great opportunity to implement some of out ideas into the discussion,” he said.

In a written statement, AFT-WV President Judy Hale said the short-term goal is to provide all current and future education employees with accessible and affordable health care. “The long-term goal is to ensure highly qualified and certified staff and teachers are employed in all our schools,” she said.

The first and most important point in the union’s proposals is to restore the subsidy for future retirees’ benefits. Last year, the PEIA Finance Board voted to eliminate the subsidy that pays more than two-thirds of the cost of retirees’ health care benefits for all employees hired after June 30, 2010. The idea behind that move was to prevent the OPEB liability from getting bigger than it already is expected to be. Employee unions have opposed that move since it first was proposed and have been hoping the Legislature would take action to reverse it.

“If we’re not able to reinstate that benefit for new hires, I’m not sure who we’ll be able to attract into the profession. Instead of just those subject areas we have a problem with, we’re going to run into problems of not being able to find an elementary school teacher.” – Josh Sword of AFT-WV

“We have a difficult time as it is attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers in areas like science, math, special education, foreign languages and language arts,” Sword said. “If we’re not able to reinstate that benefit for new hires, I’m not sure who we’ll be able to attract into the profession. Instead of just those subject areas we have a problem with, we’re going to run into problems of not being able to find an elementary school teacher.”

But Sword also pointed out that if the retiree subsidy is not restored, two of the Senate committee’s recommendations would be meaningless. “For example, if the retirement age is moved from 55 to 60 for those folks hired July 1, 2011, and the retiree subsidy is not reinstated for new hires, it has absolutely no impact on OPEB,” he said. Likewise, Sword said, it would have no effect on OPEB if the vesting period for new employees hired from July 1, 2011, and beyond is increased as long as the retiree subsidy is not restored.

 

Two proposals would help cut OPEB’s growth.

Obviously, reinstating the retiree subsidy alone would put the OPEB liability back on track for further growth, but Sword said other parts of the unions’ plan would help bring it down. Their second proposal is to increase the annual experience increment for school service personnel in years 36 to 40 and extend the increment for teachers from years 36 to 40.

“We believe that, if you extend [increment pay] from years 36 to 40, then you’ll provide an incentive or encourage teachers to work longer, because it drives their annual final salary up.” – Josh Sword

“Right now for teachers, the experience increment ends at year 35,” Sword said. “We believe that, if you extend that from years 36 to 40, then you’ll provide an incentive or encourage teachers to work longer, because it drives their annual final salary up.”

Using figures from the Department of Education, he said, the unions have figured out that boosting the increment pay would affect about 1,000 teachers at a cost of $2.2 million and about 300 school service personnel at a cost of about $500,000.

“What we think it does is reduce the OPEB liability by hundreds of millions of dollars on the back end,” Sword said. “Here’s why: The average age of retirement in the Teachers Retirement System is 61. Let’s use an assumption that it increases it over time by a couple of years, and that it moves from 61 to 63. We know the bulk of the liability lies for those folks that retire before age 65, because once they turn 65, Medicare becomes primary, and the PEIA liability becomes much less.”

The third proposal from the unions is one that corresponds with one of the Senate’s recommendations: to come up with a dedicated, permanent revenue source for the retiree benefit.

“We’ve never done that,” Sword said. “What we’ve done is we’ve taken legislative appropriations as well as active employee premiums and developed a retiree benefit. In order to protect retiree benefits, we need a dedicated funding stream. It makes sense to do that, and that is something we need to do to protect that benefit for future retirees.”

 

Other proposals would make changes not dealing with OPEB.

The last two points in the unions’ plan are not related directly to OPEB. One of them addresses the 80/20 rule the Legislature adopted several years ago, requiring the state to pay not more than 80 percent of the costs of active employees’ health care, meaning that the employees’ share should be 20 percent.

“PEIA has interpreted that law to relate to only premiums,” Sword said. “In other words, only premiums are taken into consideration and not things like co-pays, deductibles and any other out-of-pocket expenses. Our problem is, when you throw all those other out-of-pocket costs into that calculation, we’re paying more like 30 percent of the total cost of PEIA.”

The unions realize that for the state to assume their interpretation of the 80/20 rule would cost the state more money. “But if we are able to come up with a dedicated permanent revenue for the retirees, there may be some money there to do that,” Sword said.

“We just want a fair seat at the table.” – Josh Sword

The final point of the unions’ plan calls for parity on the PEIA Finance Board. “Of the nine seats on the board, only two are there to represent the interests of active public employees,” Sword said. “We just want a fair seat at the table.”

The unions have had good discussions with Sen. McCabe, he said, and they’re hopeful they can play a role in developing the ultimate solution.

“But the problem we see is when you are mandating a reduction or a removal of a benefit, you’re not helping morale in the classroom, and we have morale problems as it is,” Sword said. “There’s not money for pay raises, and we see an attack once again on our benefit structure. We need to do something to get morale up. And we have data that show if you have a school that has high morale, student performance is better.”

Part of the unions’ campaign is to go to every county school board to ask the members to sign a petition of support for their plan and for the state to take responsibility for the OPEB liability corresponding to salaries paid through the School Aid Formula. Sword said the boards in Wyoming and Randolph counties have already signed on. Members of other boards have expressed interest but want to make sure signing the petition wouldn’t affect their threatened lawsuit against the state, he said.

Nicholas County officials offer means to limit truancy

By Jim Wallace

The Senate Education Committee on Thursday approved three resolutions aimed at addressing problems with truants and dropouts but delayed consideration of a bill that could raise the minimum age for ending compulsory school attendance.

Those actions came after the committee heard a presentation from Nicholas County officials on their successful efforts to reduce truancy, which they developed after they borrowed some ideas from Taylor County.

Nicholas County Circuit Judge Gary Johnson told the senators that dealing with truants through magistrate’s court didn’t work, because some students would end up with 30 to 40 unexcused absences by the end of the school year. So officials changed the system and frontloaded the process, he said, by meeting with all juniors and seniors with truancy problems at the beginning of the school year. They were warned that they must: 1) attend school; 2) participate in class; and 3) not cause disturbances in school.

The penalty Johnson warned them they would receive if they failed to follow the rules would be to be removed from their homes and placed elsewhere. He said their average attendance improved from 67 percent to 84 percent.

For younger students, Johnson said, he threatened their parents with use of the educational neglect statute, which would allow him to remove the children from their homes.

“The longer we keep kids in school, the better off we are.” – Circuit Judge Gary Johnson

“The longer we keep kids in school, the better off we are,” he said.

Johnson suggested that lawmakers should reduce from 10 days to five days the amount of time that should elapse before school officials notify parents of their children’s attendance problems. He also wants students with medical excuses for absences to be required to present those excuses to school officials in writing within 72 hours.

“We’re cautiously optimistic this is working.” – Nicholas County Supt. Beverly Kingery

Beverly Kingery, superintendent of the Nicholas County schools, said the school system has raised its attendance rate to 97.7 percent with the help of the new efforts to deter truancy. “We’re cautiously optimistic this is working,” she said.

The Nicholas County officials had problems with a few physicians who provided written medical excuses too easily to students who missed school, but Kingery said calls to those doctors help alleviate that problem. Assistant Prosecutor Linda Garrett said her office even sent a subpoena to one doctor’s office to get an explanation of the excuses the office was frequently handing out. The problem dropped off after that, she said.

“The children staying in school is critical to their succeeding in life,” Garrett said.

Sen. Bill Laird, D-Fayette, suggested that the state will continue to have truancy problems as long as truancy is considered to be a misdemeanor offense that is handled in magistrate’s court.

“Magistrates don’t have the tools they need to make this a successful program.” – Judge Gary Johnson

Agreeing, Johnson said, “Magistrates don’t have the tools they need to make this a successful program.” He added that cutting down on truancy could reduce the dropout rate, because many students who drop out of high school do so because they are so far behind in their school work that they can’t catch up.

 

Committee acts on resolutions but not dropout bill.

The three resolutions the Education Committee approved came from a subcommittee formed to study the problem with dropouts. One would encourage the implementation of a new approach to addressing truancy. The second requests an ad hoc committee on substance abuse to study its relationship to truancy. The third requests a study of the dropout issue.

Although Senate Bill 343 to increase the minimum age for ending compulsory school attendance was recommended by the subcommittee on dropouts, Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, got the committee to hold it over until next Tuesday. He said he just wanted to give members more time to study it.

The bill would raise the compulsory school attendance age from age 16 to age 17. The proposal also would reduce from 10 to five the number of days of unexcused absences at which proceedings to enforce attendance would begin.

 

Other bills get approval.

The committee also approved Senate Bill 143 to clarify that the $3,500 per year salary bonus for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification continues if the certification is renewed. It would allow a nationally-certified teacher who subsequently becomes employed as a principal, assistant principal or in another instructional leadership capacity to continue to receive the salary bonus. The bill was amended so that the bonus also would apply to persons serving in "instructional leadership/administrative" capacities.

The committee originated and approved another bill that would codify name changes for three community and technical colleges. The Community and Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology becomes Bridgemont Community and Technical College, Marshall Community and Technical College would become Mountwest Community and Technical College, and West Virginia State Community and Technical College would become Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College.

The final bill the committee approved was Senate Bill 128. It would add Smart 529 College Savings Plans and any products that guarantee future periodic payments as improved investment options for settlements held for minors. The bill also has other provisions.

Also Thursday, the House Education Committee heard a presentation from state Asst. Supt. Jorea Marple and considered two bills:

• House Bill 4211 would provide a supplement to establish alternative programs for students with limited English proficiency.
• House Bill 4324 would extend the expiration date of employment of retired teachers beyond the post-retirement employment limit.

More information on those items will be included in the Feb. 12 issue of The Legislature.

Nineteen Innovation Zone proposals go forward

By Jim Wallace

State Education Department officials have expressed excitement over the process of considering and approving Innovation Zone proposals from schools around West Virginia.

“I think you will be proud of the schools that were selected,” Donna Peduto of the Office of Organizational Effectiveness & Leadership told a joint meeting of the Senate and House Education committees in the House of Delegates chamber this week.

The department received 46 applications and chose 19 of them. Peduto said 25 counties were involved in the process. About two-thirds of the proposals requested waivers of state policies, she said, while a smaller number requested waivers of state code, which would require legislative approval.

“We had a lot of schools that realized the value of personalized education.” – Donna Peduto

“We had a lot of schools that realized the value of personalized education,” Peduto said.

 The chosen projects came from Wheeling Park High School in Ohio County, Cameron Elementary and Cameron High School in Marshall County, Warm Springs Intermediate School in Morgan County, Berkeley Heights Elementary School in Berkeley County, Page Jackson Elementary School in Jefferson County, Belmont Elementary School in Pleasants County, Lincoln High School in Harrison County, Beverly Elementary School in Randolph County, Braxton County High School in Braxton County, Hacker Valley Elementary School in Webster County, Cherry River Elementary School in Nicholas County, Piedmont Elementary School in Kanawha County, West Side Elementary School in Kanawha County, the Putnam County High School Consortium, Hometown Elementary School in Putnam County, the Cabell County Secondary School Consortium, the Cabell County Elementary School Consortium, Nellis Elementary School in Boone County and Mercer County Technical Education Center.

The Innovation Zone projects would affect 14,467 students, 1,232 professional personnel and 422 service personnel.

House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, asked whether there is any proposal for additional funding for planning or for projects for next year. State Supt. Steve Paine said the department needs to work through the first round before going to a second round of Innovation Zone proposals. But he added, without explanation, that the department is considering an offer from a foundation to expand the program.

When asked whether the Innovation Zones program would have any effect on West Virginia’s application for federal funding from the Race to the Top program, Paine said it has an indirect relationship to the Race to the Top application and should help some. Some people have been concerned that the lack of a charter schools law in West Virginia could hinder its chances for Race to the Top funding. Others have said Innovation Zones are West Virginia’s alternative to charter schools.

When the Legislature approved a bill last year to establish the Innovation Zones program, many lawmakers and others wondered whether it would be workable, because it requires 80 percent of the staff at a school to support an Innovation Zone proposal. But it didn’t deter participation.

“It turned out to be wise legislation. Many schools surprised themselves.” – Donna Peduto

“It turned out to be wise legislation,” Peduto said. “Many schools surprised themselves.”

The average support rate was 97 percent, she said, and many schools had 100 percent support.

“It really turned out to be a blessing,” Peduto said, because it ensured that each application had strong support. Only five schools that attempted Innovation Zone proposals were not able to garner enough support.

In the months ahead, the Education Department will provide technical assistance to schools as they complete their Innovation Zone plans. The deadline for submission of those plans is June 1.

More information on Innovation Zones is available at: http://wvde.state.wv.us/innovationzones

 

West Virginia scores both well and poorly in Quality Counts report

By Jim Wallace

Overall, West Virginia ranks ninth in the nation in the 2010 Quality Counts assessment of state public education systems across the nation by Education Week.

But just like any mathematical average, such an overall ranking can hide a wide disparity in individual numbers. West Virginia’s individual rankings in Quality Counts scores range from best in the nation in one subject and second best in another to almost the worst in two other subjects.

The report gives West Virginia an overall grade of B-, which is better than the C the nation as a whole gets. Here are the state’s individual grades, the state’s rank among the other 50 states and the District of Columbia and the average state grade:

Grading Category	West Virginia Grade	West Virginia Rank	Average State Grade
Chance for success (2010)	C-	47	C+
Standards, assessments and accountability (2010)	A	1	B
The teaching profession (2010)	B-	7	C
School finance (2010)	C+	12	C
Transitions and alignment (2009)	A	2	C
K-12 achievement (2008)	F	49	D+

In a presentation to the House Education Committee, state Supt. Steve Paine began with the worst first in explaining what was behind the scores. The K-12 Achievement grade uses 18 achievement measures related to reading and math performance, high school graduation rates and results of advanced placement exams. Most of those measures are based on National Assessment of Educational Progress scores. Paine said West Virginia has tended to test the biggest proportion of special education students in the nation, so that affects the state’s grade.

“West Virginia has typically and traditionally over the past 15 years identified more special education/special needs children than most other states,” he said. However, lawmakers fixed the School Aid Formula a few years ago to reduce school districts’ incentive to classify students as needing special education so the districts would get additional funding. Paine expects that to affect West Virginia’s scores in years ahead.

Paine said West Virginia also has tended to test about 10 percent more economically disadvantaged students than other states, which makes it difficult to compare West Virginia to other states. However, he added, “I’m not making excuses.”

The Quality Counts grade considers changes in NAEP scores from 2003 to 2007 in math and reading tests given to fourth-graders and eighth-graders. In most of those categories, West Virginia’s scores declined, which disturbs Paine.

“The state should see long-term benefit in student achievement from raising the rigor of its curriculum.” – Supt. Steve Pain

“I’m very troubled by this,” he said. “The state should see long-term benefit in student achievement from raising the rigor of its curriculum.”

Noting that the state is in the second year of implementing tougher content standards and objectives, Paine said, “The gains that we have made in raising the rigor and the challenge for our teachers and our students should have long-term benefit. We should begin to see that benefit in the 2011 cycle.”

“We need to…focus more on the willingness and the motivation and the readiness of the student to learn.” – Delegate Woody Ireland

But Delegate Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie, suggested that the state’s efforts might be not be targeted correctly. “We need to change some of the emphasis from teachers’ qualifications and the rigor of our curriculum and focus more on the willingness and the motivation and the readiness of the student to learn,” he said.

“I think that is one conclusion you can draw from this,” Paine replied. “But I have to say, as a former teacher and principal, some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had have been with poverty-stricken children and special-needs kids. To watch their progress is just phenomenal. But there tend to be some social issues that kids in poverty bring to the table that are difficult to overcome, that are external to the school. So you’re right. I think we need to work on those situations.”

Adding that both students and parents across the country don’t seem to be as motivated toward academic achievement as they once were, he said, “It’s probably the most elusive issue in education that I’m aware of. People have not found the answers to: How do you motivate students to have a strong interest in their schooling?”

Getting more four-year-olds into pre-school programs should help improve student achievement some, Paine said, because studies have shown a sevenfold return on investment for such programs.

Delegate Brady Paxton, D-Putnam, asked if there is any correlation between whether students get free or reduced-cost lunches (in other word, being from low-income families) and their intelligence quotient.

“They are more than capable,” Paine said of the poor students. He also said research has led educators away from using IQ as a predictor of success.

 

Focus on early years should help.

Upon further questioning about helping young children from low-income families perform better in school, Paine said five pilot projects from Save the Children should assist in that effort. Gov. Manchin mentioned the Save the Children projects in his State of the State address last month. Actress Jennifer Garner and Mark Shriver, managing director of Save the Children’s U.S. programs, were present for that announcement.

“There are a lot of folks who feel that focusing on the early grades has more benefits than [focusing] on the senior year right now,” Paine said. He suggested that it might make sense to push many students out of their senior year and into early entrance into colleges and technical schools.

“That would have a direct effect on reducing the dropout rate and increasing the high school graduation rate as well,” Paine said.

In regard to the category of Standards Assessment and Accountability on the Quality Counts report, Paine noted that West Virginia received F 10 years ago and now is the top-rated state with an A.

“We must support teachers, which is the next category, so that they know how to teach those levels,” he said. “That’s critically important.”

“We need to place teachers in an environment where they can discuss their learning needs with each other and not work in isolation any longer.” – Steve Paine

In the category of the Teaching Profession, West Virginia received a B-, which is higher than the national average of C and good enough to place the state seventh in the nation.

“We need to place teachers in an environment where they can discuss their learning needs with each other and not work in isolation any longer,” Paine said.

School Finance performance slips, but state is near top in making connections.

In the category of School Finance, he was troubled that West Virginia slipped a bit with its grade of C+. “We used to be one of the top states in the country,” he said.

Joe Panetta, executive director of the Office of School Finance, explained that there are a few reasons for that, but the top one is a variance in per-pupil expenditures. He added that there was no pay raise for school employees in 2007, so that contributed to per-pupil spending not keeping pace with that of other states.

The category of Transitions and Alignment deals with each state’s efforts to connect the kindergarten through 12th-grade education system with early childhood learning, higher education and the working world. The report says, “The states with the most comprehensive alignment initiatives – Maryland, New Mexico, and West Virginia – have enacted at least 12 of the 14 focal policies.” In fact, West Virginia missed just one of them: having high school assessment used for postsecondary decisions. The state received an A in that category and ranked second in the nation.

“We have many challenges” in that category, Paine said. But he added, “We feel good about our policies and structure.”

 

Legislative leaders want mid-level court even if Supreme Court doesn’t

The chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court is trying to dampen discussion about creating a new intermediate-level appeals court, but key legislative leaders have said they want to try legislation that could set up such a court.

Chief Justice Robin Davis told a joint meeting of the House and Senate Judiciary committees Monday that the intermediate court would be too expensive. She said it would do more to help lawyers than to improve the resolution of legal cases.

“If you want to stimulate business for lawyers, add an intermediate court.” – Chief Justice Robin Davis

“If you want to stimulate business for lawyers, add an intermediate court,” Davis said.  Further, she suggested that special interest parties who want to drag out the legal process are behind the effort to create an intermediate court.

“The appeals process takes a long time even in the best circumstances,” Davis said. “Adding another layer to the process would simply slow the appeals down much further.”

But Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler told a state Chamber of Commerce breakfast last week that, even though he expected the proposed intermediate appellate court to stir “the most volatile discussion” this legislative session, he would push for establishment of such a court.

“The biggest obstacle is the cost, but we find money for everything.” – Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler

“I’m going to introduce a bill and get the ball rolling,” Kessler, D-Marshall, said. “The biggest obstacle is the cost, but we find money for everything.”

The cost of the intermediate court has been estimated to be about $8 million. Kessler, state Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts and others have argued that it would be a small price to pay considering the state has a general revenue budget of about $4 billion. Because Kessler believes it’s important for people to have access to the courts, he thinks the cost of the proposed intermediate court would be worth it.

“I think it’s time to have that dialogue,” Kessler said. “We’re going to give it a shot and see how it turns out.”

House Judiciary Chairman Tim Miley, D-Harrison, also calls himself “a big proponent of the intermediate court” and said he is less concerned about the cost. “I just think it’s the fair and right thing to do,” he said.

Miley called the cost “really a drop in the bucket for what we otherwise spend money on.”

 

Supreme Court has other ideas.

Instead of adding an intermediate court, the Supreme Court wants to make other changes in the appeals process, which Davis said has not been updated in 35 years. She said the court wants to make the process more “transparent.”

“Rules written for legal eyes must be made comprehensible for the public at large,” she said. Under the revised procedural rules Davis presented to legislators, the Supreme Court would provide a written explanation every time it rejects an appeal without holding a hearing.

“That has not occurred,” she said. “It’s just not what we’ve done in the past.”

Davis said the court has worked for several months to revise in rules for appeals and hopes to finish that revision by the end of the year. The court will take public comments on the proposed changes before making them final.

 

Other reforms are sought for filing judicial slots.

Kessler wants other judicial reforms in addition to adding an intermediate court. For example, he believes it’s possible for the state to go to public financing of judicial elections. Gov. Manchin has proposed using public financing for both of the seats on the state Supreme Court that will be up for election in 2012. In addition, Kessler wants to make sure that contributors to campaigns are fully disclosed, a provision that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upheld.

“I don’t think that’s too much to ask,” Kessler said. “How can the press report if their information is hidden from them? What’s wrong with educating the public?”

Another reform Kessler had hoped would be in place by now was to make the race for the Supreme Court seat on the ballot in 2010 for the unexpired term of the late Justice Joe Albright both public-financed and nonpartisan. That way, he said, West Virginia would have seen “every model known to man” for filling judicial seats within a few years. That includes election in partisan races with private financing, election in a nonpartisan race by public financing, election in partisan races with public financing and appointment by the governor from recommendations of an advisory panel.

Kessler said he would continue to advocate for nonpartisan judicial elections with public financing because he would like to eliminate the “perceived bias” created by having judges and justices getting elected on campaigns financed by private interests.

“If it improves the perception of the judiciary, it will be good,” he 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.

 

 

 

Administrative Perspective

By Martha Dean, Ed.D., – Column returns next week

 

WVSBA Direct

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

The final program for the West Virginia School Board Association Winter will be mailed February 10, 2010. The program, now being finalized, was approved Feb. 3 by the County Board Member Training Standards Review Committee (TSRC) which met in Charleston.

Members will receive seven (7) clock hours training for attending the conference.

For more on conference details, please contact WVSBA Administrative Assistant Shirley Davidson – sdavidson@wvsba.org

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

 

 

Needy West Virginia students will receive new backpacks

The West Virginia Department of Education is working to distribute backpacks, books and food to West Virginia schoolchildren and their families. The goods, including school supplies, personal grooming items and snacks, were donated by Feed The Children’s Homeless Education and Literacy Program (H.E.L.P.) in conjunction with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY).

About 1,920 backpacks and food bags, as well as two pallets of books, were handed out at Cedar Lakes Conference Center to county school districts and the Children’s Home Society for later distribution to students. Each year, between 900,000 and 1.4 million children and youth in the United States experience homelessness, including about 4,400 in West Virginia.

“The West Virginia Department of Education is committed to ensuring that all West Virginia children experiencing homelessness have the opportunity to attend, enroll in and succeed in school,” state Supt. Steve Paine said. “These backpacks will give children facing a difficult situation something of their own that can help make school a little easier during a trying time.”

For more information, contact the Department’s Office of Communications at (304) 558-2699.

 

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

 

 

Senate committee develops plans to address OPEB liability

 

By Sen. Brooks McCabe

The current unfunded liability for Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) is approximately $7.8 billion for the State of West Virginia, and that figure includes the county boards of education. Due to the General Accounting Standards Board’s Statement 45, this liability must be acknowledged by all governmental units responsible for contributing to that liability. The county boards of education have been in a difficult position based on varying interpretations of how state funding and OPEB are accounted for in the School Aid Formula.

Taken in total, these suggestions are expected to quickly reduce the unfunded liability to approximately $2 billion.

Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, and Senate Finance Committee Chair Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, decided the only way the OPEB issue could be effectively addressed this year was to appoint a small committee within the state Senate to analyze this complicated and far-reaching issue. Both the governor and the Legislature (through Interim Finance Subcommittee C) had committees working on OPEB over the summer, and no acceptable resolution could be found by the two committees. President Tomblin appointed me and six other senators – Richard Browning, D-Wyoming; William Laird, D-Fayette; Robert Plymale, D-Wayne; Roman Prezioso, D-Marion; Mike Hall, R-Putnam; and Dave Sypolt, R-Preston – to study the OPEB liability and come up with a plan that would allow West Virginia to effectively manage the unfunded liability and pay it off over time without stifling future state budgets with continuing unmanageable costs.

After meeting regularly for over three months, the committee arrived at 23 suggestions for addressing the OPEB unfunded liability. Taken in total, these suggestions are expected to quickly reduce the unfunded liability to approximately $2 billion, and that remaining liability would be paid out over the next 30 years with funding from general revenues in the amount of $150 million per year. 

Some of the suggestions for county boards of education included the following:

• State of West Virginia should assume all OPEB liabilities accrued before July 1, 2010, attributable to school personnel funded by the School Aid Formula.  For those OPEB liabilities not attributed to School Aid Formula, obtain information to assure all counties have the ability to assume these liabilities. It is understood the larger school boards can assume the liability, however, this may be a capacity issue with smaller, more rural county boards of educations.

• For OPEB incurred by the county boards of education on and after July 1, 2010, make those OPEB  liabilities that are attributable to school personnel who are included in the calculation of the total basic foundation program pursuant to Article 9, Chapter 18, obligations of the state, and make those OPEB liabilities that are attributable to employees of the county boards of education who are NOT included in the calculation of the total basic foundation program pursuant to Article 9, Chapter 18, obligations of the county boards of education.

• Authorize PEIA to set the minimum annual required contribution at a level below the Annual Required Contribution, substitute “Annual Contractual Obligation” for “minimum annual required contribution,” and specify each participating government entity is required to remit annual contractual obligation to the Trust Fund within GASB. 

• Specify in code only the unpaid portion of annual contractual obligation is to be reported as current liability on financial statements by each participating government entity. Also, the difference between the Annual Required Contribution and contractual obligation shall be reported as long-term liability on financial statements.

• Retirees Health Benefit Trust Fund keeps corpus and all earnings in the Trust through fiscal year 2015 to increase the fund balance needed for the future OPEB subsidy.

• The Legislature sets pay-go funding up to $150 million per year by July 1, 2011, and maintains at the same level going forward, in essence putting a $150 million cap on pay-go. 

• To increase the salary of beginning teachers to an average of $38,000, increase the salaries of teachers in years 0-11 over a five-year period so that the salaries in those years are the same as the salaries paid in year 12, according to the basic plus equity salary schedule. A teacher with a bachelor's degree would start out with a salary of $37,483 plus any county salary supplement that may be in effect in the county.

To stay competitive, beginning teacher salaries need significant enhancement, especially in light of reducing other post-employment benefits for new hires. 

The last suggestion referencing beginning teacher salaries is important since managing OPEB means adjusting future health and retirement benefits. To stay competitive, beginning teacher salaries need significant enhancement, especially in light of reducing other post-employment benefits for new hires. 

The suggestions for correcting the OPEB unfunded liability, as this relates to country boards of education, were significantly strengthened by the expertise of Sens. Plymale and Prezioso, both of whom have extensive knowledge of school boards and their funding. This knowledge helped the rest of this working group better understand the unique aspects of school boards.

These suggestions do not represent all of the actions needed to be taken, but are intended to provide a framework for West Virginia to better manage OPEB and ultimately fully fund the liabilities without creating unmanageable financial constraints on state government or the county boards of education.

Brooks McCabe is a Democratic senator from Kanawha County.

 

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 128. Relating to Smart 529 college savings plan. Second reference to Senate Finance. 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 143. Relating to salary bonus for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. Second reference to Senate Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB143 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=143

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.  Second Reference 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. Senate Education action deferred until Feb. 9 meeting.  Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB343intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=343

 
House Bills

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 2967. Encouraging teachers who have achieved a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) 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)

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

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 4040. Requiring county boards to adopt contingency plans designed to guarantee 180 separate days of instruction for students. Signed by governor February 5, 2010.  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

House Bill 4211.  Providing supplemental funding for providing alternative programs for limited English proficient students. NOTE: Action to be reported in February 12, 2010, issue of The Legislature.  

H.B. 4324.  Extending the expiration date of employment of retired teachers beyond the post-retirement employment limit. NOTE: Action to be reported in February 12, 2010, issue of The Legislature.  

 Editor’s Note: Several Senate Education resolutions and a bill originating in committee have yet to be given bill/resolution titles and numbers. These will be reported in the February 12, 2010, issue of The Legislature. Finally, unless otherwise state, the bill reference is to the measure as originally introduced.

 

ETC.

 

 

 

Meanwhile in California...

A California elementary school temporarily removed the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary from classrooms after one parent complained that it defines the term “oral sex.” The Menifee Union School District said parents will now be able to request that their kids use a children’s dictionary, which has no such terms.

• Source: The Week – February 5, 2010 and other publications

 

Wisdom

"the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader." - Max DePree, an American writer. He is a son of D.J. DePree, founder of Herman Miller office furniture company.

Soundbites

“A minimum of sound to a maximum of sense.” – Quotation attributed to Mark Twain describing the term “sound bites.”

 

“It says 180 days. It means 180 days. Does it do everything we need done? Probably not.  I’ve never signed a perfect piece of legislation yet.” – Gov. Manchin on new school calendar law

“Because the OPEB discussion is the 800-pound gorilla in the room right now, we thought it was a great opportunity to implement some of our ideas into the discussion.” – Josh Sword of AFT-WV

“I think progress is being made [on OPEB]. My hope is that we’ll start drafting legislation very shortly.” – Sen. Brooks McCabe

“The problem we see is when you are mandating a reduction or a removal of a benefit, you’re not helping morale in the classroom, and we have morale problems as it is. There’s not money for pay raises, and we see an attack once again on our benefit structure. We need to do something to get morale up. And we have data that show if you have a school that has high morale, student performance is better.” – Josh Sword

“We need to change some of the emphasis from teachers’ qualifications and the rigor of our curriculum and focus more on the willingness and the motivation and the readiness of the student to learn.” – Delegate Woody Ireland

“It’s probably the most elusive issue in education that I’m aware of. People have not found the answers to: How do you motivate students to have a strong interest in their schooling?” – Supt. Steve Paine

“The children staying in school is critical to their succeeding in life.” – Nicholas County Asst. Prosecutor Linda Garrett

 

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.

School calendar reform took a decade of work

By David Kurtz

My grandmother told me, “Good things come to those who wait.”  It was exactly 10 years ago that the West Virginia School Board Association decided to make a major push seeking school calendar reform during the 2000 legislative session. The legislative process is often (by design) slow, but finally after 10 years, the current Legislature has passed a bill granting more flexibility with the calendar. It’s not a perfect bill, but we would have loved to have gotten it back in 2000.

It’s not a perfect bill, but we would have loved to have gotten it back in 2000.

I was president of the WVSBA in 1999-2000, and a number of school board members around the state had come to realize that one reason why West Virginia students were falling behind was that we were not getting enough time with them. While one section of the state code called for 180 instructional days (a de facto national standard), the reality was we were nowhere close to that. In my own county, the previous year had seen our students in school for only 167 days – 13 days fewer than the required 180.  Snow days, faculty senate days and other reasons prevented West Virginia students from reaching the 180-day standard. Yet the loss of 13 days, multiplied by the 13 years of a K-12 education, means that our children were losing a total of 169 instructional days (i.e., a whole school year). No wonder our national test scores needed improvement!

While we were woefully lagging behind in meeting the 180-day standard, other states and school districts were adding days to their calendars, going above and beyond the 180-day standard (not to mention the school systems in other countries that went well above 180 days).  In a competitive global economy, more days of instruction would be a good thing!

So as the 2000 legislative session started, school calendar reform was our top priority. A number of school board members contacted their legislators at home and/or lobbied in Charleston on this issue. As we explained the situation, the message began to resonate among some legislators. I was involved in a number of meetings at the Capitol to discuss calendar reform. In addition, I participated in various media interviews, talk shows, etc. I wrote letters to the editor of the major newspapers around the state. As they say today, this initiative started to get “traction.”

The headway we were making with this new initiative caught the teachers' organizations a bit off guard. School calendar reform had not been on their radar at all. Yet out of nowhere, this issue suddenly had “legs.” The unions had to expend a lot of effort to stop the bandwagon that the WVSBA had started. The rhetoric sometimes became heated. Howard O'Cull, the longstanding WVSBA executive director, took more than his share of this heat. In the end, we did not have the power to overcome the “full court press” that the unions put on to stop our initiative. The end result became, “Let's study this over the coming year and consider it at the next session.”

In one form or another, school calendar reform has been kicked around virtually every year since, until finally a bill was passed early in this session.

Well, in one form or another, school calendar reform has been kicked around virtually every year since, until finally a bill was passed early in this session. Unfortunately, I have not been around to lobby the Legislature since the 2000 effort. You see, we had raised the ire of unions, and several WVSBA activists were targeted for defeat later that year, including me. I had first gotten elected with help from the WVEA, but I became “persona non gratis” after the school calendar initiative in 2000.

However, I feel as though I landed on my feet and got another part-time job that I still enjoy today – teaching at WVU-Parkersburg. As one door closed, another opened for me. So I commend those of you who continue to do your part to send me better students out of high school. Serving on a school board is a difficult job. I could have taken the easy route and just went along with whatever it took to get re-elected. However, I did what I thought was right, and I would urge you to do the same. This new bill is not a panacea – it will require school boards to make some tough decisions. It gives local school boards more flexibility, which is what a number of us were fighting for – to the point of sacrificing our own political careers. So please make the most of the power granted in this bill to maximize the time our kids get to spend with our teachers.

David Kurtz is a former president of the West Virginia School Board Association.

 

 

Marketplace

 

 

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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”