WVSBA The Legislature

February 18, 2010 - Volume 30 / Issue 11

Overview

Stats

Day of Session 37th
Days Remaining 23
Bills Introduced:
(Including 2009 House Carryover Bills)		 1833



Quote: “I’d rather have 180 days of instruction than 900 days of evaluation.” – Del. David Perry, D-Fayette, discussing a state Department of Education proposal to require annual evaluations of all professional educators. The bill was defeated in House Education by resounding voice vote

Inside

 

 

 

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


The West Virginia School Board Association’s 2010 Winter Conference will be held Friday and Saturday in Charleston.

The program begins Friday morning with legislative visitations, followed by programming relating to charter schools, the state’s high school graduation/dropout rate, and a Friday evening participant-led discussion relating to various legislative and policy issues.

Saturday’s programming relates to higher education in West Virginia as well as a fiscal update from Mike McKown of the governor’s budget office.

The West Virginia School Board Association Executive Board will meet Friday at 10:45 a.m., and the association’s FY11 Annual Business Meeting will be held Saturday, beginning at 8:00 a.m. All meetings will be held at the Marriott Hotel.

All meetings are open to the public.

For more information about the program, please contact the WVSBA Office – 304-346-0571. You also may contact WVSBA Executive Director Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D., by telephoning 304-549-9463. His email address is: hocull@wvsba.org.

A copy of the program is included under "WVSBA Direct."

 


By Jim Wallace

Movement is occurring this week on one of the biggest issues facing state and local government in West Virginia: the enormous liability for OPEB – other post-employment benefits.

Among this week’s developments on OPEB are:

Josh Sword, who works for the American Federation of Teachers and serves on the PEIA Finance Board, said he has been told that actuaries have come up with the lower estimate for the OPEB liability, which represents mainly health care benefits promised to current and future retirees from the public sector.

“It’s quite frankly related to a different assumption for medical inflation and a different benefit structure,” he said.

Sword said Wednesday that he expected the new estimate to be presented at the Finance Board meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

“I think they’re on the right track, and I think what they’re going to do is go over some of the assumption changes they’ve made to get to the new number, which I would agree with,” he said. “But I also have some very specific OPEB questions related to what’s being discussed up here in both the Senate and the House versions of the work group action items.”

“We have to do all of this no matter what that number is, because we know it’s going to be a staggering number and it’s more than we can afford right now.” – Sen. Brooks McCabe

However, the leader of the Senate’s OPEB work group, Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, said a lower estimate, such as $5 billion, would have no effect on the proposed remedies to address the problem.

“We can’t afford $5 [billion] much less $7.8 [billion],” he said. “We have to do all of this no matter what that number is, because we know it’s going to be a staggering number and it’s more than we can afford right now. If we don’t make any changes, that number will continue to grow.”

The Senate work group released its recommendations for addressing the OPEB problem a few weeks ago. They include:

 

OPEB bill is being prepared.

McCabe said Wednesday that legislation based on his group’s recommendations was being drafted as he spoke. Several attorneys for the Senate Finance, Pensions and Education committees then would have to examine it, he said.

“I would hope that we would have a draft that we could privately circulate maybe [Thursday] or certainly this week just to make sure that everybody is generally comfortable with it,” McCabe said. “I would expect that we would have a bill to hit the floor on Monday.”

Rick Olcott, president of the Wood County Board of Education and president of the West Virginia School Board Association, was pleased to hear that OPEB legislation is being drafted.

“That’s extremely encouraging to hear that they’re moving down that path.” – Rick Olcott, WVSBA president

“That’s very good news,” he said. “That’s extremely encouraging to hear that they’re moving down that path.”

However, Olcott said he’ll remain skeptical until he actually sees a bill get through the Legislature and signed by the governor. “I’ve been joking that we’re not from Missouri, but we’re in a ‘show me’ state now,” he said.

Olcott said he couldn’t say whether the 50 county school boards, including his own, that have threatened to sue the state over OPEB would continue to hold off from filing their lawsuit. He said he would leave that up to others, especially the boards’ attorney, Howard Seufer.

“I know most of us would prefer that we get the legislation done and put this thing behind us,” Olcott said.

The school boards object to being forced to carry the OPEB liability on their books and to being charged for the liability corresponding to employees paid through the School Aid Formula.

During the House work group’s meeting on Tuesday, Martha Dean, executive director of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators, told delegates she was concerned that many citizens won’t understand why their school boards are reporting huge liabilities they don’t have funds to cover. She urged lawmakers to pass a law requiring school boards to book only the current expenses for OPEB, not the long-term liability.

The work group also heard a presentation from Lottery Director John Musgrave about lottery revenues and how they are spent.

 

House agrees with Senate on some issues.

The House OPEB work group started work on the problem a few weeks later than its Senate counterpart, but took a significant step this week in releasing a draft of its findings. It agreed with the Senate’s positions on these issues:

The House group also expressed general agreement with the Senate position that policies that control health care costs while maintaining quality should be supported.

However, the House group wants much more actuarial information before policy is made. “Great care should be taken to avoid trading OPEB for worse problems,” the group’s statement reads. “There is also terrific potential to create access problems by making insurance cost-prohibitive, causing grave consequences for some individuals.”

“We need a firm grasp on why we have the fourth-largest OPEB cost per capita among states, and need to feel confident in the measures we undertake to address the problem.” – House OPEB work group

The group wants to examine OPEB liabilities for the non-state employers separately from state and public education employees. It suggests development of a comprehensive list of alternative mitigation strategies and actuarial estimates of the effects.

“We need to study the current benefit offerings and plan value and compare those with plans of other states,” the statement says. “We need a firm grasp on why we have the fourth-largest OPEB cost per capita among states, and need to feel confident in the measures we undertake to address the problem.”

The main reason West Virginia has such a big OPEB liability is that health care benefits for public sector retirees are 72 percent subsidized. In other words, the retirees are paying only 28 percent of the costs. The House work group wants to avoid having that subsidy level increase in the future, but it also says it “believes that the PEIA Finance Board’s presumption of poverty when subsidizing the premiums of all retirees is a flawed approach.” The group wants “all future subsidies to be applied through expansion of the Premium Assistance Program so that the retiree’s income would be considered in determining if and how much subsidy is necessary to make the premium affordable to the individual(s) covered.”

Further, the group says it “believes the ultimate solution is going to involve a comprehensive view of retirement liabilities.”

The group would like to create “a new enhanced salary tier, called Plan B, in recognition of the reduced health retirement benefits of new hires and any current employees that may opt into the new plan. The plan could be designed as a supplemental bonus pay or a new longevity enhancement so that this addition to pay can be externalized in evaluating overall pay equity.”

In addition, the House group sees “potential for incentives that encourage employees to work until Medicare-eligible.”

Another proposal the House work group likes is the adoption of an “asset-smoothing” valuation method for state pension plans, like the methods most other states use. As Delegate Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier, has explained it, that could be as simple as valuing the plans’ assets twice a year instead of just once a year. The work group’s statement says, “The lack of a smoothing strategy causes very serious budget stability issues, especially in this highly volatile market…Asset smoothing mutes the highs and lows to make funding more stable and predictable.”

 

A few Senate proposals don’t go down well with the House group.

The House group declared itself “unsettled” on a few proposals from the Senate, including:

The House work group rejected a Senate proposal to increase pay for beginning teachers to $38,000. The group said it “is concerned that this would create equity issues with other teachers, school service personnel and state employees.” It also considers that issue to be unrelated to OPEB.

Teachers’ unions also don’t like that last proposal. Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, said he doubted that offering a salary of $38,000 to beginning teachers with little expectation of earning more for the next dozen years would attract many people to West Virginia schools.

“I think we need to take a comprehensive look at what we have in terms of teachers and teachers’ salaries and make a commitment as a state we’re going to attract the best and the brightest that we can from West Virginia to go into education,” he said. “That’s where we have to focus.”

Instead of boosting the salary of beginning teachers, the AFT is more interested in expanding annual increment pay to years 36 through 40 for teachers. Sword said that would help ease the OPEB problem, because it would encourage teachers to work longer. “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,” he said.

 

House findings appeal more to unions than Senate recommendations.

Overall, the teachers’ unions like the House work group’s positions better than those of the Senate group.

“It’s not a simple fix, and the House makes it clear that it’s not a simple fix, that they have to get additional information,” Lee said. “You have to look at some other things that are dealing with OPEB. I also like the fact that they believe that the current retiree subsidy level of 72 percent should not be increased going forward, which is different than what the Senate did. The Senate put a cap at $150 million. At least the House recognizes that you can’t shift all that cost to the employee or the retiree. There’s a burden that has to be shared by the state.”

“At least the House recognizes that you can’t shift all that cost to the employee or the retiree.” – WVEA President Dale Lee

Likewise, Sword said the House group seems to be more on the right track than the Senate group.

“If you take a look and break down the Senate proposal, they have more bullets on there that are not related to OPEB than they have on there that are related to OPEB,” he said. “I think what the House has done is said, ‘Look, we have this problem. Let’s take a look at it, but let’s only take a look at the issues that are related to OPEB.’ That’s what we’ve been trying to say all along. Forget about all this other stuff, this wishy-washy stuff of how you want the premium structure to be for active employees or this crazy salary schedule for new teachers. That stuff has nothing to do with OPEB. Let’s concentrate on the issues that are OPEB-related only.”

As Sword has previously pointed out, the proposals to increase the retirement age from 55 to 60 and to increase the vesting period for new employees hired after June 30, 2011, would have no effect on OPEB, because the PEIA Finance Board has decided to eliminate the retiree subsidy for employees hired after June 30, 2010. The AFT, the WVEA and others would like that decision to drop the subsidy to be reversed, if not by the Finance Board then by the Legislature.

“We certainly understand what they’re saying,” McCabe said. “We got a little different take on it, but their comments are appropriate. We’re working through that and everything else. But we looked at it differently. We had a longer-term time frame and assumed that over time some of these issues might be revisited, especially if you’ve got a 20-year time horizon. We certainly understand their point on that. We were looking at a bigger picture, trying to tighten up a whole bunch of stuff directly related to OPEB and tangentially related to OPEB.”

 

Senate leader is pleased with House response.

Even though the House group disagrees with the Senate group on some points, McCabe said he is encouraged by the work that has been done on the House side.

“The point is they are diligently pursuing it in a timely manner and that is obviously helpful,” he said. “We’ve got a good deal of work to do to come together, I would think, if the bills would be different. In a perfect world, we can get it done this session. Otherwise, I would hope we could deal with it quietly after session and maybe have the governor call a special session and deal with OPEB in a special session.”

 


 By Jim Wallace


The House of Delegates approved House Joint Resolution 101 on Wednesday to put on the ballot a proposed amendment to the West Virginia Constitution.

The amendment would allow the Legislature to authorize counties to exempt “tangible personal property directly used in commercial and industrial businesses, but not in public utility businesses, from ad valorem property tax,” according to the resolution. Such an exemption would be limited “to qualified tangible personal property newly entered on the property tax rolls.”

The House changed the proposed amendment to put the authority for the tax exemptions in the hands of county commissioners instead of just the Legislature, as Gov. Manchin had proposed.

On the House floor, Finance Chairman Harry Keith White, D-Mingo, urged his colleagues to pass it. So did Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha.

“I think this is an important step in making West Virginia competitive with its surrounding states.” – House Minority Leader Tim Armstead

“I think this is a very important step,” Armstead said. “There certainly is a lot more to do in this area, but I think this is an important step in making West Virginia competitive with its surrounding states…This resolution will give us a tool in our toolbox to be able to create jobs and help the public sector create jobs in West Virginia.”

The House approved the resolution on a vote of 95-1 with Delegate Linda Goode Phillips, D-Wyoming, casting the lone vote against it.

Rich Olcott, president of the West Virginia School Board Association, welcomes the proposed amendment, even though he realizes it has the potential to cost school boards some tax money. But he said it’s more important to support economic development, which could end up boosting tax revenues for school districts.

“Anything we can do in any community in West Virginia to encourage economic development…we ought to be behind it 100 percent,” Olcott said.


 By Jim Wallace


The House Education Committee soundly rejected a bill this week that would have required a new annual evaluation process for all professional school personnel beginning in 2011.

The state Department of Education wanted the new process to be aligned with West Virginia’s new teaching and leadership standards, but delegates thought it would cause more trouble than benefit.

“Basically, this would be much more work for administrators if they had to go back and evaluate every professional person every year.” – Delegate Dave Pethtel

Delegate Dave Pethtel, D-Wetzel, began the attack on the House Bill 4424 after it was explained that annual evaluations for all professional personnel would be required instead of just for those in their first five years of employment. “Basically, this would be much more work for administrators if they had to go back and evaluate every professional person every year,” he said.

Delegate Stan Shaver, D-Preston, also was critical when he learned that the department was asking for the evaluation requirement before it had developed a policy to cover the proposed evaluations.

State Assistant Supt. Karen Huffman explained that a task force has been formed to consider that policy “and to make recommendations about what that performance evaluation system and process should look like. This task force has been made up of all education stakeholders.”

Shaver wanted to know why lawmakers should pass the bill before the policy had been developed. He asked if it was related to the state’s application for federal Race to the Top funds.

“It puts a statement out there that we are moving in a direction,” Huffman said. “I think it is helpful with the Race to the Top application, because there is an expectation of annual evaluations, which we once had in law.”

But Deputy Supt. Jack McClanahan said it would be only a guess whether lack of the proposed evaluation process would hurt the Race to the Top application. “We would prefer to have teachers and administrators on the front end sit down and help us develop a good system we could all live with and then move forward rather than for the feds to tell us exactly what we’ve got to do,” he said.

But that didn’t satisfy committee members. Delegate David Perry, D-Fayette, said the process would be too time-consuming for teachers and administrators. “The number of teachers who would be considered to be less than acceptable performers in the classroom is probably less than 1 percent,” he said.

“That’s probably accurate,” Huffman said. But she added that the current evaluation process is tied to standards that have been replaced. The proposed process would be connected to the new standards.

Delegate Tim Ennis, D-Brooke, asked Perry how many people he had to supervise as a principal. Perry responded that he had 55 professional staff members plus 18 school service workers. Ennis inferred that some principals would have more than 100 professional staff members to evaluate.

“Would you agree that that would be an extreme time burden on the administrator of the building to perform all this?” Ennis asked.

“It’s an extreme time burden on the professional teacher, as well as the administrator,” Perry responded.

When Delegate Walter Duke, R-Berkeley, asked for the opinion of someone representing employees, Judy Hale, president of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, said she was involved in the effort that led to the current evaluation process many years ago. It was adopted because the former system was too burdensome, she said.

“I don’t know that the current system is broken.” – AFT-WV President Judy Hale

“I don’t know that the current system is broken,” Hale said.

Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, also said it wouldn’t be necessary to do annual evaluations for all teachers.

Shaver said he would rather have the Education Department develop a policy on evaluations before asking lawmakers to pass a bill on the matter. Perry said the proposed evaluation process would be regressive at a time when lawmakers were trying to put more flexibility into the education system.

“I’d much rather have 180 days of instruction than 900 days of evaluation,” he said.

The committee loudly rejected the House Bill 4424 on a voice vote.

 

Suicide prevention bill moves on.

House Bill 2542, called the Jason Flatt Act, fared much better. It would provide training for teachers and administrators in suicide prevention.

The lead sponsor, Delegate Charlene Marshall, D-Monongalia, explained that the bill is named after a 16-year-old Tennessee student who committed suicide. His father, Clark Flatt, set up a foundation that is encouraging states to pass legislation similar to House Bill 4145.

Marshall said suicide is the fourth-leading cause of death in people ages 16 to 25 nationwide and the third-leading cause in West Virginia. She said students considering suicide often give some indications of their intent to teachers.

Delegate Ruth Rowan, R-Hampshire, provided a personal reason for supporting the bill.

“I for one would have welcomed this kind of staff development. I think this is a good thing.” – Delegate Ruth Rowan

“As a second-grade teacher, I had a child that acted out quite a bit,” she said. “The family had asked the psychologist who was working with him to talk to me. This psychologist asked me to look for certain things. I did. I called back to the psychologist. The child was being sexually abused. If I had had something like this available to me, I would have known ahead of time. I feel, yes, the intervention saved his life. He was eight years old when this happened. He committed suicide two weeks ago. He was 24. So maybe we lengthened his life that much, but I for one would have welcomed this kind of staff development. I think this is a good thing.”

Delegate Brady Paxton, D-Putnam, said he believed he might have prevented six kids from committing suicide during the many years he worked as a coach.

The bill easily received the committee’s approval.

The committee also approved a resolution that could lead to a study relating to the Office of Education Performance Audits and the performance and progress of students, as well as a resolution to establish Labor History Week during which history of the labor movement would be taught. The latter resolution received a few votes against it. In addition, the committee approved House Bill 4145 to provide services and facilities to assist student veterans at state colleges and universities.

 

Boards would have less flexibility in using itinerant workers.

Also this week, a House Education subcommittee considered House Bill 2271, which would define “itinerant status” for school service personnel and affect the way school boards handle such itinerant workers.

Although many school boards designate certain employees as itinerant, the term has not been defined in state code. “It just sort of evolved over the years until it became a term of art,” Bob Brown, executive director of the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association, said. He told delegates that itinerant status originally was used primarily for special education aides and autism mentors so they could move with the children they served.

“Over the last three or four years, many county boards of education are now posting nearly every service personnel position as ‘itinerant,’” he said. “Consequently, they can transfer folks like that without going through the procedure. They’re actually hiring bus operators and cooks. Then they can just willy-nilly, arbitrarily move folks around all over the place. It’s turned into an end run around the transfer of positions.”

Brown said his union recognizes the need for itinerant positions for employees who work with children with special needs, but the people he represents want to tighten the law and rein in some abuses.

“It frankly has turned into a backdoor approach to circumventing transfer laws.” – WVSSPA Executive Director Bob Brown

“It frankly has turned into a backdoor approach to circumventing transfer laws,” he said. Several years ago, Brown said, the same type of problem developed with split-shift employees.

“Many county boards were posting positions for a custodian, for example, saying: We want you to work from eight to noon and then come back from four until eight or from eight until midnight,” he said. “It was really hard for employees to have a family life and make a living, working four hours here and four hours there. So at that particular time, we amended the law to say, if you’re going to work someone split shift, you need to pay them one day’s extra pay. It’s really almost eliminated the split-shift posting, unless it’s really essential that they do that. That’s the same approach we’re taking.”

As he indicated, House Bill 2271 was written to provide additional compensation for workers with itinerant status.

The chairman of the subcommittee, Delegate Ricky Moye, D-Raleigh, suggested tightening the bill even further to allow itinerant status to apply only to special educations personnel, but a union attorney suggested that status also might be used legitimately for school cooks. In response to questioning, Brown and Judy Hale, president of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, assured the delegates that the bill would not affect teachers and other professional personnel.

Brown said he was interested in avoiding a situation in which a school service worker exercised seniority over many years to get a job close to home only to have school officials suddenly transfer that person to a position on the opposite side of the county.

House  Bill 2271 has not gone before the full House Education Committee yet.

 

 

Legislation that effectively “overturns” provisions of a bill adopted in the 2009 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature might be at passage stage early next week.

The legislation, which Sen. Larry Edgell, D-Wetzel, referred to as a prospective remedy was approved by Senate Tuesday. Prior to the unanimous Senate vote on the measure, Edgell told senators, “We’re fixing it for the next time.”

The provision in question says a school board candidate “may not be employed by the county board on which he or she serves or seeks to serve, including employment as a teacher or service personnel.”

As interpreted by the state Ethics Commission staff, some county prosecuting attorneys, and others who advised county board employees who were “seeking” election, these individuals would be required to resign their positions to run for the school board. Under previous law, a school employee could run for the school board and, if elected, then resign his or her position prior to being sworn into office.

Based on telephone calls and emails we received, most current employees have withdrawn their names from the ballot.  – Howard O’Cull, WVSBA Exeuctive Director

“Based on telephone calls and emails we received, current employees appear to have withdrawn their names from the ballot, although we are aware this is not the case in one county,” Howard O’Cull, state School Board Association executive director, said. “In that particular county, two current school employee candidates, as I understand it, say they should be entitled to run office, basing their reasoning on ‘constitutional rights’ and that, if elected, they will fight any challenges to their eligibility. In another instance, I know of a school employee who resigned in order to seek office.”


Problem was unexpected.

The legislation in hand and the election provision “caught the association by surprise,” he said. “We worked on several other parts of the bill last year relating to eligibility and, quite frankly, didn’t concentrate on this part. We assumed it remained the same.”

The legislation was included in House Bill 3208 adopted late in the 2009 session. The original House-passed bill addressed several areas of law relating to county board members and county superintendents, including training, appointment of interim superintendents, acting superintendents and codification of what had been known as the West Virginia Board of Education/West Virginia School Board Association Training County Board Member Training Standards Review Committee (TSRC), O’Cull said.

When the bill was taken up by the Senate Education Committee last year, several provisions, as recommended by the state Ethics Commission, were added to the House-passed bill, including provisions relating to eligibility of persons for county board office, he said. One of those provisions dealt with county board members attending national Democratic and Republican Party conventions as elected delegates.

That particular provision was stricken from the bill, which was referred to a House/Senate conference committee. (County board members may attend both state and national conventions but not as voting delegates, under terms of the 2009 legislation.)

“A lot of time and energy was spent here, and I admit this other provision, that about ‘seeking office,’ slipped by us,” O’Cull said.

This year’s bill, as originally introduced, would have corrected a numbering sequence problem. “That was the introduced intent, but the timing of filing for office pointed out the other aspect about seeking office,” O’Cull said.

The 2010 legislation, contained in Senate Bill 391, essentially restores the “original” language prior to 2009, he said.

The link to that bill is: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB391 eng.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=391.

 

 

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.

The news that the father of Sen. Robert Plymale, D-Wayne, passed away saddened the Legislature this week. We West Virginia Association of School Administrators and West Virginia School Board Association members send our thoughts and prayers to Sen. Plymale and his family. The Senate Education Committee will resume its work at Thursday afternoon’s regular committee meeting.

 

House committee rejects bill.

The House Education Committee had some sub-committee work and moved two resolutions and two bills out of committee on Tuesday afternoon. One bill, House Bill 4424, failed to make it out of committee. This bill was one of the state Department of Education’s initiatives and would change the evaluation of professionals to make it aligned with the teaching standards. 

Some of the objections voiced by the committee members included the issue of making evaluations for all professionals an annual event. The committee members believed this practice was unnecessary for experienced teachers and would make the workload of principals even heavier than it is currently.

 There was also the feeling that the bill had been drafted to meet the federal expectations of annual evaluations needed to get some of the “Race to the Top” grant money. 

The point was also made that the state Board of Education now is empowered to change policy and could make some of the changes proposed in the bill without the Legislature changing the law. As I listened to the vote on the bill, I heard only one positive vote and the rest resounding “nays”.

 

Resolutions are approved.

The first resolution to pass is related to the work of the Office of Education Performance Audits (OEPA).
Committee members have complained that OEPA has been extremely negative with regard to some of its findings regardless of whether or not a school makes Adequate Yearly Progress. 

The feeling seems to be that if the federal status is satisfactory, the school should not be subjected to negative findings by the OEPA. The resolution would require a study to be done during the Interim meetings.

 The second resolution is related to Labor History Week being established during which schools would have special events studying the history of labor events that have been important to the history of this country.

 

“Jason Flatt Act of 2010” clears committee.

House Bill 2542 is named the “Jason Flatt Act of 2009” (to be changed to 2010). 

The bill would require the Center for Professional Development to provide training for all professionals related to recognizing potential suicides and techniques for preventing suicide among teens. Delegate Charlene Marshall, D-Monongalia, is one of the sponsors of the bill and was present to provide information and support regarding the bill. 

According to figures she has available, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 16-25-year-olds in the United States, and the third leading cause of death for this age group in West Virginia. Five other states have adopted similar laws, the most recent being Mississippi which adopted a law this week. 

The bill was approved unanimously by the committee and will go to the Finance Committee for further action before going to the floor of the House.

 

Student veterans would get help.
 
The final bill that advanced on Tuesday is House Bill 4145, a subcommittee substitute from Delegate Larry Williams’s subcommittee. It deals with providing services and facilities to assist student veterans who attend state institutions of higher education.

With current benefits to veterans, there are higher numbers of vets attending college, and they have needs different from those who attend college right out of high school.

 

OPEB work group hears views.

The House OPEB work group met again at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. I gave remarks concerning issues WVASA has raised concerning how OPEB is affecting local school boards’ annual finance reports. 

The House work group has issued a public statement of the current status of their conclusions on issues and possible solutions. It is important to note that they stated that the liability for Public School Support Program-funded (PSSP) positions belong to the state, which is what the Senate work group, had also concluded.

 There was an article in Wednesday’s Daily Mail that discussed the draft position paper issued by Delegate Steve Kominar on Tuesday. Several issues remain unsolved, including where money can come from to go into the trust fund to decrease the long-term debt and put the issue on a sounder financial basis. 

Representatives of the state Lottery Commission were present at the Tuesday meeting to reveal how much money they usually take in and where that money has been going to date. 

It is rumored that the Senate will soon have some Legislation introduced regarding OPEB. It is also rumored that the issue will not be solved during the regular session and there may be a special session to address this complex situation.

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

 

 

WVSBA Direct


The following is the program for the West Virginia School Board Association’s Winter Conference which is being held tomorrow and Saturday in Charleston.

If you have general questions about the program, please contact the WVSBA office by telephoning 304-346-0571.

For specific programmatic details, contact Howard O’Cull, Executive Director by email – hocull@wvsba.org – or telephone 304.549.9463.

Logistical questions should be referred to WVSBA Administrative Assistant Shirley Davidson.  Her email address is sdavidson@wvsba.org

All conference and conference-related meetings are open to the public. - “This is a matter of association policy of which we are and should be proud,” said O’Cull.

Agenda
West Virginia School Board Association Winter Conference ‘10
February 19/20
Charleston (Town Center Marriott Hotel)

Friday, February 19, 2010

7:00 a.m.  
Allegheny Room
 Continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m.

Visitations to Capitol (Transportation provided)
10:45 a.m.
Blue Ridge Room		 West Virginia School Board Association Executive Board
(A meeting of the Association’s governing board w/Luncheon)
1:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Charter Schools: Good, Bad, Indifferent Implications for West Virginia?

Presenter: Todd Ziebarth, Vice President for Policy for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools – 1101 Fifteenth Street, Washington, DC 20005 – http://www.publiccharters.org

Presiding: Rick Olcott (Wood), WVSBA President

Panelists:
2:30 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Apples/Apples – Oranges/Oranges: The ‘Whys’ of West Virginia’s School Drop-out Rate – And Why County Boards Must Respond – Includes Panel Discussion

Presenter: John Sylvia, Director – West Virginia Legislative Auditor Performance Evaluation & Research Division – http://www.legis.state.wv.us/joint/PERD/perd.cfm

Departmental Review – West Virginia Department of Education -
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/joint/PERD/perdrep/DeptEd_1_2010.pdf

Presiding: Sis Murray (Marion), WVSBA Financial Officer

Panelists:

 
4:15 p.m. Break
6:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Dinner (Provided)
7:15 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Policy/Legislative Briefing

Presiding: Mr. Olcott

Members of the WVSBA Executive Board
(This is a participant-led program segment)
8:45 p.m. Adjournment

 

 

Saturday, February 20, 2010

6:45 a.m. Buffet Breakfast
8:00 a.m.

Cumberland/
Appalachian Room

 W. Va. School Board Association FY11 (Annual) Business Meeting
9:00 a.m.
Grand Ballroom

Readily Packed Suitcases, Commuter Campuses:  Realities of Secondary
Education Preparedness and the Higher Education Experience in West Virginia?

Presenter: Gail V. Higgins, MPA – Acting Research Director – West Virginia Legislative Auditor Performance Evaluation & Research Division – http://www.legis.state.wv.us/joint/PERD/perd.cfm

Departmental Review – Higher Education Policy Commission & Council for Community and Technical College Education – http://www.legis.state.wv.us/joint/PERD/perdrep/HEPC_1_2010.pdf

Presiding: Mike Mitchem (McDowell), WVSBA President-Elect

Panelists: 

  • Rob Anderson, Senior Director of Policy – Higher Education Policy Commission (Representing Brian Noland, Ph.D., Chancellor) – http://www.wvhepcnew.wvnet.edu
  • Mr. Mitchem and Members of the WVSBA Executive Board
  • Jim Skidmore, Community and Technical College System of West Virginia Chancellor – http://www.wvctcs.org
10:30 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m.
Grand Ballroom

West Virginia Budget Forecast
http://www.wvgov.org

Presenter: Mike McKown, Director – West Virginia State Budget Office – http://www.wvgov.org/sec.aspx?ID=31

Presiding: Mr. Olcott
11:45 a.m. Adjournment
   


Resources

 

 


Students in West Virginia now have an easier way to plan, apply, and pay for college. The College Foundation of West Virginia (CFWV) was launched earlier this month by First Lady Gayle Manchin and Higher Education Chancellor Brian Noland with help from students at Capital High School in Charleston.

CFWV, an interactive web portal located at www.cfwv.com, is a free resource that guides students in the college search and selection process at their convenience through around-the-clock access. CFWV also includes a statewide media campaign with billboards, television commercials, and radio advertisements designed to promote the Web portal and messages about the accessibility and affordability of higher education across West Virginia.

“As a parent and educator, I am confident that this new resource will promote the importance of education beyond high school for West Virginia’s current and future generations,” Manchin said. “West Virginia invests highly in the state’s colleges and universities and in our students through an array of financial aid programs. It is critical that everyone is aware of the opportunities available to them in order to advance their future and the future of West Virginia.”

Although the official launch of the Web portal and the associated statewide media campaign occurred this month, students at Capital High School and other schools across the state have been using CFWV since late last year.

“This is a great resource that is very user-friendly for students and parents,” Amy Lester, counselor at Capital High School, said. “It provides them with the information needed in a single location, which saves time and reduces confusion.”

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, in conjunction with other entities such as Regional Educational Service Agencies (RESAs), has provided training to about 300 educators. This training has enabled counselors and teachers to assist students with completing college applications and applying for financial aid such as the PROMISE Scholarship Program.

Since the training began, more than 20,000 student accounts have been created. Students are encouraged to create a CFWV account when submitting college and financial aid applications. Students and families also can use many features on CFWV without creating an account. Although students can navigate the Web portal with assistance from counselors, teachers, and/or parents, they also are able to navigate the portal independently.

CFWV provides a variety of features in addition to college and financial aid applications. While on the Web portal, students have access to tools to help identify careers and programs of study by examining interests and skill sets. The Web portal also provides ACT, SAT, and GRE testing tools that can help students improve their test scores and feel more prepared for the exams.

CFWV is a partnership among the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education, the West Virginia Department of Education, West Virginia GEAR UP, the Governor’s 21st Century Jobs Cabinet, and a host of individual college access entities, which have broad expertise in helping students plan, apply, and pay for college. CFWV provides students and their families with the resources needed to make informed decisions regarding all aspects of college planning.

Refer to https://secure.cfwv.com/Default.aspx

Source: Governor’s Communications Office

 


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

 

 

 

The National School Boards Association supports and commends First Lady Michelle Obama's initiative to combat widespread childhood obesity.

"This initiative is an excellent opportunity to focus attention on a problem that has the potential to shorten the lifespan of future generations and dramatically affect our already-struggling economy." – NSBA Executive Director Anne Bryant

Anne L. Bryant, NSBA's executive director, said the initiative is an excellent opportunity for school districts and the public to work together to improve student nutrition and physical fitness.

"School boards are acutely aware of the importance of ensuring that children have access to healthy and nutritious food," Bryant said. "This initiative is an excellent opportunity to focus attention on a problem that has the potential to shorten the lifespan of future generations and dramatically affect our already-struggling economy."

Working with and through state school boards associations, NSBA announced that it will help identify at least one local school board member in every state to serve as a visible champion in the campaign against childhood obesity. NSBA also will work with the states to promote participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Healthier US School Challenge.

Bryant noted that numerous studies have shown a direct correlation between health and academic achievement.

"The First Lady is right on the mark when she says that commonsense, innovative solutions are needed to empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their children," Bryant said. "To be successful, this initiative will require local, state, and federal agencies to work together toward a common goal."

NSBA's School Health Programs works with state associations and the federal government to develop policies that local school boards can adopt to support student health. Information and materials on childhood obesity can be found at: www.nsba.org/schoolhealth. The new Web site promoting the Obama initiative is www.letsmove.gov.

Source: National School Boards Association

 

 

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.


check1st  Day - January 13, 2010: First day of session. (WV Const. Art. VI, §18)

check20th  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

 

"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=SB143intr.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. Second Reference to Senate Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB343intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=343

Senate Bill 391. Relating to county board of education members' eligibility. House First Reading Special Calendar February 18. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB391 eng.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=391 (NOTE: Senate-passed version)


 
House Bills

House Bill 2542. "Jason Flatt Act of 2010.”   Second Reference House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2542 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=2542

House Bill 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)

House Bill 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 3123. Relating to donation and transfer of surplus personal computers and other information systems, technology and equipment for educational purposes. Referred to House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb3123 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=3123

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 ENGSUB.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. Has passed House. Referred to Senate Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=RS

House Bill 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=hb4031intr.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=hb4040ENR.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=hb4041intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4041

House Bill 4145 Providing services and facilities to assist student veterans at state institutions of higher education. Approved by House Veterans’ Affairs and Homestead Security Jan. 20. House Education approved Feb. 16. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4145%20intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4145

House Bill 4211.  Providing supplemental funding for providing alternative programs for limited English proficient students. Second Reference to House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4211intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=

House Bill 4245. Relating to county board of education, eligibility of members and training requirements. House Calendar, First Reading Feb. 18, 2010. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4245intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4245

House Bill 4324.  Extending the expiration date of employment of retired teachers beyond the post-retirement employment limit. Referred to House Finance: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=RS

House Bill 4306. Relating to public school support computation of local share. Referred to House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4306 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4306

House Bill 4349. Updating terms and the process for approval and adoption of instructional resources in public schools. Referred to House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=4349&year=2010&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill

House Bill 4389. Exempting sales of personal tangible property and services by public and private schools from consumer sales tax and service. Referred to House Finance. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4389 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4389

House Bill 4424. Requiring a revised annual personnel evaluation process for all professional personnel that is aligned with the state's new teaching and leadership standards. Defeated by House Education Feb. 16. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4424 intr.htm&yr=2010&sesstype=RS&i=4424

Resolutions


Senate Concurrent Resolution 15. Requesting Joint Committee on Government and Finance study student performance and instructional time. Referred to Senate Rules. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Resolution_History.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=RS&input4=15&billtype=cr&houseorig=s&btype=res
Senate Resolution 17. Encouraging judicial circuits and county boards of education implement new approach to truancy.  Has completed legislative action. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Resolution_History.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=RS&input4=17&billtype=r&houseorig=s&btype=res
Senate Resolution 18. Requesting Senate substance abuse study committee review relationship between substance abuse and dropouts. Referred to Senate Rules Committee. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Resolution_History.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=RS&input4=18&billtype=r&houseorig=s&btype=res
House Concurrent Resolution 57. Requesting a study on improving the efficiency, focus and fairness of the system for holding school systems accountable for preparing students for the 21st Century economy. House Education approved Feb. 16. Referred to House Rules. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2010_SESSIONS/rs/BILLS/hcr57%20intr.htm

House Concurrent Resolution 58.  Designating the annual observance of the week following Labor Day as Labor History Week. House Education adopted Feb. 16 . Referred to House Rules. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2010_SESSIONS/rs/BILLS/hcr58%20intr.htm

House Joint Resolution 101. Commercial and Industrial Tangible Personal Property Tax Exemption Amendment. House adopted Feb. 17. Referred to Senate. Reference: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Resolution_History.cfm?year=2010&sessiontype=rs&btype=res


 

ETC.

 

 

 


Two lawmakers have introduced legislation that would offer a financial incentive to students who graduate early from high school.

Under the program, students would receive 35 percent of their school district’s annual average daily attendance rate for completing graduation requirements early. Based on figures in the proposal, students would be eligible to receive a $1,600 Master Advancement Scholarship for graduating early based on average daily attendance rate of $4,953.51 — though those numbers could change depending on which districts participate.

Students, however, would be required to graduate early and could choose to participate in concurrent enrollment or advanced placement classes.

"There are students that simply want to learn faster," Rep, Steve Thayn, R-Emmett, one of the bill sponsors,  told the Idaho Statesman, "It’s a shame to hold those students back if they could move ahead."

"We’re not opposed to innovative ideas in education," said Sherri Wood, the president of the Idaho Education Association. "We do have some questions about how it would actually roll out and how you would test a first-grader to move forward. How would you ensure they were receiving the quality of education that is needed? You can’t just move a first-grader to fourth grade. There are some social and developmental things that might come into play."

The Idaho Statesman - http://www.idahostatesman.com/1306/story/1072263.html

 


“ A successful leader has to be innovative. If you’re not one step ahead of the crowd, you’ll soon be a step behind.”  - Tom Landry (1924-2000), Dallas Cowboys coach

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

 

“In a perfect world, we can get it done this session. Otherwise, I would hope we could deal with it quietly after session and maybe have the governor call a special session and deal with OPEB in a special session.” – Sen. Brooks McCabe

“I’ve been joking that we’re not from Missouri, but we’re in a ‘show me’ state now.” WVSBA President Rick Olcott on OPEB problem

“Great care should be taken to avoid trading OPEB for worse problems. There is also terrific potential to create access problems by making insurance cost-prohibitive, causing grave consequences for some individuals.” – House OPEB work group statement

“It’s not a simple fix, and the House makes it clear that it’s not a simple fix, that they have to get additional information.” – WVEA President Dale Lee on OPEB

“Forget about all this other stuff, this wishy-washy stuff of how you want the premium structure to be for active employees or this crazy salary schedule for new teachers. That stuff has nothing to do with OPEB. Let’s concentrate on the issues that are OPEB-related only.” – Josh Sword of AFT-WV and PEIA Finance Board

“This resolution will give us a tool in our toolbox to be able to create jobs and help the public sector create jobs in West Virginia.” – House Minority Leader Tim Armstead on a constitutional amendment that could create certain property tax exemptions

 “Basically, with policies like this, all we’re doing is driving educators from the system.” – Del. Dave Pethtel, D-Wetzel, discussing proposed legislation to require annual teacher evaluations. Pethtel is a Wetzel County teacher.

“Over the last three or four years, many county boards of education are now posting nearly every service personnel position as ‘itinerant,’ Consequently, they can transfer folks like that without going through the procedure. They’re actually hiring bus operators and cooks. Then they can just willy-nilly, arbitrarily move folks around all over the place. It’s turned into an end run around the transfer of positions.” – Bob Brown of WVSSPA

 

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.


By Donna Peduto

The West Virginia Board of Education recently selected 19 West Virginia schools and consortiums as the first Innovation Zones in our state.  The interest and excitement Innovation Zones has generated throughout West Virginia has been rewarding for all of the entities involved in passing the School Innovation Zone Act last year. A great deal of the success of this initiative may be credited to the direct involvement and support of our state’s local school boards and local school improvement councils (LSIC). 

The School Innovation Zones Act legislation and West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) Policy 3236 include several provisions to ensure the involvement and collaboration of county school boards and local school improvement councils. Section 7.2 of the policy requires that support from parents, students, county boards of education, local school improvement councils be documented in accordance with W.Va. Code §18-5B-6. These stakeholders were an essential part of the 80 percent vote required to submit an application.

Section 6.3.8 of the policy gives county boards 60 days from the time they receive the plan to review it, with input from the county superintendent, and report its support or concerns, or both, and return the plan to the school principal, faculty senate and local school improvement council.  The input from these boards to their local schools provided valuable insight and a mechanism of support for innovation.


School Board Association members were influential.

After the school board members returned to their districts and shared their excitement locally, the interest and support for the Innovation Zones initiative significantly increased. 

The West Virginia Department of Education presented the Innovation Zone initiative to the West Virginia School Boards Association during its fall meeting. At that time, school board members were asked to create a wish list of what they envisioned for the students in their local districts. The resulting ideas were exceptionally innovative and reflected an intense desire to support educators to take risks on behalf of students. The members exhibited a willingness to give educators greater local control over curriculum, scheduling and staffing in their schools. After the school board members returned to their districts and shared their excitement locally, the interest and support for the Innovation Zones initiative significantly increased. 

The WVDE conducted numerous informational meetings and technical assistance workshops throughout the state during the application process. The feedback received concerning the involvement and support of local school boards and school improvement councils was overwhelmingly positive.  Many schools and districts reported that their local school boards were the first to introduce the Innovation Zone concept and encourage educators during board meetings to apply.

Schools that directly involved their local school improvement councils in the planning process received a vote of support of their innovation plan.  The documentation clearly demonstrated the value of the different perspectives these individuals were able to share with schools. The significance of LSIC involvement in the innovation process is clearly illustrated through the waiver request of state code from one of the schools selected as an Innovation Zone.  The purpose of the waiver is to allow this school to increase the membership of the school’s LSIC beyond the required 11 members to enhance their innovation plan by expanding their active community involvement.


18-5A-2 (a)-Local School improvement council

Nellis Elementary proposes to create a Learning and Improvement Team to assist the school in implementing a number of activities proposed in the Innovation Zone.  Active community engagement is supported when those entities also have a defined voice in school improvement. Nellis Elementary School has identified expanding membership on the school’s Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) as an integral part of (its) Innovation Zone. Therefore, the school is requesting an exception to§18-5A-2 (a) to expand beyond the mandated 11 members to include business partners, 4-H leaders, Scout Leaders and Faith Based Youth Leaders

Local school boards also have an essential role in supporting schools in planning and implementing innovative approaches to increasing student achievement.

The School Innovation Zone Act has served as a catalyst to increase the involvement and importance of the LSIC. This legislation provides schools with the support and flexibility to collaboratively implement innovations, which may currently be restrained by policy or code.  Local school improvement councils have this same support and flexibility according to Chapter 18, Article 5A (3).   Many schools may be unaware that currently the LSIC is the only entity that can request a waiver outside of Innovation Zones. LSICs can encourage all schools or consortiums to exercise their creative visions for students with most of the same flexibility afforded to the selected Innovation Zones. 

Local school boards also have an essential role in supporting schools in planning and implementing innovative approaches to increasing student achievement. As a former classroom teacher, I know how important support and input from a local school board is to school educators and their administrators. The collective expertise and array of experiences these members provide is often times an untapped resource for schools.

The potential of local school boards and school improvement councils to promote the essential conditions of the Innovation Zone initiative throughout our state is paramount. Innovation Zones are currently involved in creating their implementation plan for their innovation design. School boards and improvement councils will play an essential role in assisting, supporting and reviewing this plan. In addition, boards and councils are in a unique position to help all West Virginia schools leverage existing resources and human capital to break down existing thinking patterns and develop new ways of doing and seeing things to promote student growth through innovation.

Donna Peduto is the Innovation Zone coordinator 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”