WVSBA The Legislature

March 6, 2009 - Volume 29 / Issue 7

Overview Info

Stats

Day of Session 24th
Days Remaining 36
Bills Introduced:
(Including agency/department rules bills)		 1455

 

Quote::"We’re going to use this money (federal stimulus funds) to what we’re calling ‘building the back porch’ in West Virginia, to provide that place for teachers to engage in research-based professional development…” – State Superintendent Steve Paine as quoted in the Charleston Daily Mail.

Inside

News


By Jim Wallace

A bill to give school districts more flexibility in setting the school calendar is moving through the Senate.

The Senate Education Committee, as well as a subcommittee devoted specifically to the calendar bill, finished work on the bill, Senate Bill 249, early this week. The bill then went to the Senate Finance Committee for further consideration, because of certain financial implications it could have.

In his State of the State address, Gov. Manchin proposed what he called “a simple fix” to ensure that students would receive a full 180 days of instruction each year. His proposal was to have the instructional term begin five days earlier in August and allow school boards to go longer into June if needed to meet the 180-day requirement. But the Senate bill goes further than that.

The bill would remove the restrictions against beginning instructional days before August 26 and against ending them after June 8. It also would require the first semester to finish before Christmas break in an effort to provide more possible makeup days during the second semester.

 

Bill includes financial incentive to avoid exceeding employees’ contract period.

One key provision added in the Senate bill would allow school boards to exceed the 43-week contract periods for most teachers and school service personnel, but they would have to pay for it. They could apply to the state for funding to pay for the additional days, but the costs would be split 50-50 between the state and the school districts. Sen. Larry Edgell, chairman of the school calendar subcommittee, said that would give the school boards a financial incentive to get the 180 days in without an extension.

“If they go to fooling with their calendar and they don’t allow for snow days and makeup days, they’re going to have to pick up half the cost of these days.” – Sen. Larry Edgell

“If they go to fooling with their calendar and they don’t allow for snow days and makeup days, they’re going to have to pick up half the cost of these days,” he said. “There’s no reason that we should do that, even in a year like we’ve had this year. There’s no reason we should not be able to get all of our instructional days in, taking Preston and Pendleton counties as an exception.”

Attempts at providing more flexibility in the school calendar have come up in previous legislative sessions, but the many cancellations caused by this year’s winter weather have spurred the governor and the Legislature to take action in this session. Under the current setup, almost all school districts will fall short of the 180 instructional days this school year.

Edgell, D-Wetzel, said the momentum on the issue has helped with such provisions as fitting the first 90 days of instruction in before Christmas break.

“It appears that everybody’s very in favor of finishing before Christmas.” – Sen. Larry Edgell

“We’ve had requests for years to do that” he said. “We’ve just never been able to get it done. With the governor’s backing this year of starting a little bit earlier, then that flexibility came up and it appears that everybody’s very in favor of finishing before Christmas.”

Although leaders of unions representing teachers and school service workers have expressed concern about other aspects of the bill, Edgell said no one seems to be opposed to this provision.

“I’ve been back to my schools for the last two weeks, three weeks actually, and said, ‘Look, here I am. I’ve got the school calendar in my committee. We’re working on it now,’” he said. “And the first suggestion that I had offered to them was to have the first semester over by Christmas. I’ve not had one person e-mail me or call me or personal contact with them that were against it.”

 

Extra time off at Christmas would be an option.

Another provision of the bill would allow school districts to extend Christmas break by up to seven days. Those days would be considered to be outside the calendar. They would be non-paid days for teachers and school service personnel and not be counted against the 43-week limit for their annual employment period.

To further help school boards schedule makeup days, after February 1, they could reschedule Instructional Support and Enhancement (ISE) days as instructional days.

Most of these details came in Monday’s meeting of the subcommittee on the school calendar. It was the Senate subcommittee’s first meeting on its own after two joint meetings over the previous two weeks with the counterpart House subcommittee. The two subcommittees met together to take testimony from several interested parties, but not everyone who wanted to speak got the chance. Consequently, the Senate subcommittee gave union leaders a chance to express their concerns.

 

Union leaders have other ideas.

Bob Brown, executive director of the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association, said his organization believes school systems should do everything within their powers to provide 180 days of instruction. The union also agrees that the first semester should be finished before Christmas, he said.

“The county boards of education are going to have to step up to the plate and do a better job when they design the school calendar,” Brown said. They already have enough flexibility to do that, he said, considering that they have 215 days to work from.

Brown, who said he also was speaking for Judy Hale of the American Federation of Teachers, said he wasn’t convinced that expanding the dates for scheduling the calendar would fix the problem. For example, he said, giving school boards more time to work with would probably result in more districts taking a full week off at Thanksgiving.

“Frankly, the best thing you could do to fix the calendar is to start deer season on a Saturday.” – WVSSPA Executive Director Bob Brown

“Frankly, the best thing you could do to fix the calendar is to start deer season on a Saturday,” Brown said. He also questioned the practice of some school systems that let students out to attend the state high school basketball tournament. In some cases, he said, districts let their all of their students off when only one school is involved in the tournament.

“It rings a little hollow with me,” Brown said of the expressed need to give districts more days to work with. “With a little creativity, we ought to be able to get 180 days of instruction.”

Brown opposed letting the school calendar extend further into summer. Most school service workers earn less than $22,000 a year, he said, so they depend on augmenting their school pay with summer jobs. “For them, it’s a loss of pay,” he said of the possibility the school year could encroach further into summer break.

In a parting shot, Brown also said he didn’t understand how some superintendents with 261-day contracts end up working only 240 days.

 

WVEA suggests fewer tests and more parental responsibility would help.

Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, noted that many states require fewer than 180 days of instruction, and Finland, which often ranks at the top of international comparisons of school systems, requires students to attend only 170 days a year.

“There’s nothing magical about 180 days of instruction.” – WVEA President Dale Lee

“There’s nothing magical about 180 days of instruction,” Lee said. He also noted that West Virginia schools had averaged 178 days of instruction over the past five years. Teachers are professionals, he added, and many of them prepare additional lessons for students to compensate for canceled school days.

If teachers are asked to work more, Lee said, they must be paid for it. He said the WVEA is willing to look at various methods for addressing concerns about the calendar, including adding five days to teachers’ contracts.

“We’re willing to discuss anything that will help our students in the classroom,” Lee said, but added that the end date must be closely guarded. He said he would rather do something about the more than 30 days of testing that are scheduled each year, suggesting that less testing and more instruction would be better.

In addition, Lee blamed many parents for not living up to their responsibility to make sure their children attend school each day. When Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, asked what he meant by that, Lee said many parents are too quick to let their children skip school. In some cases, he said, doctor’s excuses have become burdensome.

Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, asked if Lee was comfortable having the first semester finish before Christmas. Lee said most high school teachers would like to do that, so he was willing to consider that change.

 

Full committee has only a few questions about school calendar changes.

When the bill reached the full Senate Education Committee, members took just a short time to consider it before approving it.

Sen. Mike Green, D-Raleigh, wanted to know when the new calendar rules would take effect. Staff attorney Hank Hager said that had not been determined yet.

Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, wanted to know about a provision that would let school systems make up missed time by extending the length of school days, which was referred to as “banked” time. Hager said banked time could be used to avoid giving up development days, but non-instructional days must be used first.

Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, asked if a school district would use ISE days to make up for canceled school days, could it then use banked time for professional development. Hager said that wasn’t covered in the bill. Browning said he wanted to give that possibility further consideration.

 

Bill would cost college students with two alcohol violations their financial aids.

After approving the school calendar bill and sending it to the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Education Committee spent most of its Tuesday meeting considering Senate Bill 113. That bill, which Green introduced at the request of a constituent, would provide for revoking college financial aid for students with two violations of alcohol laws within five years.

One of the concerns senators had about that bill was how the record-keeping would be managed. Members approved an amendment proposed by Browning for any agency affected to have the authority to create reporting rules.

The committee also narrowly approved an amendment offered by Oliverio, whose district includes West Virginia University, to remove such minor violations as underage consumption, underage possession and violations of municipal open-container ordinances from being considered toward the “two strikes” in the bill. That leaves more serious charges, including driving under the influence, public intoxication and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, for being considered in revoking financial aid. The vote to approve the amendment was 6-5.

Another amendment approved by the committee would add narcotics-related charges to the offenses covered by the bill. Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, who proposed the amendment, said it didn’t seem fair to punish a student caught driving after drinking and not punish a student caught driving after using drugs.

The committee approved the amended version of the bill and sent it to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further consideration.

Later in the week, the Senate Education Committee approved two other bills. Senate Bill 66 would lay out the procedure for county school boards to return unused donated personal leave days back to donors. Senate Bill 435 would establish the Learn and Earn Cooperative Education Program involving eligible community and technical colleges and participating companies.

-- 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.

 


By Jim Wallace

Reaction to Gov. Manchin’s proposal for a “school innovation zones” bill has been generally positive, although many people have been uncertain about what it would mean. Department of Education officials addressed many of lawmakers’ questions on Tuesday in a presentation to a House Education subcommittee.

In his State of the State address, Manchin said the bill would “allow school staff to implement improvement strategies that currently are restrained by state Board of Education policies or antiquated state law.”

Deputy Supt. Jack McClanahan said West Virginia law doesn’t permit charter schools, which other states have used to try out innovative education methods, but some schools have expressed interest in attempting certain innovations.

“This [bill] would give them the opportunity to put forth plans to make change,” he said.

Lydia McCue, a special assistant to Supt. Steve Paine, expanded on that by saying the bill is not about throwing everything out.

“It has nothing to do with charter schools. It pays homage to the professional capabilities of teachers and principals. Principals feel overregulated.” – Lydia McCue of Education Department

“It has nothing to do with charter schools,” she said. “It pays homage to the professional capabilities of teachers and principals. Principals feel overregulated.”

 

Prototyping principle is a key ingredient.

 The Innovation Zones proposal calls for using the business principle of prototyping to “allow local educators to use their own creativity and innovative ideas to develop effective school-wide models for enhancing 21st century student achievement.” The creation of such zones would allow policymakers to:

  1. Collect information on the effects of specific innovations on student achievement;
  2. Document design and process strategies that enhance or impede success;
  3. Determine if such practices should be brought to statewide scale through changes in practice, policy or code; and
  4. Determine a statewide process for approving, monitoring and evaluating requests for waiver of state policy and code.

The proposal takes the position that other improvement efforts tend to place 21st century learning practices into organizations systems designed for 20th century learning, so potential positive results are diminished. “Innovation zones will allow educators at the school level to rethink such areas as the extended and year-round school, allocation of time within the school day, professional development processes, professional advancement, facility design, utilization of technology, and other such areas that impact ability to develop 21st century learners,” the proposal states.

McCue said the bill would establish a four-year process. One of those years would be devoted to planning, and the other three would be devoted to implementation, she said. That would allow officials to see what works and what should be taken statewide, she said.

 

Teachers have five conditions.

The department has met with teachers’ organizations to discuss the proposal, McCue said, and there are five conditions they consider non-negotiable for schools applying for innovation zone status:

  1. Significant contribution to preparing students for 21st century learning – In determining the innovation zone focus, the school staff must determine what must be changed or improved to better prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary in the 21st century. The staff must be able to defend the selection based on the particular demographics and/or needs of students and West Virginia’s vision for 21st century learning.
  2. Critical mass of support – The targeted innovation must be derived from the creative vision of the local school staff and have the support and commitment of a critical mass of the staff within the school. A school will not be selected as an innovation zone site unless at least 80 percent of the staff is committed to and engaged in the success of the initiative. Likewise, during the four-year design and implementation process, this same percentage of staff must be decision-makers in the design, implementation and refinement of the initiative.
  3. Teacher collaboration and shared leadership – The implementation design will include processes for ongoing teacher communication, planning, collaboration and problem-solving. There must be ongoing opportunities for teachers to identify organizational barriers, solve problems and make decisions about the desired innovation. It must also include effective means of enhancing teacher formal and informal leadership throughout the process.
  4. Teacher professional growth – The protocol design must include teacher-designed regular and ongoing embedded professional development. The professional development may be delivered in a variety of ways, including professional learning communities. Professional development activities must relate to the desired innovation but also to the implementation processes, such as effective teacher collaboration and shared leadership.
  5. Student/parent/community engagement – To create a broad partnership that supports the desired innovation, each school site must create a strategy for engaging students, parents and appropriate community members. This engagement must include two-way communication strategies that inform the innovation implementation process and appropriate involvement processes that create a common focus and sense of unified action.

“We don’t see this as a top-down initiative. We’re trying to get the innovative ideas to bubble up.” – Lydia McCue

In reference to the second condition, McCue said, “We don’t see this as a top-down initiative. We’re trying to get the innovative ideas to bubble up.”

 

Innovation Zone Support Committee would be created.

The plan calls for the state superintendent to oversee the development and implementation of innovation zone schools, which would include ongoing communication with various interested parties in public education and higher education. It also calls for the superintendent to appoint an Innovation Zone Support Committee, consisting of “professionals knowledgeable about 21st century concepts, effective change processes and the conditions that promote innovation.” That committee would oversee procedures, guidelines, selection processes, support systems and evaluation protocols associated with the innovation zone initiative.

Each innovation zone site would have a teacher leader and principal representative on the committee. The idea is for the committee to act as a “problem-solving/assistance group.” The support system would be individualized for each school’s needs, based on interviews with staff.

McCue said “a whole host” of proposals could be considered for innovation zone projects. For example, she said, a project could deal with a content area like a better way to teach reading.

Before a school submits an application, the staff must receive approval from the local superintendent and school board. Also, the superintendent must determine what local support the project would get and what potential waivers of local policy or practice might be needed.

The plan says that schools that want to be innovation zones “must be given some latitude in determining what must be ‘taken off their plate’ in addition to things they want to add as part of their desired innovation.”

 

Ideas should not come from top officials.

McCue again emphasized that state Supt. Steve Paine “is very concerned that this be marketed as a bottom-up initiative.” She said he doesn’t want superintendents pressuring school staff members to apply. Site visits would determine how dedicated to their projects the staffs at the applying schools are, she said. McCue added that the department would not want to attempt an innovation zone project at any school in distress, because such a school would have more pressing issues to resolve first.

The timeline for the innovation zone concept calls for the department to put out a request for applications within the next few months. Selected schools would then have until May 2010 to develop their plans, although those requesting exemptions from state code would have to submit them prior to be beginning of the Legislature’s next regular session in January 2010.

In June and July 2010, the Innovation Zone Support Committee would evaluate the quality of the school plans and their potential to further 21st century education goals and then recommend to the state school board and the Legislature which schools should receive code or policy waivers.

August 2010 through July 2013 would be the implementation phase. The committee and Department of Education personnel would help determine ways that fiscal and human resources could be leveraged or realigned to support school goals. That period also would be used for collecting data to determine whether any of the projects could be scaled up for use across the state.

“We would want no more than 20 [innovation zone schools]. Ten would be a better idea.” – Lydia McCue

“We would want no more than 20,” McCue said of the desired number of innovation zones. “Ten would be a better idea.”

 

Wide range of projects would be considered.

In response to a question about whether an innovation zone project might include after-school or summer planning work for teachers, McCue said that might be possible. However, she added that no one would force them to do anything.

The subcommittee’s chairman, Delegate Stan Shaver, D-Preston, asked what schools could do differently with time management.

“Anything that makes sense,” McCue replied. “We regulate them in just about every subject area.”

Delegate Tiffany Lawrence, D-Jefferson, noted that both of her parents are teachers and wondered whether a project must be based on curriculum or whether teaches could “think outside the box.” She added that some Virginia teachers have been incorporating economic development into their lessons. McCue said the department wants to be flexible and not close the door on ideas that haven’t been considered yet.

“I’m trying very hard not to be skeptical here. Innovation is a beautiful word.” – Delegate Brady Paxton

Delegate Brady Paxton, D-Putnam, said, “I’m trying very hard not to be skeptical here. Innovation is a beautiful word.” But he said he was concerned that many schools might want to go too far in making changes.

“I don’t think that we’ll have 10 trillion applications, but I think we’ll have some,” McCue said.

“Keep talking,” Paxton responded. “I’m still thinking.”

Delegate Ricky Moye, D-Raleigh, said he was considering what might happen if entrepreneurs were in charge of a project. His concern was about whether a school would have to keep going back through the waiver process to made needed changes that might not have been seen at first.

McCue conceded that it does take time to get waivers, but the innovation zone program would create a process to make that happen more smoothly. McClanahan added that once a project is in the system adjustments could be made more quickly.

Moye wondered what types of changes would require legislative approval. McClanahan said calendar changes and personnel issues would be examples.

 

Program would be similar to a national initiative.

Another of Moye’s concerns was how the innovation zone program would fit into national education efforts. McClanahan said it is similar to the $5 billion Race to the Top Fund, which is part of the $100 billion for education in the federal economic stimulus bill. “This is a miniature of that,” he said.

Shaver asked whether any aspects of education are not eligible for waivers from state code or policy. McClanahan said assessment policies could not be waived because of the need to adhere to federal requirements.

Delegate Josh Stowers, D-Lincoln, said he thought teacher buy-in for an innovation zone project would be critical. But he wondered how that would be determined and whether it might involve a faculty vote. McCue said it likely would have to involve some sort of secret ballot. McClanahan said that aspect of each project would be spelled out in its procedures.

“I’m tickled to death to see us talk about innovation zones.” – Delegate Woody Ireland

Delegate Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie, said he thinks education is still being delivered largely in the same way it has been done since the 1800s. “I’m tickled to death to see us talk about innovation zones,” he said. His preference would be to have programs that would focus on reading and language skills in the early years. He asked if schools could work together on projects.

Nothing would prohibit schools from learning from each other, McCue replied. But McClanahan added that each school would have to vote separately on participating in such projects.

Delegate Walter Duke, R-Berkeley, asked whether West Virginia was trying to reinvent the wheel with this program or follow the lead of other states. McClanahan replied that Colorado, Washington and a few other states have similar programs.

House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, asked what the incentive would be for schools to delve into innovation zone projects. McCue said the department just would let them know that if they have good plans, state officials would do everything they could to support them.

 

Funding would be based on teacher numbers.

In regard to funding, McClanahan said the department would think in terms of the number of teachers involved rather than the number of schools involved, because some schools are much bigger than others.

Poling said lawmakers already have made bold steps in changing the School Aid Formula, so it would be difficult for them to put in more money. McCue replied that not all ideas would take a lot of money.

Lawrence asked if a whole school must be involved in a project. McClanahan said the answer to that was probably yes. He said service personnel might even be included in the vote, because a project might affect the hours of school operation or other aspects related to their jobs.

David Mohr of the House Education Committee’s staff said the innovation zone bill, as drafted, calls for all employees of a school to be involved in innovation zone decisions.

At the end of the subcommittee meeting, Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, happened to come into the room, so Shaver took the opportunity to ask him what he thought the Senate might do with the innovation zone bill.

“I don’t predict where the Senate might move,” Plymale said. “I do think it’s a good piece of legislation that we need to address.”

-- 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.

 


By Jim Wallace

Members of the House Education Committee gave their approval to three bills this week, including one, House Bill 2470, that would exempt all schools, public or private, from paying consumer sales and service taxes.

The exemption would cover sales of tangible personal property and services up to $200,000 a year. Sales beyond $200,000 in one year would be subject to the tax.

A second bill, House Bill 2639, would allow more teachers to be reimbursed for approved course work by limiting the amount of course work for which any one teacher may be reimbursed. It also removes a division between reimbursement for certification renewal and reimbursement for additional endorsement. Previously, the law limited reimbursement for either type of course work to no more than 75 percent of the total funds appropriated.

Automatic tire chains would qualify for state funding.

The third bill, House Bill 2849, would require automatic tire chains to be considered as standard equipment on all new school buses. Staff Attorney David Mohr explained to committee members that, under current state code, school districts that want the automatic chains must bear the additional cost for them on their own. By passing this bill, he said, the Legislature would allow state funds to be used for their purchase as part of the State Aid Formula.

In response to questions, Mohr said the automatic tire chains add about $2,500 to the cost of a school bus. The total annual cost to the state if the bill becomes law is estimated to be about $60,000, he said. Because of that cost, the bill now goes to the House Finance Committee for consideration, as do the other two bills.

 

School Aid Formula gets much attention.

On Thursday, the committee spent most of its session hearing a presentation from Joe Panetta, executive director of the Office of School Finance, on the School Aid Formula. This was largely for the benefit of several delegates who are new to the Education Committee this year.

Panetta said that, with one exception, the budget proposed by Gov. Manchin is the same as the budget the Department of Education recommended. The only significant increases in the education budget over last year are for higher costs for coverage of employees through the Public Employees Insurance Agency and for paying off the debt of the Teachers’ Retirement System, he said. About $41 million more is needed for the retirement system’s unfunded past service liability, because of losses in the stock market, he said.

Without PEIA and TRS, state funding for the formula would decrease.

Delegate Walter Duke, R-Berkeley, suggested that the state would actually be putting less into the School Aid Formula this year if not for PEIA and the Teachers’ Retirement System. Panetta said that is true.

The budget accounts for a slight increase in enrollment statewide. Delegate Stan Shaver, D-Preston, wondered if that was due to the enrollment of four-year-olds in new early childhood programs. That accounts for most of the increase, Panetta replied, but there also have been increases in grades one through eight, particularly in certain coal-mining counties. He said that seems to indicate that some families moved back to West Virginia as a result of the boom in the coal industry in recent years.

 

Teachers want more local share money to be used for salaries.

Delegate Tim Ennis, D-Brooke, told Panetta that some local teaching groups had expressed concern that money lawmakers put into the local share portion of the formula for improving salaries was not being used for that purpose in many counties. Panetta said nothing in the legislation required school boards to use the additional money for salaries, although legislative committees indicated they preferred it to be used that way and asked state Supt. Steve Paine to encourage boards to do that.

As he has done in other legislative meetings, Panetta took some time to explain comprehensive changes made in the Public School Support Program beginning with the current school year. Because the changes eventually will cost the state an additional $31 million a year, he said, they are being phased in over five years.

All districts should benefit from formula changes.

A “hold harmless” provision protects any county that might have received less money during the phase-in process, Panetta said, but in the end, every county should be better off under the new version of the formula. The counties that could have been hurt without the “hold harmless” provision are those with high special education enrollment, he said. Panetta added that there has been a lot of emphasis to help students so they don’t end up in special education, and it seems to be paying off.

Although he refrained from going point by point through a PowerPoint presentation he had prepared, Panetta spent about an hour explaining various aspects of the School Aid Formula to committee members. At the end, House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, commented, “For the new members of the committee who are just learning about the formula, just keep digging. I am.”

-- 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.

 


By Jackie Ayres

School board members across the state are asking for a change in the compensation system used to pay them.

They say the stipend of $160 per meeting is not commensurate with their everyday responsibilities, and a bill is expected to be introduced to the Legislature in the next two weeks requesting more money.

West Virginia School Board Association president Rick Snuffer — who is also the Raleigh County BOE president — says the state should pay county board members at least half of the salary paid to county commissioners.

The salary of a county commissioner in Raleigh County is $36,960, whereas a school board member receives about $4,500 annually.

“We’re the only elected officials who are on this kind of system,” Snuffer said.

“Ever other official — county commissioner, legislator — is paid a salary.”

Snuffer says the Raleigh County Board of Education, and nearly every other county board in the state, is the largest employer of its county.

“Do you want just anyone running that corporation? Or do you want someone who’s knowledgeable, not only in business but in education, and has the students’ best interest at heart running it?” Snuffer asked.

Snuffer says some counties are having trouble attracting qualified members to fill open slates, and he deems it necessary to increase the compensation in order to attract good people to school boards.

School board members attend committee meetings and school functions, in addition to the two-plus meetings per month, but are only paid to attend 15 meetings per year.

“The public looks at it and says you get paid $160 a meeting and only meet for a few hours. They don’t take in the fact of all the time we spend working — we’re not members just at those meetings. We’re a board member 24/7,” Snuffer said.

Snuffer says he’s not discounting the work county commissioners do, but thinks the work of school board members is congruent and their compensation should reflect that.

“In Raleigh County, the commission budget is about one-tenth of ours. They have a lot of responsibilities, but we do too.”

Snuffer says asking legislators for 50 percent of a county commissioner’s pay is “very negotiable.”

The school board association hired Marshall University to do a study to determine the fairest way to compensate members for their time and the study indicated county commissioners’ pay is the most equitable match.

“County commissioners’ pay is set up in seven different levels based on the tax base for that county. That almost coordinates one-to-one for board of education budgets and responsibilities.”

But according to Fayette County school board president Dave Arritt, not all board members are looking for a pay raise.

“I didn’t run to be on the school board for money,” he said.

“When I first ran in 1980, I think they were getting $20 a meeting. And then they raised it to $40. If I wanted the money the county commission gets, if that’s what I was interested in, I would’ve run for county commission.”

According to Arritt, nobody on the Fayette County board is looking for a raise.

He says his board was not approached to vote on the issue and says the bill is coming from the state executive board, not individual school boards.

“I’m interested in this school system and I want to have a good, healthy school system. I don’t know many people that run for the school board for money.”

Raleigh County board member Gordie Roop said he would serve on the school board regardless of the compensation. However, it would be nice to be more adequately compensated for serving his community.

Roop says he generally spends three days per week away from his personal business and puts an average of 20 to 40 hours per month into serving his county school board.

Kanawha County Commission president Kent Carper said he thinks school board members are “woefully undercompensated.”

Speaking to The Register-Herald as a taxpayer and an individual who says he has no plans of ever running for a school board seat, Carper said he doesn’t see how counties find anybody to serve on a school board.

“If you look at the budget they have to manage and the personnel — their salary should be commensurate with that,” he said.

“No one can disagree that what they do is one of the most important functions we have. We’ve got a lot of really wonderful folks who have the financial ability to serve. But there are also people we really need to get on school boards that can’t afford to put time in without the proper compensation.”

Snuffer says the bill is set to have a clause in it mandating it will not go into effect until the economy improves.

He says board members will not receive a raise until the state can afford to give all teachers a pay raise.

Jackie Ayres is a Register-Herald reporter. This article is reprinted by permission of the Raleigh Register-Herald. It was published March 1, 2009.


Administrative Perspective


By Martha Dean, Ed.D.

This week, the work continues on existing bills, and both the Senate and House Education Committees passed out some bills, which I believe have all gone to Finance this week. 

There has been some fun this week centered on what is being called the “Barbie Doll” bill (to ban the sale of those dolls). There has been some talk about an associated bill, the “GI Joe” bill since that doll could place undue influence on males to join the Army.

To my way of thinking, the most substantive, and the most controversial bill is the calendar bill, Senate Bill 249. This bill proposes several changes which I will enumerate and comment on here: 

First, it would eliminate the earliest beginning date and latest ending date from the calendar. That would certainly give great flexibility to superintendents and county boards as they prepare and approve the school calendar. There will be special interest groups who are interested in things such as the football season and two-a-day practices and families who like to vacation either at Easter or in June who would like to influence these concerns.

The second big change is to require that the first semester end before the Christmas break or no later than December 23. I have had a couple of superintendents who have looked at this and tell me that it is certainly feasible to do that. It certainly has the advantage of not having a break before semester tests and the possibility of a big snow storm that either delays the dates of the tests or cancels days that were to be used for review. 

Those of you who went to college about the same time that I did will remember that colleges used to have semester tests about the third week in January. I also remember using time during Christmas break to work on final projects for some classes. They seem pleased with their current schedules, which end the semester before Christmas.

The bill did not change the months that must have Instructional Support and Enhancement (ISE) days but does allow for ISE days to be used for instruction of students under certain circumstances. This really doesn’t add any flexibility to the calendar since ISE days are already counted as instructional days. However, it does make sense to use that time to work with students if they have missed other days due to snow.

It clarifies that the seven holidays enumerated be scheduled during the 200-day employment term. Again, there is no change aimed at increasing the number of instructional days here, but it is good to be clear.

At least three days are to be used prior to the instructional term for the preparation of opening of school. This changes that requirement from “before the (26th of August).”

It also changes the requirement about one day being scheduled after June 8 to prepare for the closing of school to being after the instructional term.

The bill keeps the provision that at least four Outside the School Environment days be scheduled after March 1. This, of course, gives days that can be made up because of snow. It further allows the county board to change the instructional day by allowing additional minutes that can be counted toward making up the missed days.

The most controversial change in the bill is that school boards must extend the school year if there is no other way to meet the 180 days of instruction. The cost of extending the school year is to be borne half by the local school board and half by the Legislature.  The process is spelled out in the bill. My concern is that school boards would have to plan for the contingency of snow days, causing them to have to extend the calendar. 

This money would have to be set aside because it would have to be paid to personnel within the school year and couldn’t be paid if there was not sufficient money in the bank.  I have not heard what this could cost. 

But, thinking about 90 percent of all boards’ budgets going toward salaries and related costs and knowing that employees are employed for 200 days, it would make each day cost about one-half of 1 percent of the total budget. That is really rough, but you can see it could be very costly. 

Treasurers could probably calculate this quite quickly for each county, but it is a cost that would be hard to ascertain in advance. Then, there is the issue that some boards supplement salaries from excess levies. Their costs would, therefore, be greater than those boards that don’t fund any part of salaries. 

The issues in this bill deserve a lot more study. I hope that Senate Finance takes the time to get an accurate picture of the cost to local boards.

-- Martha Dean, Ed.D.,is the executive director of the state School Administrators Association.

 

WVSBA Briefs

 

The following individuals are participating as “members of the Mountain County Board of Education” and Superintendent Milton Ambler – Pete Thaw (Kanawha) – as well as persons who form delegations appearing before the Board in what is, in the least, an interesting meeting filled with allusions to soccer, Gumbo’s – a local eatery – and the Dinner Belle – another local eatery, which happens to be owned by Board Member Bonneville “Bonnie” Ledford – Sally Cann (Harrison).

On a serious note, the Mountain County Board of Education Role-Playing Exercise will introduce members to effective meeting management, use of parliamentary procedure, how to – or not to – deal with delegations, and executive sessions.

Association counsel Howard E. Seufer Jr., of Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, will provide analysis and critique of the meeting from a legal perspective.

Theresa Kirk, state Ethics Commission executive director, also will attend.

The following persons will participate in the role-playing, as well:

Given this “cast of characters,” two other individuals are deciding whether or not to assume “roles.”

The session will be held from 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., Friday, March 13.

The Association’s Winter Conference will be held in Charleston at the Marriott Town Center.

Refer to the conference program, which accompanies this article.

Other sessions deal with school climate, a discussion of “innovation zones,” and a Saturday, Feb. 14, plenary session concerning school board dynamics and effectiveness in the 21st Century. Dr. Thomas L. Alsbury, Ed. D., (North Carolina State University), Raleigh, No. Carolina, will facilitate discussions.

For more information regarding the program, please contact the WVSBA Office at 304.346.0571.

 


Winter Conference Program Logo

Thursday, March 12, 2009

  
7:00 p.m.

West Virginia School Board Association Executive Board Meeting

 

Friday, March 13, 2009

  
1:00 p.m.

The Mountain County Board of Education meets for its March Regular Session

WVSBA President Rick Snuffer (Raleigh) presides at this session.

 
2:45 p.m.

Break

 
3:00 p.m.

WV VITAL – 21st Century West Virginia VITAL Survey: Vision for Improving Teaching & Learning (W. Va. Department of Education)

WVSBA President-Elect Rick Olcott (Wood) presides at this session.

 
4:15 p.m.

Adjournment of Afternoon Session (Dinner on Own)

 
7:00 p.m.

The School Board: Dynamics for the 21st Century – Introductory Session

 WVSBA Vice President Mike Mitchem (McDowell) presides at this session.

Curtis Johnson, Ph.D., co-author - Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns      

 
8:45 p.m.

Adjournment

 
 

Winter Conference Program Logo

 

Saturday, March 14, 2009

  
7:00 a.m.

Breakfast

 
8:00 a.m.

Delegate Assembly (Non-training related programming)

 
9:00 a.m.

The School Board – Dynamics for the 21st Century                                   
Financial Officer Howard Corcoran (Ohio) presides at this session.

 
9:15 a.m.

Thomas L. Alsbury, Ed. D., (North Carolina State University), Raleigh, No. Carolina

 
10:30 a.m.

Break

 
10:45 a.m.

Responses  to Dr. Alsbury’s Remarks by various panelists and conference attendees 

 
11:45 a.m.

Adjournment

 

 

 

Resources

 

The West Virginia Department of Education is seeking applications for the Community Leader Service Award.

Strong partnerships between homes, schools and communities are needed to ensure a quality education for all children. The resulting home-school-community collaborations can have positive effects on classroom instruction and student achievement. It is important to recognize those in the local communities who work diligently in these efforts for the benefit of all children.

The West Virginia Department of Education will honor a recipient in 2009 with the first Community Leader Service Award. This award is designed to recognize an individual, organization or business in West Virginia for exemplary work in parent, family and community partnerships with schools to increase student achievement.

Nominations will be accepted until April 1, 2009. For more information about the Community Leadership Service Award, contact Betsy Peterson at 304-558- 2696 or Dr. Pamela Cain at 304-558-2691.

 


The following are several grants available to public schools, educators and school districts.


Source: Public Education Network: http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp

 


  1. √ Opening Day – Jan. 14, 2009: Organizational session to elect officers and open and publish election results (WV Const. Art. VI, §18).
  2. √ First Day -- Feb. 11, 2009: First day of session (WV Const. Art. VI, §18).
  3. √ 20th Day -- March 2, 2009: Submission of Legislative Rule-Making Review bills due (WV Code. §29A-3-12).

41st Day – March 23, 2009: Last day to introduce bills in the Senate and the House (Senate Rule 14)and (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 – March 29, 2009: Bills due out of committees in house of origin to ensure three full days for readings.

50th Day – April 1, 2009: Last day to consider bills on third reading in house of origin. Does not include budget or supplementary appropriation bills (Joint Rule 5b).

60th Day – April 11, 2009: Adjournment at midnight (WV Const. Art. VI, §22).

Source: West Virginia Legislature

 

Commentary


By Dan Page

Raising children to compete in a global economy means West Virginians must embrace a 200-day academic year and be willing to retool the way we approach public education.

With West Virginia teachers looking for pay raises and watching what state legislators do with the school calendar, I note that Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio has proposed a 200-day school year.

His is a meaningful recommendation — a slight move away from the agrarian-based calendar that public schools still use in this age of high technology and suburbs. He said it would bring “Ohio’s learning year up to the international average of 200 days.”

Strickland is on to something. American children must be able to compete and win in an economic competition that will demand excellence in math, science and other school-taught skills.

West Virginia school children, I hope, will be able to compete. Today, state law says they must have 180 days of classroom instruction between specified dates. Our recent inclement weather has made that goal difficult to attain this year.

West Virginia spends 45.6 percent of its annual state budget on public schools — that’s $1.98 billion — and we want to be confident our financial support pays dividends for children who one day will compete in a world economy that demands excellence.

We know that children in India, China and European countries are getting ready. Those nations seem to take school seriously, and 180-day limits are not the rule of law for them. I would argue the children of Williamstown, Coal City and Romney are being shortchanged.

Teachers must be part of the solution. I believe we must retool the way we approach public education. Our schools must change in a world that already has changed and will change more in the future, and teachers must be a part of the shift away from the good, old days.

Many communities, including some in West Virginia, have year-round schools, and they may be the model for the future. They have proven we can alter the way we teach and accommodate teachers.

The future of our nation likely depends on our schools providing a rigorous curriculum and more time in the classroom. That quickly is becoming the conventional thinking.

As a state, we cannot fumble this challenge.

- Reprinted by permission of The State Journal for which Dan Page is editor. Originally posted Feb. 19 , 2009, and updated Feb. 21, 2009.

 

ETC.


Although winter is sliding into spring, there was a growing movement in Massachusetts this winter to crack down on the dangerous practice of sledding. In response to a number of sled-related injuries and deaths in recent years, some communities sought to ban sledding outright, others have erected warning signs, and a state senator introduced a bill that would require children to wear helmets while riding a sled. “There are no brakes on a sled,” said Sen. Steven Penagiotakos.

 


Education, n. That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.

-Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1906

 

“For the new members of the committee who are just learning about the formula, just keep digging. I am.” – House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling after a presentation on the School Aid Formula by Joe Panetta of the Department of Education

“You know what we call a PowerPoint presentation in the House Education Committee? A sleep machine.” – House Education Vice-chairman Brady Paxton after Joe Panetta gave committee members a PowerPoint on the School Aid Formula in written form but avoided going through it orally point by point

“I don’t predict where the Senate might move.” – Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale after a delegate asked him what the Senate might do with legislation for school innovation zones

“I’m tickled to death to see us talk about innovation zones.” – Delegate Woody Ireland

“There’s nothing magical about 180 days of instruction.” – WVEA President Dale Lee in testimony on the school calendar bill

“With a little creativity, we ought to be able to get 180 days of instruction.” – School Service Personnel Association Executive Director Bob Brown in testimony on the school calendar bill


Last Word


Students in West Virginia public schools should have the best teachers, principals and other administrators available, period. Mountain State residents should not be forced to settle for second-best, either because of cronyism or seniority - or both.

Gov. Joe Manchin's 21st Century Jobs Cabinet has suggested changes in state law on how teachers are hired. Some of them, including creation of a new process to evaluate teachers, have not stirred controversy in Charleston.

But others have. One of the panel's recommendations involves seniority. It would allow county school superintendents to reject all applicants for a position if interviews are deemed "unsatisfactory." Then, the vacant position would be "posted" again in order to seek other applicants. That would avoid a situation in which a teacher seeking a new position would have to be hired simply because he or she has applied.

Another controversial recommendation is that hiring standards be the same for new applicants as they are for teachers already working in a county. Currently, the rules are different. We see no reason why that should be so.

Officials of the state's two teachers' unions have vowed to fight the two suggestions. "We've got a war now," commented Judy Hale, president of the state chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.

We hope not. The two controversial suggestions would, in effect, make seniority less a factor in deciding how to fill vacancies. That's a good idea.

Still, the unions' position has some foundation in history. The seniority rules were put in place years ago, after legislators then in office were given plenty of evidence that cronyism and local politics often trumped quality in filling positions in schools. That happens, still, in some situations.

Safeguards against that - not necessarily in the form of seniority rules - need to be built into public school hiring rules. Surely legislators, education administrators and officials of the teachers' unions can come to agreement on a method of accomplishing that.

Reprinted by permission of the Wheeling Intelligencer. This editorial was posted March 3, 2009


*

 

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

Richard Snuffer(Raleigh), 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”