News

OPEB liability outlook gets gloomier

By Jim Wallace

Many lawmakers already realized the state is facing a big problem with OPEB – other post-employment benefits – but when the House Education Committee took up the issue on Monday, Public Employees Insurance Agency Director Ted Cheatham gave members a lot more to worry about.

“I want to spend a moment on doom and gloom.” PEIA Director Ted Cheatham, speaking about OPEB liability

“I want to spend a moment on doom and gloom,” Cheatham said when he made an unscheduled address to the committee.

Jason Haught, PEIA’s chief financial officer, and Susan Smith of the Department of Education’s Office of School Finance, who were both on the agenda, had already given committee members an explanation of why OPEB has become a big concern for officials in both the executive and legislative branches of government.

 

GASB rule was a surprise

In 2004, the federal Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued Statement 45, often referred to simply as GASB 45, to establish standards for the measurement, recognition and reporting of OPEB expenses and related liabilities. “It was really eye-opening,” Smith said.

Since December 15, 2006, state and local governments have been required to account for retiree health care costs and other benefits, such as insurance, under GASB guidelines to a much greater degree than they ever had to do before. That has led to the issue’s gaining increasing attention from PEIA and many other governmental agencies, not only in West Virginia but across the country.

Through PEIA, the state is billing county school boards and other agencies for their annual required contribution to a trust fund set up by law in 2006. Although PEIA has indicated the bills do not have to be paid, others are worried that a court or some other entity someday will require payment. In any event, OPEB is listed as a current liability on school boards’ financial statements. The amounts are so large that they create casual liability for most boards, which is illegal under state law. 

 

Governor wants bill to protect school board members.

Gov. Manchin has proposed legislation (Senate Bill 258 and House Bill 2406) to clarify that local fiscal bodies cannot be held liable for certain deficits. In other words, it would allow schools boards to accrue the casual deficits resulting from OPEB. It would not solve the problem, but it would protect board members from personal and criminal liability as a result OPEB liability.

On Wednesday, the Senate Government Organization Committee took up that legislation but put off action on it. Members want to be sure they pass a bill that would not relieve school boards of their liability for OPEB. The senators want only to relieve school board members from personal and criminal liability for the casual deficits that have been created.

 

Two structural problems created the PEIA-associated liability.

On Monday, Haught explained to the House Education Committee that there are two basic causes for the OPEB liability associated with PEIA coverage. One is that retiring public employees can convert unused leave time for extended health insurance coverage under PEIA, but that accounts for only about 10 percent of the liability, he said.

The bigger issue, Haught said, is that retirees get benefits at a discounted rate. “Their premiums make up 32 percent of the cost of their benefits,” he said. “That’s our issue.”

Another issue for school boards, unlike other state and local government agencies, involves responsibility for the OPEB liability. Although teachers and others who work in the local school systems are employees of the county school boards, most of their salaries are covered by the School Aid Formula. Because of that, the Department of Education and others are working to assign responsibility for the OPEB liability associated with such employees to the state.

 

It gets worse.

All of those points would have been plenty for lawmakers to consider, but Cheatham told them the OPEB problem is even bigger than that. He told them that PEIA was initially able to reduce the OPEB liability by about $50 million in 2007, when it switched coverage for about 37,000 retirees to a Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan. But that savings is gone and the OPEB liability is heading back up to about $7 billion, he said.

At that size, Cheatham said, it would take the state about $660 million annually to pay for the liability. But that $7 billion liability will double in two years and double again in another two years, he said.

“It’s time to wake up. It’s a very big number. The state of West Virginia can’t afford it.” – Ted Cheatham

“It’s time to wake up. It’s a very big number,” Cheatham said. “The state of West Virginia can’t afford it. We’re going to fight this month about how we report on our financial statements, what’s it going to do to our bond ratings, what’s it going to do for retirees and who’s liability is it – Is it the state’s or the counties?’ I know the state’s got a piece of it. We all do, because of the School Aid Formula.”

But he said those issues are eclipsed by the rapid growth of the OPEB liability.

“The problem is it’s a big number,” Cheatham said. “I’m submitting to you, it’s time to wake up. Smell the roses. It’s a very big number.”

 

Future retirees, not current ones, are the biggest problem.

The biggest portion of the looming liability ahead is not the current retiree subsidy, he said, but the liability created by the many employees who will retire in the years ahead.

“We have to put the subsidy out of benefits and into a fixed dollar amount, lock it in and realize that some people are going to suffer as time goes on.” – Ted Cheatham

“That’s the biggest piece of this,” Cheatham said. “About $4 billion to $5 billion of it is coming from the active employees and what they expect to get. We have to fix the liability. That’s my charge to you. We have to put the subsidy out of benefits and into a fixed dollar amount, lock it in and realize that some people are going to suffer as time goes on. But as a state, we cannot afford to fund this thing beyond another two or three years. We just can’t do it. We can continue to ignore it and do [pay-as-you-go] forever, but pretty soon we’ll have the same number of actives as retirees.”

Cheatham said his recommendation is that either the Legislature or the PEIA Finance Board must decide to limit the retiree subsidy to a fixed dollar amount. He doubted the Finance Board would do it, so the decision is really in the hands of lawmakers.

“The Legislature needs to say the retiree subsidy needs to be a fixed dollar amount that is somewhere between $250 and $300 – on average what that subsidy is worth today – per retiree per month,” Cheatham said. “I’m saying the Legislature must protect those retirees right now. Let’s fix the dollar amount at $300 – it no longer trends with medical trend inflation. You could lock that dollar amount in so that OPEB liability will not ever increase.”

There could be some flexibility in the proposal, he said. For example, retirees over age 80 could be exempted from any changes, while younger retirees could be subject to the fixed amount. Further, he said, retirees with only 20 years of service might be limited to $250.

“There are all kinds of things you could do to make things happen,” Cheatham said. “The bottom line is, we’ve got to fix the dollar amount somehow.”

 

Finance Board members worry about their personal liability.

The members of the PEIA Finance Board also has been concerned that they might be considered fiscally irresponsible if they fail to require affected agencies to pay their shares of the OPEB liability, he said. Likewise, they’re concerned that if they wait too long to require payment, the liability will get too big to ever be paid off, Cheatham added.

“The employees of the State of West Virginia and county boards of education are going to have a benefit coming to them that you’re going to have to pay for with tax dollars.” – Ted Cheatham

The spirit of the GASB regulation, he said, is to wake up citizens “that the employees of the State of West Virginia and county boards of education are going to have a benefit coming to them that you’re going to have to pay for with tax dollars.”

Despite that lengthy explanation, delegates still had trouble comprehending what to do about the OPEB liability. Delegate Stan Shaver, D-Preston, asked for further clarification.

“What I’m suggesting to you is the subsidy today in benefit value is something less than $300 per month per retiree,” Cheatham responded. “That’s what West Virginians are paying out of their pocket to give the benefit to retirees. That’s its value. That’s what it’s worth. They’re getting that much more in benefits over what Medicare provides. I’m saying you’ve got $300 next year. It’s trending at six and a half percent. The benefit is trending at that rate. We need to fix the dollar amount to say the most we’ll subsidize is a value of $300 for each retiree in the system on the average.”

To further explain what it would mean to set the liability at a fixed dollar amount, Cheatham said, “The only way to solve this issue is to mess with the retiree benefit for everybody – active employees, everybody. That’s the only way to solve it. We can look the other way and pretend it’s not going to happen. The only way to solve it is to mess with the retiree benefit structure somehow – fix the dollar amount, lower the benefits or find a funding source.”

 

Delegate worries about hurting retirees.

Delegate Ralph Rodighiero. D-Logan, said he understood what Cheatham was suggesting but he was troubled about doing anything that could hurt retirees by lowering the benefits they receive.

“Some retirees haven’t had an increase in 20 years,” Rodighiero said. “How do we justify that?”

“Delegate, I don’t know,” Cheatham responded. “I’m trying not to be emotional about it. I’m just trying to give you the facts as I see them as a business person charged with the financial solvency of that plan and what’s going to happen to it in the future.”

“I could never support nothing that would put all the burden on retirees.” – Delegate Ralph Rodighiero

But Rodighiero said some retirees are barely making ends meet on their fixed incomes. “I could never support nothing that would put all the burden on retirees,” he said.

Cheatham replied that he understood that. He pointed out that PEIA has a good Retiree Assistance Program, which currently is helping about 5,000 people with their health care expenses, so that might ease some of the burden.

 

Health care reform might help.

Delegate Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie, asked how a reduction in health care costs would affect the liability. Cheatham replied that a 10 percent reduction in health care costs would save $20 million.

“Those are the types of numbers, it seems to me, that would help us be able to justify more emphasis on improving the health care delivery system,” Ireland said.

Because Perry Bryant, a member of the PEIA Finance Board, happened to be at the House Education Committee meeting, Delegate Walter Duke, R-Berkeley, asked him for his opinion.

“As a Finance Board, we need to get back to making sure we have as cost-effective a system as is possible to hold down our OPEB liability,” Bryant said. “Just to shift it to the retirees, I don’t think is a solution that (A) will sell or (B) is reasonable given the fact that retires are very unlikely to see an increase in their annuity anytime in the near future.”

Bryant is also executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care and an advocate for health care reform.

Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer, wondered whether national health care reform, which the Obama administration has been discussing, would help.

Haught replied that PEIA would welcome any remedies to the problem, but he thought it would take a long time to see the results of such reform.

Delegate Brady Paxton, D-Putnam, asked how West Virginia compares to neighboring states in terms of OPEB liability. Haught said they are all better off than West Virginia. Cheatham added that only one southeastern state has a worse liability problem than West Virginia.

But some committee members were still troubled about the idea of changing benefits for retirees.

“I personally think it’s unconscionable to promise somebody something for 30 years and then yank the rug out from under them.” – Delegate Ricky Moye

“I personally think it’s unconscionable to promise somebody something for 30 years and then yank the rug out from under them,” Delegate Ricky Moye, D-Raleigh, said. “We, as a state, have to be better at keeping our word than that.”

Moye concluded the meeting by saying, “It’s a beautiful, sunny day, a Monday. It’s strange, but I was having a good day, and now we’ve been visited by the Grim Reaper.”

 

-- 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.

 

Supt. Paine wants some control over stimulus money going to school districts

By Jim Wallace

Concerns about how West Virginia’s education system would be affected by federal stimulus money and by cutbacks in the state budget dominated the discussion when the Department of Education had its budget hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

“I think we’ll get a lot of support for education in the stimulus package.” – Supt. Steve Paine

“I think we’ll get a lot of support for education in the stimulus package,” state Supt. Steve Paine told the senators at the meeting on Tuesday. But he added that the department is prepared to make cuts in spending for the next fiscal year because of a downturn in the state economy that hit in the last several weeks since the department put its budget proposals together.

“The governor is very concerned about the state’s economy,” Paine said. “We have prepared out budget with him and want to be good team players and participants.”

 

School construction money is in the stimulus.

Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, wanted to know more about stimulus money for education that Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., spoke about in the news media. Rockefeller said West Virginia should get an additional $417 million in federal education funding, including $156 million for school construction bonds.

Paine said that school construction money would go directly to school districts through contracts with the federal government instead of being funneled through the state. But Plymale was concerned about implications for the state, such as if a school district would default on its agreement. Paine said he wasn’t sure who would be responsible if a district would default.

“If we’re going to do this, I want to make sure the plans fit in with what the [School] Building Authority is planning to do.” – Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale

“If we’re going to do this, I want to make sure the plans fit in with what the [School] Building Authority is planning to do,” Plymale said. He noted that West Virginia is one of few states with an entity like the School Building Authority, which oversees and coordinates school construction projects.

Paine said the stabilization bill also includes about $256 million that will be controlled by the governor. The first use of that money is to prevent job loss resulting from the recession. After that, most of the money can be used for either higher education projects or the renovation and repairs of existing school facilities. He said about $48 million would be available for that.

 

More flexibility is needed in Title I.

Plymale said he was concerned that some West Virginia schools would be left behind because of the way federal Title I funds for low-income and disadvantaged students are distributed. Paine agreed that is a problem.

“About 50 percent of our schools have been deemed needy and receive Title I funds,” he said. “The non-Title I schools receive no federal assistance, and there is a great equity gap in my opinion.”

Paine said he recently met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and asked for more flexibility in using Title I money. “We could use our federal resources to really get at solutions that transform schools under that stimulus money,” he said.

“It will be very, very hard to expend it in techniques that meet 21st century rigor with the money that we have in the guidelines that Title I gives us.”  -- Sen. Plymale

Plymale suggested the Senate should pass a resolution to request such flexibility in spending to make sure the funding does the most good for the most students in West Virginia. “It will be very, very hard to expend it in techniques that meet 21st century rigor with the money that we have in the guidelines that Title I gives us,” he said.

Paine welcomed such an effort to have “flexibility with Title I resources so they could flow to districts in accordance with what we require of them in their strategic plans. We require them to take a look at student achievement issues, do a needs analysis and then adopt research-based practices where you get a return on your investment for the money spent.”

 

Special education funds could be spent better.

Another type of funding Paine wants to use more effectively is for special education programs.

“No Child Left Behind was all about bringing kids from the bottom up to the middle. We’re not going to win this race to the top…until we educate our best and brightest as well.” – Steve Paine

“I think that we have poured a lot of money into special education in this state and this country,” he said. “But I also think we have a gap of kids we failed to serve, quite frankly, and those are the kids from the middle to the upper levels of performance. No Child Left Behind was all about bringing kids from the bottom up to the middle. We’re not going to win this race to the top – as the secretary and the president call it – until we educate our best and brightest as well. And that means we try to take kids wherever they are and push them to the top, not just to the middle. The focus on NCLB was to push kids to the middle, but we need to get beyond that. That’s why we changed our standards. That’s why we raise the bar.”

Plymale agreed with Paine on that point. “No Child Left Behind, in my estimation, has set mediocrity as a goal and that’s what we’re getting,” he said. “I think that’s sad nationally. I think we’ve done something different in this state.”

Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, also expressed support for Plymale’s proposed resolution to encourage the federal government to give the state more flexibility in using funding.

 

Districts will get money, but the state wants some control.

“We want to give you flexibility, but we want to know what you’re going to do with it,” Unger said. He also asked Paine to give legislators information on how federal stimulus money might be spent on education projects in West Virginia.

Paine said the allocations were not final yet, but the majority of the funding would flow directly to school districts.

“On the front end of that money, we’ve asked for some flexibility to make sure the districts don’t spend that money haphazardly or not directed toward state goals.” – Steve Paine

“On the front end of that money, we’ve asked for some flexibility to make sure the districts don’t spend that money haphazardly or not directed toward state goals,” he said. “We’d like to put some qualifiers on the front end of those federal dollars.”

Unger asked if Paine would be held accountable for the spending of that stimulus money. Paine responded that, when he was at the recent meeting of the Council of Chief State School Officers in Washington, Vice President Joe Biden told him and his colleagues that he would hold them responsible for every penny that is spent.

“So we will set up a separate accounting system,” Paine said. “The money that flows to the districts will be covered differently than the budget monies.”

“When you start that process, I think it’s important to share that with the legislative branch,” Unger said. He added that lawmakers want to look at innovative ways of furthering education goals.

 

Bigger bandwidth is a priority.

In further questioning, Unger wanted to know if the department has any plans to use technology to keep students focused on their school work on days when snow or other situations caused schools to be closed.

“Bandwidth is an idea that has to come to fruition this session in my opinion.” – Steve Paine

“Absolutely,” Paine said. “Bandwidth is an idea that has to come to fruition this session in my opinion.”

Schools need higher bandwidth to carry out many types of technology-based instruction, he said. The stimulus plan includes funding for improving high-tech connections, Paine said, and he would like to see a small part of what’s allocated to West Virginia help provide better bandwidth for the schools. He asked for lawmakers help on that.

“If we have the bandwidth in the schools, then the question is: How do you bring the bandwidth from the homes to the schools?” Paine said. “I will predict there will be models of schools that will function in that way in the next five or six years, maybe sooner in some places.”

Unger said the Department of Education should work closely with the Department of Commerce on getting some of the funding for better bandwidth. Paine said a subcommittee headed by First Lady Gayle Manchin is handling that issue, and a $25 million price tag has emerged. He said Education’s priorities for the funding are:

1. Bandwidth
2. Teacher presentation stations
3. Increased face time for students in front of computers

“We need kids in school as much as we possibly can.” – Steve Paine

Getting back to the proposal to use technology to keep students working on snow days, Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, said he would support it but not at the expense of having students in their classrooms 180 days a year. Agreeing, Paine said, “We need kids in school as much as we possibly can.”

 

The more rigorous curriculum is a recurring theme.

When he gave his formal presentation earlier in the meeting, Paine emphasized that the Department of Education has made West Virginia’s curriculum more rigorous, a point he had made before other legislative committees, include the House Finance Committee and the House Education Committee.

“It’s not good enough to compare yourself to district next door,” he said. “It’s not good enough to compare yourself to states next door. The benchmark is really the international benchmark we have to compete against. We have raised the bar in our curriculum.”

But as he has done elsewhere, Paine told the Senate Finance Committee the emphasis now must be on improving training for teachers.

“I’m really concerned about the support that we’re providing for our educators to teach at that level, because I don’t think that they’re ready for the kind of rigor that we’ve put into our curriculum.” – Steve Paine

“I’m really concerned about the support that we’re providing for our educators to teach at that level, because I don’t think that they’re ready for the kind of rigor that we’ve put into our curriculum,” he said.

Toward the end of the meeting, Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, made a point of stressing the Legislature’s strong commitment to funding the public school system. He passed out a comparison of elementary and secondary school revenue and spending among 16 southeastern states for 2006.

“We do extremely well,” Helmick said. “We make a strong commitment to education.”

West Virginia’s 59 percent of revenue from state sources was second only to Arkansas’s 73 percent. In a table of education spending as a percentage of state general fund budgets, West Virginia’s 47.3 percent was second only to Louisiana’s 48.0 percent. But Helmick said that if lottery funding were included, West Virginia would come out on top at about 52 percent.

Paine said officials in the public school system are very aware of lawmakers’ commitment to funding education and are grateful for it.

 

Redesigning the system is suggested.

With that in mind, Senator Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, suggested that the Education Department should examine its operations with some sort of quality-based analysis, especially as the state faces tighter budgets ahead. He wants Paine to show some leadership in redesigning the system.

“That’s too much money being spent not to find significant savings.” – Sen. Brooks McCabe

“That’s too much money being spent not to find significant savings,” McCabe said. “I think we’ve got the money in the system.”

Paine said that, if his department must make budget reductions, it would do its share. That would include considering changes in the School Aid Formula, he said. Some experts are already working on that, he added.

Still looking for more budget efficiency, McCabe said, “Perhaps your view of reality needs to change a little bit,” Paine responded that his point was well taken.

 

More training for school board members is considered.

Helmick noted that local school board members are the equivalent to the boards of directors for big corporations, but they must meet few qualifications to serve on the school boards. Paine agreed that school board members should be required to “go through an extensive program of training that does not exist at this point in time, regarding budgetary issues, personnel issues, that type of thing.”

Plymale said the Legislature has asked members of college boards of governors to go through training and suggested something similar should be required for school board members. Paine agreed that the training for college boards would be a good example.

 

Administration wants to wait for budget cuts.

After the committee was finished with Paine, Helmick called on state Budget Director Mike McKown to discuss how the downturn in West Virginia’s economy is affecting the state budget. That was the day when Gov. Manchin told the Legislature and agency heads that he was reducing revenue estimates for the fiscal year that will begin in July by 2 percent.

Manchin did not call for spending cutbacks during the remaining months of the current fiscal year, but Helmick said that might be a good idea.

“I’d like to see the governor make a 2 percent current budget right now.” – Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick

“I’d like to see the governor make a 2 percent current budget right now,” he said. “I just think now is the time to cut back $100 million.”

McKown said he didn’t think that would be necessary, even though the state’s financial situation seems to be changing fast.

Helmick said that up until October, state revenues were running about $90 million above estimates, but since then, the surplus has dropped to zero. He was afraid that if that trend would continue, the budget could be in the red by as much as $100 million by the end of June.

McKown said he didn’t expect that to be the case. He said that, as of Monday, the budget was in the black by $17 million. However, the governor recommended reducing the fiscal year 2010 budget by 2 percent because projections for that year have softened, he said. However, McKown said, the decline in revenue should not be more than $80 million.

“If you take the number the governor submitted and reduce it by $80 million, you will be in good shape,” he said. But McKown admitted that as recently as two months ago, the administration was considering the possibility of providing pay raises for teachers and other public employees, so the situation has changed quickly.

Picking up on Helmick’s concerns, Unger asked whether cuts in the current year’s budget should be considered. “If we know things are going down, would it not be prudent to have gradual cuts?” he asked.

Once again, McKown said the projections for the rest of the current fiscal year are OK. But Helmick remarked that he’s more financially conservative than people in the administration seem to be.

 

-- 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.

 

State superintendent expects Preston County takeover to be short

By Jim Wallace

State Superintendent Steve Paine hopes the state school board will be able to return the Preston County schools to local control within a few years. He also is hoping that a state takeover of the Randolph County schools can be avoided.

The state board approved the Preston County takeover on Tuesday on Paine’s recommendation, which followed the findings of an education performance audit that stated, “Students are not being provided a thorough and efficient system of schools as provided in law.”

“It looks bleak and we think things are getting worse and not better. Students are being deprived of what they deserve from the educational system.” – Kenna Seal

Kenna Seal, executive director of the Office of Education Performance Audits, said in a written statement, “It looks bleak and we think things are getting worse and not better. Students are being deprived of what they deserve from the educational system.”

Later, in a budget hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Paine told senators the auditors found very serious problems in three aspects of the schools’ operations: facilities, finance and personnel.

In an interview with West Virginia Public Broadcasting that same day, Paine said, “Their facilities are just not up to par and they’re not the kinds of facilities that kids need to learn in. With regard to their finances, there are some very serious financial practices that don’t meet standards and that we need to step in immediately and take a look at.”

A special audit on the Preston County schools’ finances is still being completed, he said. But Paine also said that student achievement has apparently not suffered from the problems with facilities, finance and personnel.

“I think we have intervened at the right time so we can get in and out in a two- to three-year period.” – Steve Paine

“I think we have intervened at the right time so we can get in and out in a two- to three-year period,” he said in the public broadcasting interview.

 

New temporary and permanent superintendents have been found.

Former Nicholas County Superintendent Gus Penix has been appointed to serve as interim superintendent in Preston County. The district’s former superintendent, John Lofink, resigned on Tuesday. The state board has chosen Mason County Superintendent Larry Parsons to take over in Preston County beginning in July.

The state board also limited the local school board’s authority for spending funds, handling personnel, setting the school calendar and establishing instructional programs. The state board gave Paine the authority to conduct hearings on personnel matters, school closures or consolidations. He also has the ability to conduct real estate transactions, as well as the authority to replace administrators and principals in low-performing schools and transfer them to other positions.

 

Randolph County might avoid a takeover.

During his appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, Paine was asked about the Randolph County school system, which has come under the state board’s scrutiny and been placed in a state of emergency. A March 2008 performance audit found problems there with student achievement and other aspects of the schools’ operations.

Paine said Marion County Superintendent James Phares will become Randolph County’s superintendent in July and he hoped Phares’s guidance would help avoid a state takeover there.

“I think he’ll be able to straighten that county in a short period of time,” Paine said. “He’s a good instructional leader, and I’m looking forward to his leadership up there, so we’re going to hang on and see what happens.”

 

-- 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.

 

Coaching qualifications bill gets set aside, but College Summit gets a lot of attention

By Jim Wallace

The Senate Education Committee put off action this week on a bill dealing with the qualifications for coaches, because members had too many questions about it.

Senate Bill 57 would allow persons to continue as athletic coaches or coaches of other extracurricular activities in the public schools if they have served in the same position for three years and have received satisfactory evaluations. That change would prevent currently employed certified professional educators from bumping such coaches out of their positions.

 

Citizenship would no longer be a requirement.

The bill also would remove a requirement that persons taking such coaching position must, in most cases, be citizens of the United States. Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, told of the case of a Japanese citizen who is otherwise qualified to be a coach but does not want to relinquish Japanese citizenship because that would make it harder to travel back to Japan to visit family members. There are a few other similar cases in Kanawha County and elsewhere in the state, he said.

Sen. Randy White, D-Webster, expressed concern that some young people who get college degrees in physical education with the hope of not only teaching in public schools but also coaching might be unable to find coaching jobs if the bill would pass.

Other senators raised questions about other aspects of the bill, so the committee decided to set it aside for the time being. The committee then spent most of its meeting on Tuesday hearing a presentation about the College Summit.

 

West Virginia is a leader in College Summit.

Craig Grooms, executive director of College Summit West Virginia, said the program helps students from low-income communities set their sights on going to college and helps prepare them for enrolling in college. That helps break the cycle of poverty in many families, he said.

College Summit is working with 16,000 students in 13 states, he said, and it is operating in several West Virginia counties.

“West Virginia is one of our largest and most successful sites.” – Craig Grooms

“West Virginia is one of our largest and most successful sites,” Grooms said. “We’re the first region to reach 3,000 students.”

Many lessons the program has learned in West Virginia are being applied in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Miami and elsewhere, he said.

“Nationally, College Summit partners have increased their college enrollment rates by 15 percent,” Grooms said. “Kanawha County implemented College Summit countywide in 2004. By 2006, Kanawha County had outpaced the rest of the state by 13 percent in its in-state college enrollment.”

College Summit takes a four-pronged approach, he said, including:

1. A year-long curriculum in the senior year;
2. Professional training for educators;
3. Monthly reports with actionable data; and
4. A three-day workshop on a college campus prior to students’ senior year in high school.

Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, said he works with a similar program at Bluefield State College that is hurting for funding. So he wondered what type of funding College Summit would need to reach more students.

 

Bottom third should be targeted.

Mora Segal, chief strategy officer for College Summit, said the most effective strategy would be to target grants in the lowest third of school districts in terms of college-going rates among graduates. That would take about $1.8 million for five years, she said.

Grooms added that 73 students who participate in College Summit stay in college, while the national average is below 60 percent.

Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, asked about the involvement of parents in the program.

“The parents are the great unknown.” – Craig Grooms

“The parents are the great unknown,” Grooms replied. Sometimes they can be the greatest advocates for the program and sometimes they don’t help at all. Consequently, College Summit tries to “make full use of the time” students are in their school buildings, he said.

Several students who have participated in College Summit told the senators how much of a difference the program has made in their lives. Grooms added that one advantage of the program is that students often listen to their peers, so they are more likely to plan to go to college if their friends are planning to do so.

“Every county needs to know what their college enrollment rate is. There needs to be some type of reward system so that those schools that are doing it well get rewarded.” – Craig Grooms

When Unger asked what lawmakers could do to help, Grooms replied, “We need to make it important to those who are making the decisions. For example, every county needs to know what their college enrollment rate is. There needs to be some type of reward system so that those schools that are doing it well get rewarded.”

Many people in West Virginia’s public schools get concerned when the high school dropout rate is high, he said, but they need to be just as concerned when the college-going rate is low.

On Thursday, the Senate Education Committee’s meeting was devoted to a presentation on enrollment in post-secondary education.

 

-- 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.

 

House Education members get education on technology

 

Members of the House Education Committee spent much of their Thursday meeting working on their computers in the House of Delegates chamber. They participated in a hands-on presentation from the Department of Education that showed what might be done with technology in schools in the future.

Also at that meeting, the committee approved two bills. House Bill 2967 would encourage teachers who have achieved a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificate to renew their certifications when they expire after 10 years. It would continue the salary bonus for renewed certificates and provide for reimbursement of renewal fees. In addition, it would continue bonus eligibility if the holder accepts employment as a principal or assistant or in another school-level instructional leadership position.

That bill must go through the House Finance Committee before it reaches the full House of Delegates.

House Bill 2985 would provide information on the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind to the guardian of a child with a visual or auditory impairment.

On Tuesday, the committee approved House Bill 2904, authorizing rules for higher education.

Administrative Perspective

House Education considers OPEB matter; coaches issue taken up in Senate Education; technology demonstrations highlight legislative week

By Martha Dean, Ed.D.

 

House Education considers OPEB matter; coaches issue taken up in Senate Education; technology demonstrations highlight legislative week

Activities this week began with a Monday meeting of House Education Subcommittee A to take up two bills, both dealing with solicitation on college campuses of credit card companies.

The committee agreed that this is a problem because college students are prone to get too far in debt when they use credit cards.  Different campuses currently handle the problem differently at this time as some colleges allow the companies on campus and others deny access. Both House Bill 2241 and House Bill 2922 were deemed worthy of further study before action.

 

OPEB was a big topic.

At the full committee meeting of the House Education Committee on Monday, Susan Smith and Joe Panetta from the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School Finance were there to explain the Other Post-Employment Benefits dilemma we find county boards dealing with at this time. PEIA Executive Director Ted Cheatham was also there. 

There are two parts to OPEB in West Virginia: (1) the ability of employees hired before 2001 to convert unused sick leave into PEIA premiums for coverage during retirement; and (2) the granting by the Legislature of a benefit to retirees to purchase insurance after retiring for a low-cost premium.

Currently, county boards pay required contributions for employees who were funded through the State Aid Formula with state funds. They are now also paying premiums for employees beyond the limits of the formula and for those paid with federal funds. It was agreed that this liability is growing each year due to the increasing cost of health care in this nation. 

One suggestion that would keep county boards from going in the red would be to only be required to “pay as you go” or what is owed only during one year. According to Panetta, the long term liability for OPEB could be in the notes of the financial statement if PEIA were not to bill the counties for the long-term liability but only for the amount owed during the current year. Lively discussion was characteristic of this issue before the committee, but no solutions were proposed.

 

Coaching certification bill needs more work.

The Senate Education Committee on Tuesday considered Senate Bill 57 which deals with certification requirements. There was talk that the provision that requires a teacher to be a U.S. citizen to qualify for a certificate should be eliminated.

The bill further had provisions that would eliminate the requirement that the coaching job be posted every year so that fully certified teachers had the opportunity to apply for the coaching position if the person who had been hired as a non-certified coach had good evaluations for a period of three years. There was some confusion about the meaning of some of the language so the bill was removed from the agenda to be further clarified before committee action is taken.

 

Bill would encourage certification renewal.

On Thursday, the House Education Committee approved House Bill 2967 to the full House, but it first must go to the Finance Committee. This bill encourages teachers who have achieved a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificate to renew their certifications when they expire after 10 years. It would pay the fee for the re-certification and continue the salary bonus for renewed certificates. 

The committee also passed House Bill 2985, which provides that parents or guardians of a child with a visual or auditory impairment be provided information concerning the eligibility of their child to attend the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. At the conclusion of the meeting, delegates were given instruction and the opportunity to try some of the new technology currently in the schools.

The Senate Education Committee’s meeting on Thursday was devoted to a presentation by state Superintendent Steven Paine concerning professional development and other public education topics.

 

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

 

WVSBA Briefs

West Virginia School Board Association Winter Conference Program

 

West Virginia School Board Association Winter Conference ’09 Program

 

The Winter Conference attracts about 220 participants – over 200 county board members

About 220 county board members, county schools superintendents and school administrators are registered for the West Virginia School Board Association’s 2009 Winter Conference.

The conference is being held Friday and Saturday at the Charleston Town Center Marriott Hotel.

The program features credit hours training for county board participants.

A copy of the program is provided below:

Agenda

West Virginia School Board Association Winter Conference ‘09
March 13/14
Charleston (Town Center Marriott Hotel)

Thursday, March 12, 2009
7:00 p.m.	West Virginia School Board Association Executive Board Meeting
Friday, March 13, 2009
7:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m.	Visit to Capitol
1:00 p.m.	The Mountain County Board of Education meets for its March Regular Session: Soccer coach, Gumbo’s, the Dinner Belle – and Much, Much More Role-playing exercise WVSBA President Rick Snuffer (Raleigh) presides at this session Information relating to the “cast” and role-playing exercise will be available when members register
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) Presenter: Karen Larry, Ed.D., Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent of Schools 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 –Session I Presenter: Curtis Johnson, Ph.D., co-author - Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns WVSBA Vice President Mike Mitchem (McDowell) presides at this session
8:45 p.m.	Adjournment
Saturday, March 14, 2009
7:00 a.m.	Breakfast
8:00 a.m.	Delegate Assembly (Non-training related programming)
9:00 a.m.	WVSBA Officers’ Welcome
9:15 a.m.	The School Board – Dynamics for the 21st Century – Session II  Presenter: Thomas L. Alsbury, Ed.D., North Carolina State University, Raleigh, No. Carolina Includes structured means for members to participate; information regarding format to be provided when session commences Financial Officer Howard Corcoran (Ohio) presides at this session
10:30 a.m.	Break
10:45 a.m.	Responses to Dr. Alsbury’s Remarks/Audience Structured Participation
11:45 a.m.	Adjournment

 

 

Resources

WVDE is seeking applications for its first-ever Community Leadership Service Award

 

 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.

 

New Grant and Funding Information

Concern: Creative Writing Contest

The 2nd Annual Concern /Cecil Woodham-S mith Creative Writing Contest asks students and others to address a written piece to President Obama that will help him understand climate change, child labor, or world hunger. Entries may be in the form of a factual essay or a fictional story. Maximum award: laptops, iPods, and subscriptions to National Geographic Magazine. Eligibility: three entrant categories -- Junior, ages 12 to 15; Senior, ages 16 to 18; and Adult, ages 19+. Deadline: March 22, 2009.

http://www.concern.net/what-you-can-do/schools-and-youth/writing-competition-09/creative-writing-competition-09.php

Captain Planet: Grants for Environmental Education

Captain Planet Foundation Education Grants support hands-on environmental projects that encourage innovation and empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their communities. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: March 31, 2009.

http://www.captainplanetfdn.org/grants.html

PTO Today: Parent Group of the Year

PTO Today's Parent Group of the Year Contest is an opportunity to showcase hard work while giving schools the chance to win cash and prizes. Maximum award: $5,000; plus a free DIRECTV system for the school, installed in up to eight rooms; a 27-inch television; and a DIRECTV system to use as a fundraiser (for example, as an auction item). Eligibility: all parent groups -- PTO, PTA, HSA, PTC, etc.; public and private schools; rural, suburban, and urban schools. Deadline: June 1, 2009.

http://www.ptotoday.com/pgy/

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Local Initiative Funding Partners Program

The Local Initiative Funding Partners Program is a partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and local grant-makers to fund promising, original projects that significantly improve the health of vulnerable people in their communities. Maximum award: $500,000 in matching funds. Eligibility: projects must be new, innovative, collaborative, and community-based; projects must be nominated by a local grant-maker interested in participating as one of the funding partners. See Web site for further requirements. Deadline: July 7, 2009.

http://www.rwjf.org/applications/solicited/cfp.jsp?ID=20605

Charles Lafitte Foundation: Grants for Education & Child Advocacy

The Charles Lafitte Foundation Grants Program helps groups and individuals foster lasting improvement on the human condition by providing support to education, children's advocacy, medical research, and the arts. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: rolling.

http://www.charleslafitte.org/education.html

 

2009 Legislative Calendar

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

 

ETC.

Meanwhile in Louisiana...

Authorities say two high school students in Jefferson, La., have been expelled for placing a pan of laxative-laced cupcakes in the teachers' lounge.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said the students, seniors at Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy, not only have been booted from school for the year, they also have been charged with mingling harmful substances, WDSU-TV in New Orleans reported.
 The sheriff's office said the prank was uncovered after several other students warned a teacher not to eat the cupcakes.

Source: UPI.com

 

Wisdom

“The whole art of government  consists in being honest.” – Thomas Jefferson, Works VI

Soundbites

 

“The only way to solve this issue is to mess with the retiree benefit for everybody – active employees, everybody. That’s the only way to solve it. We can look the other way and pretend it’s not going to happen. The only way to solve it is to mess with the retiree benefit structure somehow – fix the dollar amount, lower the benefits or find a funding source.” – Ted Cheatham of PEIA explaining how to prevent the OPEB liability problem from getting worse

“It’s strange, but I was having a good day, and now we’ve been visited by the Grim Reaper.” – Delegate Ricky Moye after hearing Ted Cheatham talk about OPEB

“No Child Left Behind, in my estimation, has set mediocrity as a goal and that’s what we’re getting. I think that’s sad nationally. I think we’ve done something different in this state.” – Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale

“Their facilities are just not up to par and they’re not the kinds of facilities that kids need to learn in. With regard to their finances, there are some very serious financial practices that don’t meet standards and that we need to step in immediately and take a look at.” – Supt. Steve Paine on the state takeover of the Preston County schools

*

 

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”