WVSBA The Legislature

April 10, 2009 - Volume 29 / Issue 17

Overview Info

Stats

Day of Session 59
Days Remaining 1
Bills Introduced:
(Including agency/department rules bills)		 2,110

 

Quote: “From my perspective, this session has been about not going backwards…” – West Virginia School Service Personnel Executive Director Bob Brown.

Inside

News


By Jim Wallace

For people interested in public education, the 2009 session of the West Virginia Legislature has been one of big issues – and big differences between the House of Delegates and the Senate. Because of those big differences, how and whether a few key issues are resolved will depend on negotiations that could go right down to the final hours of the session.

“We’ve had some very tough issues up here, whether you’re talking teacher hiring practices, the school calendar, school innovation zones, third- and eighth-grade testing – You could go on and on,” Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale said. “I think it’s been a very healthy discussion to start with. We discussed things that we never discussed for a long time.”

Generally, the Senate has been more favorable to Gov. Manchin’s education proposals, while the House has been more favorable to the positions of teachers’ unions. Manchin told the Charleston Daily Mail he thought the reason it has been harder for his proposals to get through the House without big changes is that most members of the House Education Committee are current and former teachers or other employees of county school systems. By contrast, only two of the 14 members of the Senate Education Committee are former educators.

“I applaud the governor for bringing up a number of the issues that have been before us,” Plymale, D-Wayne, said. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”

Disagreement is part of the process, he said, and it shouldn’t be taken personally.

“I think there are always differences between the Senate Ed and the House Education [committees],” Judy Hale, president of the West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said. “This session, we’ve had a very good working relationship with the House Education Committee members. We have a good working relationship with Sen. Plymale also. It’s just that there are times – You know, we have the same goals in mind. There are just different ways to get there.”

Labor has been on the defense.

The teachers’ unions have been in the position of fighting changes in the school calendar out of concerns that teachers might have to work during a bigger portion of the year without getting more pay. They also didn’t like certain items in the school innovation zones proposal that they thought might intrude on the rights of teachers. At the same time, the declining health of the state’s finances quickly dampened the unions’ traditional push for higher salaries and increased benefits.

“For public education, this session has been mostly a matter of defense for us,” Hale said. “There really hasn’t been much to be gained. We’ve just kind of been trying to hang onto the things that we have.”

Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, characterized the session as “amazing.” For example, he said, the unions initially were included in the development of the innovation zones legislation to help teachers be more creative in their teaching methods. They liked the bill as it came out of the House, but couldn’t support changes made in the Senate.

“You want to give schools an opportunity to do something differently,” Lee said. “The bill, as it came out of the House, allowed that to happen. If you want to make change in education, it got to the root of the fix, and that’s to go to the educators, go to the professionals in the classroom who could make the suggested change, and let’s see how those work.”

On the calendar bill, he said, the WVEA doesn’t like the approach of the governor and the Senate Education Committee to allow school boards to start the school year earlier in August and have the flexibility to go later in June if necessary to get in 180 days of instruction. Lee would rather consider reducing the number of instructional days spent on testing and addressing problems with student absenteeism.

Too many of the changes have been proposed this session without first consulting with teachers, he said.

“We want to have a say in the direction education’s going, and that’s what I’ve stressed to both the governor and both houses,” Lee said. “Bring us in from the beginning. Put us in on the initial discussions, and then you’ll see true change for the better in public education. We can make a difference. We make a difference every day in kids’ lives. And we can continue to make a difference and make it better, but we have to be involved at the beginning, not be handed something and say, ‘Here, I want you to embrace that.’”

Bob Brown, executive director of the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association, said his expectations for the session have been relatively modest.

“From my perspective, this session has been about not going backwards,” he said. “There were some proposals early on in the session that we felt were a little regressive. We’ve had to watch some of those, but in a year when there’s no money, it’s not uncommon for it to be a slow legislative session for education.”

Despite that, Brown said, there have been some gains during this session.

“We’ve got the bill going that will extend the buy-back provision for the pension transfer, which is going to affect five- or six-thousand people,” he said. “That’s a good piece of legislation. As it relates to school service personnel, we’ve made some fundamental changes to the way we assign jobs, based more upon within classification and within qualification. So that should stop some of the musical chairs, which would be good for the children of West Virginia.”

Brown said those small successes are good “in a year when there’s not any money floating around.”

            Howard O’Cull, executive director of the West Virginia School Board Association, regards the session in terms similar to Brown’s.

“I think it’s been a very slow session, a very interesting session, very unusual session,” he said. “I think, early on, if it cost any money, it did not get out of committee. So therefore, there’s not been very much excitement in committees, although there has been some good legislation passed, including some bills that really are thought-provoking like innovation zones plus teacher hiring practices, no matter how you think on them.”

Conference committees could play big roles.

All of those involved agree that the final hours of the session, which is scheduled to end at midnight Saturday evening, could be crucial for the fate of some education issues.

            “It’s been a very different session in that a lot of the issues are coming right down to the wire, and I don’t know that they will be resolved because the two houses are so split on issues,” Lee said.

            Brown said the members of the House and Senate Education committees have made it difficult to compromise by staking out strong positions on key issues and saying they don’t intend to concede. But he expects that on Saturday “they will be sitting at the table sometime before midnight, ironing out some differences in the calendar bill and some of the other major pieces of legislation.”

            Likewise, Hale said, “Lots of things can happen in the last few hours of the legislative session.”

            O’Cull expressed doubts that differences in the bills on innovation zones and teacher hiring practices would be resolved.

“Probably what will survive is the calendar bill, although it will probably go to conference [committee],” he said. “So it may be the midnight hour before we hear what’s in the calendar.”

            Plymale agreed that there likely will be a lot of negotiating on education issues as the final hours of the 60-day legislative session tick away.

“I probably will have more conference committees this year of major bills than I’ve ever had,” he said.

-- 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 Howard M. O'Cull

The West Virginia lawmakers have agreed to come back to the state Capitol in May to address the state budget.

Legislators voted Wednesday to extend the regular session, originally scheduled to end at midnight Saturday, through Saturday, June 6. The extension is only for work on the budget. Usually the legislative session is extended for about one week to 10 days for work on the budget, because it is hard to put the budget together until lawmakers are sure what bills get passed by the end of the regular session.

Plans are to recess shortly after midnight on April 12, and then reconvene on Tuesday, May 26. Both the Senate and the House of Delegates have approved the extension. As of now, legislative work on the budget is scheduled to start on May 20 after state leaders receive revenue numbers from April and have more information about federal stimulus money.

During the extended session, lawmakers also will be able to reconsider any bills Gov. Manchin has raised questions about or vetoed. As in a typical extension of the session to complete the state budget bill, the governor said there may be a few bills passed during the regular session that will need to be revisited to correct technical errors.

Beyond that, Manchin, in comments reported in the Charleston Gazette, said he does not plan to offer any new bills for legislators to consider when they return – even though the fate of several bills on the governor’s agenda, including school innovation zones, revamping of teacher hiring practices and school calendar legislation, might not be resolved by the end of the regular session.
 
Last month, Manchin reduced revenue estimates for the $4.33 billion 2009-2010 state budget by about $200 million, reflecting a downturn in state tax and lottery revenues caused by the weak economy.

- Howard M. O’Cull is executive director of the West Virginia School Board Association.

 


By Howard M. O'Cull

Senate Education Committee Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, says school calendar legislation is likely headed to a conference committee before the end of the legislative session.

The House Education Committee changed the bill the Senate passed, and Plymale says the changes create some problems. "I would anticipate at this point and time that we would be going to conference on that," he said.

The bill was expected to pass the House of Delegates today. The regular session ends at midnight Saturday evening.

The Senate's version creates flexibility for county school boards to schedule 180 instructional days in 43 weeks. It also removes the mandated beginning and ending dates of the school year.

The House version leaves the dates in place, allows school boards to convert non-instructional days into instructional days and counts instructional minutes toward meeting the requirement.


Senate likes counting days better than minutes.

Plymale says his committee considered the minutes provision for its version of the bill but decided against it. "We really did not think that was getting to the full instruction and instructional days that needs to be addressed," he said.

Gov. Manchin wanted the Legislature to eliminate the fixed beginning and ending dates of the school calendar, giving counties more flexibility to start before Aug. 26 and end after June 8. The House-amended bill sets "accrued instructional time," or total minutes spent learning, for schools within a 180-day framework.

‘We have made a distinction between the magic of 180 days and the number of instructional minutes," House Education Committee Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, said.

Extending the actual school day is already allowed under the law, and some schools do it, Poling said. But right now, she said, "In spite of the code, there’s no incentive for doing it, because you can't count it toward 180 days."

“We’re counting the  time students are in the actual phase of learning,” Delegate Stan Shaver, D-Preston, said. He and several other committee members said measuring the actual minutes that students spend in classrooms is a better yardstick than the less definitive school day, which could include partial days caused by weather delays.

When some House Education members sought clarification about whether extracurricular and co-curricular activities would be considered or counted toward additional instructional time, Poling said, “You can’t do a ballgame and count that as accrued instructional time.”

February 1 would become the trigger date.

Under terms of the legislation, non-instructional days, Instructional Support and Enhancement (ISE) Days, may be used to make up lost instructional time, providing faculty senate staff development is preserved. These days can be converted to instructional days after February 1 rather than the current March 1.

In answer to a question posed by Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer, House counsel David  Mohr said this “conversion” would be “triggered” after February 1 if a county board, despite use of minutes and other calendar adjustments, determines it could not meet calendar dictates in another way. Mohr said the February 1 date is the statutory  “trigger” – and that, given the February 1 date, county boards would not have discretion to use its provisions earlier.

Delegate David Perry, D-Fayette, was quick to support the instructional minutes proposal – a position he has supported for many years. He said there is a “national trend” for counting minutes as a better barometer for instructional effectiveness than school days. Mohr said at least eight states concentrate on school instructional minutes rather than school days for the purpose of determining required instructional time.

As the committee discussed the proposal, Delegate Ron Fragale, D-Harrison, said many calendar-related issues were local issues and that county boards have the wherewithal to settle these matters at the county level if boards had the political will to do so.
“These are issues that can be handled at the school and the local level,” he said. “Are you (county board members) worried about deer hunting or spring break?”

Representatives of teachers’ organizations and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association have expressed support for the House Education Committee legislation: "This is the only bill we've seen this session that actually guarantees 180 days of instruction," said Judy Hale, president of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia.

Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, noted that the bill preserves Senate language that allows for classes to be held on non-instructional days in the calendar if they're needed to reach 180 days. He also supports the committee's decision to have the bill take effect in the 2010-2011 school year, rather than the 2009-2010 year.

- Howard M. O’Cull is executive director of the West Virginia School Board Association.

 


By Jim Wallace

The Senate Education Committee approved House Bill 2836 to create school innovation zones, but only after a subcommittee rewrote the bill.

One key provision in the Senate version that was not in the version approved by the House of Delegates would permit a state college or university to establish a new innovation zone school with the approval of the school board in the county where the school would be located. The state Board of Education would be required to develop a process for such a school to be established.

That provision was a concept that Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, had specifically expressed interest in last week. He expressed surprise that it wasn’t included in the House version of the bill, but Department of Education officials said that concept had not been considered when the department developed the innovation zone proposal.

Seniority and transfer issues are a concern.

However, the only part of the bill that sparked extensive discussion when the committee took up the bill on Tuesday was the provision that deals with filling teacher vacancies at innovation zone schools. Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, said he was concerned that language protecting seniority and transfer rights, which was in the original version of the bill, was left out of the latest version.

As Lydia McCue of the Department of Education told the committee, the language in the first version stated that a person who is employed in an innovation zone school and votes no to the innovation zone plan may request a transfer to another public school in the district, and the school board shall make every reasonable effort to accommodate the transfer.

That provision is still included in the latest version of the bill. But McCue said the original version also had a provision for filling vacancies that involved the superintendent taking a vote of all teachers in the county to allow a posting for the position that could exceed the requirements specified in state code. Unger was concerned about whether the latter provision would still be in the bill.

Staff attorney Hank Hager said the version of the bill approved by the House also would have required 100 percent of teachers at a school, in some cases, to approve an innovation zone proposal, and members of the Senate subcommittee thought that was too restrictive. He said the subcommittee also removed a list of items that could not be exempted from state regulations, and one of those involved seniority rights.

Unger said he didn’t understand why those provisions were removed from the bill. He asked leaders of teachers’ unions to give their opinions on whether the provisions should be in there.

Judy Hale, president of the American Federation of Teachers’ West Virginia chapter, said, “These seniority laws have developed over the years because of a great deal of politics being played at the county level by superintendents and boards. In some counties, the board of education is the largest employer in the county.” She said that, without objective rules, schools would go back to days of nepotism and cronyism.

Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, said both teachers’ unions pledged support for the concept of innovation zones, but they had great concerns about taking away seniority rights. He said he believed that teachers in an innovation zone school would want the school to be able to hire the best teachers available, but the unions insisted on keeping seniority rights in the proposal.

“We both wholeheartedly support the idea of teachers having the opportunity to make changes that they see necessary for their schools,” Lee said. “I truly believe that this will be a good thing. It will give an opportunity to see some change for the better of all kids in public education.”

Amendment fails.

Unger then proposed an amendment to restore the original language on seniority and transfer rights to the bill. Senate Education Vice-chairman Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, led the subcommittee that made the changes. He opposed Unger’s amendment.

“If we’re going to attempt to change classroom dynamics in West Virginia, I think we really have to start focusing on performance,” Wells said. “I think people can agree that seniority does have a place in that respect, but that seniority doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be the best teacher in that classroom.”

Schools should have more flexibility than traditional seniority and transfer rights provide, he said.

Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, asked how the provision would affect reduction-in-force situations. He noted that teachers in an innovation zone school would need an 80 percent vote to seek exemptions from regulations. Hager responded that if the majority of teachers didn’t want an exemption, they wouldn’t ask for it.

State Deputy Supt. Jack McClanahan said he didn’t think there would be a problem in reduction-in-force situations. “Reduction in teachers would be according to the number of students you had,” he said.

Hager then pointed out that the latest version of the bill still contained language that provided for a countywide vote among teachers on job postings in innovation zones. But Unger pushed forward with his amendment, saying there was a lot of confusion on seniority and transfer rights.

“Taking out the seniority provisions, as well as the transfer provisions, sets up two structures,” he said and indicated that he saw a parallel with the old system of segregated schools several decades ago. “We’re setting up a class system once again or some type of structure where you’ve got two different types of systems.”

Unger’s amendment was defeated 12-2 with only Sen. Randy White, D-Webster, joining him in voting for it.

The committee then approved the bill on a unanimous voice vote. Wells suggested that Plymale should ask for a waiver of the bill’s second reference to the Senate Finance Committee, but Unger objected, saying that the bill has fiscal implications and should be considered by the Finance Committee. But Plymale said the fiscal note prepared for the bill indicated it would have no cost. The committee then approved the proposal to try to bypass the Finance Committee and send the bill directly to the full Senate.

Bill would fix School Aid Formula problem.

Another bill approved with some changes by the Senate Education Committee would make technical corrections to the School Air Formula bill from last year and amend the calculation for distribution of funds to low-enrollment counties. House Bill 2530 provides that for all purposes, except for the determination of the allowance for professional educators, “professional student support personnel” are professional educators.

Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, was concerned about how low-enrollment counties, such as Wirt County in her district, would be affected. Joe Panetta of the Department of Education told her the amendment approved by the committee would favor the smallest counties – those furthest away from the 1,400-student enrollment level.

Once again, the committee decided to try to get the bill’s second reference to the Finance Committee waived.

Rating system for child care would be established.

With House Bill 2832 on critical skills instructional support programs for third- and eighth-graders, the committee also approved its own version that was different from the House version. Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, asked whether the bill might lead to more testing of students. Hager said it might, which disturbed Barnes.

“We keep whipping more requirements on boards,” Barnes said. He noticed there were some representatives of school systems in the audience and offered any of them a chance to speak on the bill, but no one did. However, Browning said school boards shouldn’t be concerned about the bill.

“This just helps some districts,” he said. “It doesn’t impose more demands on them.”

Browning noted that some students miss school during the summer, so he suggested they might be used to mentor other students who need academic help.

Bonuses would continue.

The committee approved House Bill 2967 without making any changes. That bill would encourage teachers who have achieved a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificate to renew their certifications when they expire after 10 years and continue the $3,500 annual salary bonus for renewed certificates. The estimated cost of the bill is $100,225, according to the fiscal note prepared by the Department of Education.

Another bill approved by the committee with some changes was House Bill 3146, which would add the position of technology system specialist among the types of jobs for school service personnel. The definition is someone “who has expertise in technology fields, who meets the education and certification requirements determined by the state board and who is employed by a county board to support and maintain local area networks, servers, computer workstations and other computer-related systems and technologies.” The position would fall under pay grade G.

-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 Committee Puts Provision for Nurses and Counselors into School Aid Formula


By Jim Wallace

The House Education Committee made substantial changes to Senate Bill 333, which deals with the employment of schools nurses, before approving the bill.

Under current law, county school boards are required to employ at least one school nurse for every 1,500 students in kindergarten through seventh grade. As approved by the Senate, the bill would extend that ratio of nurses to students for all grades from kindergarten through 12th grade.

But members of the House Education Committee thought the bill should go further. Under an amendment proposed by Delegate David Perry, D-Fayette, the bill would not only set that 1-to-1,500 ratio for school nurses but also establish that school boards should employ at least one counselor for each 350 students in net enrollment.

Perry said the amendment also would put school nurses and counselors back into the School Aid Formula in a manner the House of Delegates intended to do a year ago before the Senate changed last year’s legislation.

“It underscores the necessity of the state to support those positions the state regards as necessary to operations,” he said.

Delegate Stan Shaver, D-Preston, agreed that the amendment would correct the problem that occurred last year. He and others said they wanted the provisions for the nurses and counselors to be clearly delineated in the School Aid Formula to avoid having school boards to decide whether to hire a nurse in lieu of a counselor or in lieu of a teacher.

“It makes it fair,” Shaver said. “It takes away the decision process.”

Staff attorney David Mohr told the committee that county school systems were already employing nurses at the specified ratio so there should be no additional cost, but some of the cost would be shifted from the local boards to the state.

“Totally, it doesn’t cost any more money,” he said. “What it does is it takes some of the burden off counties to continue the mandate and puts it into the state formula.”

Brenda Isaacs of the West Virginia Association of School Nurses supported the move to update state law, even though all county school systems seem to be meeting the bill’s requirements already. She said situations could occur in the future that would lead some districts to reduce the number of nurses they employ.

‘This is the time to do it since the funding is there,” Isaacs said.

Delegate Larry Williams, D-Preston, said he supported Perry’s amendment, because he remembered when school boards sometimes pitted the hiring of a nurse against the hiring of a teacher.

“I think the amendment takes us back to the original concept,” he said. “It recognizes the fact that we do need those nurses. It recognizes that they do need to be state-funded through the formula. I think everyone wins, especially the kids.”

Mohr said the change would increase costs to the state by a small amount, which had not been determined yet. House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, said the bill must still go through the House Finance Committee, which would have a chance to consider a fiscal note for the bill.

The committee approved the bill with Perry’s amendment. That means that if the bill gets through the House of Delegates in that form, the House and Senate would have to reconcile the differences in their two versions before they could send the bill to the governor.

Committee narrows scope of bill for young children.

The House Education Committee also made substantial changes to Senate Bill 498, which deals with early childhood development.

The Senate-passed version would have each county school board develop an annual county collaborative plan for implementing early childhood programs for four-year-olds. That plan would be developed using a team of community partners, which would include representatives from the county school system, the county preschool special needs program, Head Start and child care, as well as the local Department of Health and Human Resources and parents.

But the version approved by the House Education Committee would eliminate that annual collaborative plan. Still in the bill but reworded is a provision for a statewide quality rating and improvement system for licensed child care centers and registered family child care homes.

It would be a four-star rating system with one star indicating that minimum acceptable standards have been met and four stars indicating that the highest standards have been met or exceeded. That system would begin in July 2011, but the bill would have the Department of Health and Human Resources implement the rating system in pilot projects in up to five counties beginning this July. However, the individual ratings in the pilot projects would not be disclosed.

Although the provision related to programs for four-year-olds was removed and the House-version of the bill deals with child care for younger children, Poling said the bill still has an education component.

Confirming that, Mohr said, “The school system certainly benefits by having children who have gone through some structured developmental things before they hit the school system because of the importance of brain development in those very early years.”

After approving the amended version of the bill, the Education Committee sent it to the House Finance Committee for further consideration.

Bill would clarify process for donation of leave time.

The House Education Committee made only a slight change to Senate Bill 66, which deals with the donation of personal leave days by school employees to their colleagues. The bill allows donated personal leave days to be used for bereavement under certain circumstances, including making funeral arrangements and settling financial issues.

Specified in the bill is the process for reverting unused leave days to multiple donors, which is required under current law when the catastrophic emergency for which the personal leave was transferred ends.

The most important change the committee made to the bill was to specify that use of such leave time must be in accordance with county school board policy.

-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.

 

Lawmakers Want More Study of Several Education Issues


The last week of the session is too late for the introduction of new bills, but lawmakers often use it as a time to introduce and pass resolutions that could determine what they will study during the monthly interim meetings they hold between regular legislative sessions. Four such resolutions dealing with education came out this week.

The House Education Committee passed three resolutions on Thursday requesting interim studies on:

 

The Senate Education Committee approved a resolution requesting an interim study on school personnel employment and retention, professional and skills development, pay-for-performance models and incentive programs generally, teacher evaluations and how each affects student performance.

The Joint Committee on Government and Finance will decide which issues will be assigned to interim committees.


West Virginia Schools Celebrate the Arts


The arts are alive and thriving in West Virginia schools. Student artists and musicians from across the state will be featured at the West Virginia Department of Education’s third annual Arts Alive event celebrating the fine arts achievement of public schoolchildren.

The celebration is scheduled for Monday, April 27, at the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences in Charleston. The evening event is free and open to the public. Tickets are available from the Clay Center at (304) 561-3500. Pre-show events begin at 6:30 p.m. while the main show is at 7 p.m.

Arts Alive: The Best of West Virginia will showcase the visual arts, instrumental and vocal music, along with dance and theatre. Artwork to be displayed is chosen by the West Virginia Art Education Association, while music performers are selected through regional solo and ensemble festivals. Other groups to be included are chosen through a variety of other existing contests and adjudications across the state.

“The arts are vital to the success of the 21st century student,” state Superintendent Steve Paine said. “Arts programs encourage students to think creatively and adopt fresh approaches. Classes such as music, visual art, theatre and dance challenge our perceptions and help develop ways of thinking that are visual rather than verbal. They foster creative thinking and help bridge language and other barriers among diverse cultures in a 21st century global society.”

While the list of performers for this year is still being finalized, the show promises to be more student-centered. The emcees for the evening are West Virginia Thespian 2008 Best Actor Joseph Ta from Capital High School in Charleston and Best Actress Kerri Jo Thompson from Morgantown High School. Past performers have included groups from Cabell Midland High School in Ona, Hurricane High School, George Washington High School in Charleston, Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, Wheeling Park High School and many others.

West Virginia launched the Arts Alive event at a time when many public schools across the country are struggling to keep their art and music programs going. The arts often are the first subjects threatened or even cut in hard economic times.


In West Virginia, music and visual art are required core subjects in the K-8 curriculum. In grades 9 through 12, dance, music, theatre and visual art must be offered courses, and no student can graduate without an arts credit.
 
“Cutting back on the arts in the regular curriculum to focus on improving test scores in other subjects isn’t in the child’s best interest,” Paine said. "A child's education is not complete unless it includes the arts.”

Research shows the arts not only affect how young people learn to think, but also how they feel and behave. Arts-rich education experiences engage students and enhance learning in other subjects
.
An analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on 25,000 middle and high school students found that students who were highly involved in the arts performed better on a variety of academic measures than other students. They earned better grades, did better on exams, dropped out of school less, performed more community service and watched less television.
  
“Well-taught arts courses are where creativity, flexibility, innovation, understanding and empathy are consistently required -- true 21st century learning skills that are transferable to many other disciplines,” Paine said.

West Virginia’s public schools have produced such successful artists as Don Knotts, David Selby, Kathy Mattea, Brad Paisley and Jennifer Garner, among others.

For more information on Arts Alive, contact Julia Lee, fine arts coordinator for the state Department of Education, at (304) 558-5325 or jrlee@access.k12.wv.us , or contact the Office of Communications at (304) 558-2699.

 

 

Administrative Perspective


By Martha Dean, Ed.D.

With only two days left of the current legislative session, there are many active bills. I may not get all of them mentioned in this article, but those I deem to be of significance to administrators and county board members will be briefly discussed.

 I will begin with House bills, because I think the Senate has considered more House bills and has them moving.

House acts on Senate bills.

The House has taken action on the following Senate bills:

As you can see, there will be a flurry of activity as the differences are examined and compromises are reached, if possible. I understand that the TV cameras from public television will not be there on Saturday evening, which will mean that you will have to be present to watch the last-minute activity.

– Martha Dean  is executive director of the West Virginia School Administrators Association. She is a former superintendent and Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) executive director.

 

WVSBA Briefs


The Mason, Gilmer and Grant County Boards of Education have contracted with the West Virginia School Board Association to conduct superintendent searches for their county boards.

Advertisements for the positions are listed below:

Mason County.

COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT.  The Mason County, WV, Board of Education is accepting applications for County Schools Superintendent.  Must meet WV qualifications for county superintendent. Salary/benefits negotiable. 6 elementary schools; 3 high schools; 1 Career Center (secondary); 1 intermediate school; 4256 students; declining enrollments; 387 professional personnel; 224.5 service personnel; $36.5 million budget, excluding $7.2 million from 89.2 percent excess levy; 2 WV Schools of Excellence; 5 Title I Distinguished Schools; 1 Exemplary High School; 3 newly renovated high schools and career center.  For "Notice of Position Vacancy," Application Form and related materials, contact: Mason County Schools Superintendent Search, c/o W. Va. School Board Association, PO Box 1008, Charleston, WV 25324 or visit www.wvsba.org (preferred).  Application deadline: 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 15, 2009.   
Those interested in the Mason County position have until April 15 to apply for the position.


Gilmer County.

COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT.  The Gilmer County, WV, Board of Education is accepting applications for County Schools Superintendent.  Must meet WV qualifications for county superintendent. Salary/benefits negotiable. 4 elementary schools; 1 high school;  Participant in multi-county vocational center; 941 students; declining enrollments; 88.6 (FTE) professional personnel; 51 48.5 (FTE) service personnel; $9.6 million budget; 37.8 percent excess levy ($994,229); For "Notice of Position Vacancy," Application Form and related materials, contact: Gilmer County Schools Superintendent Search, c/o W. Va. School Board Association, PO Box 1008, Charleston, WV 25324 or visit www.wvsba.org (preferred).  Application deadline: 4:00 p.m., Monday, April 20, 2009.

 

Grant County.

COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT.  The Grant County, WV, Board of Education is accepting applications for County Schools Superintendent.  Must meet WV qualifications for county superintendent. Salary/benefits negotiable. 3 elementary schools; 2 high schools; 1 middle school, including Union Educational Complex; fiscal agent for the South Branch Career and Technical Center; declining enrollments;  180 professional personnel; 99 service personnel; $19.0 million budget. For "Notice of Position Vacancy," Application Form and related materials, contact: Grant County Schools Superintendent Search, c/o W. Va. School Board Association, PO Box 1008, Charleston, WV 25324 or visit www.wvsba.org (preferred).  Application deadline: 4:00 p.m., Monday, April 20, 2009.   

For information on either posting, please contact WVSBA Executive Director Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D. His preferred contact information is hocull@wvbsa.org or telephone 304.346.0571.

WVSBA Executive Director Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D., commented on the  “fine work and contributions to their school systems” made by Ed Toman and Marsha Carr-Lambert, DM (Grant) superintendents in Gilmer and Grant County, respectively.

 

Ohio County.

The Association recently assisted the Ohio County Board of Education in its superintendent search. 

Veteran OCBOE educator George Krelis was selected for that position by unanimous vote of the Ohio County Board.

Superintendent Larry Miller is retiring on June 30.

Last year, the association provided technical assistance to the Hardy County Board of Education in its superintendent search.

 

 

The West Virginia Board of Education/West Virginia School Board Association School Board Member Training Standards Review Committee (TSRC) will meet April 20, 2009, at the Center for Professional Development Offices in Charleston.

The meeting will commence at 1:00 p.m. and is to be adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

A meeting agenda will be included in the April 10, 2009, issue of The Legislature.
The agenda also will be posted on the Association’s Website as required by TSRC regulations.

During this meeting, the “training committee” will:


For more information, please contact WVSBA Executive Director Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D. His preferred contact information is hocull@wvsba.org or telephone 304.346.0571.

State Board of Education member Gayle Manchin (Kanawha) chairs the TSRC, with co-chair Sally Cann, a member of the Harrison County Board of Education.

 

Legislative Matters


  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).
  4. √ 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.
  5. √ 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

 


By Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D.,
West Virginia School Board Association Executive Director

The following is a listing of Senate and House education and education-related bills having been considered during this legislative session. Bills having “active status,” meaning each measure has been adopted by their house of origin and referred to the other chamber for consideration, are reported by full title. Bills not having “active status” are listed by short title only. 
Additionally, each listing contains links to the West Virginia Legislature’s Website as far as “reference.” 
The listing is not exhaustive.
Reference links are considered to be the latest “version” of the legislation.
Refer to the West Virginia Legislature’s Website for more information regarding each bill: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/

Public Education

 Senate Bills

    


House Bills

 

Higher Education

House Education amendment: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2009_SESSIONS/RS/amendments/HB2335%20HED%20AM%202-27.htm

Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA)

 

Teachers Retirement System (TRS)

 
PUBLIC EDUCATION-RELATED


Alcohol

Child Welfare

 

Crimes

 

Governmental Entities

 

Juveniles

 

Unemployment Compensation

 

Workers’ Compensation

Inactive Bills

Senate Bills
Senate Bill 113 – rescinding student higher education financial assistance due to certain alcohol or drug offenses.
Senate Bill 123 – creating Nursing Education Forgivable Loan Program
Senate Bill 265 – Authorizing tax credit for new teachers in critical needs areas
Senate Bill 273 – Creating incentives to obtain GED
Senate Bill 304 – Relating to Nurse Faculty Loan Program
Senate Bill 435 – Creating Learn and Earn Cooperative Education Program
Senate Bill 536 – Relating to reorganization and consolidation of community and technical colleges
Senate Bill 640 – Relating to higher education employees’ eligibility for serving in the Legislature
Senate Bill 652 – Concerning mentor teachers
Senate Bill 758 – Public Charter Schools Act of 2009

House Bills
House Bill 2620 – Increasing the pay grade of cafeteria managers
House Bill 2639 – Allowing additional teachers to be reimbursed for approved course work
House Bill 3123 – Relating to donation and transfer of surplus personal computers and other in

 

Commentary - What Does Green Mean?

 

By Paul Thompson

Going green

 Green Schools are being built in increasing numbers across the country. The USGBC---United States Green Building Council---and its affiliated LEED program---Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design---are spurring practically all of these efforts. The USGBC states its mission as follows: to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. LEED rates building designs in terms of water and energy efficiency (including reduced carbon emissions), site sustainability, the use of green or recycled materials, appliances and fixtures, and indoor air quality.

What West Virginia is doing

West Virginia’s school boards and school administrators are just beginning to hear more about these programs in favor of modern green attributes in school design. For example, the recent release in June 2008 of the School Building Authority of West Virginia’s, “Quality and Performance Standards.” This 81-page announcement addresses the concern for environmentally responsible development in school construction. The SBA’s Quality and Performance Committee document states, “High Performance Green School building systems and materials are referenced within this document to provide unique comprehensive tools to construct Green School components that address acoustics, indoor air quality, energy use reduction, water conservation, day lighting and thermal comfort of SBA school buildings.”

Life cycle costing

Method always follows philosophy; therefore, a good place to start is to ask, why are we seeing this growing trend in green school facilities? First, facility managers are becoming more aware of the life cycle costs of buildings. In the past, there were only two considerations: how much did a building cost to design and how much did it cost to construct. However, not all buildings were created equally and the facility management experts began to realize that there was a difference in the total costs between various buildings due to the expenses of operating and maintaining a facility through its expected lifetime.

Durability factor in life-cycle costing

Clearly, savings in reduced utility bills and other operation expenses would be favorable to any school board. However, there is another part of life-cycle costs that might be overlooked. When building schools it is also important to consider the durability of the building components. A building isn’t very green if there is a need to be throwing good money at major repairs five or even 20-plus years after you have already paid to build it. Presently, there are more situations like this than we might care to admit. Some schools have been built knowing mechanical systems where not adequate for the building’s lifetime. This has resulted in school boards needing to replace heating and cooling systems, making major roof repairs and perhaps even making repairs caused by water damage due to inadequate roofing systems, etc.

Durability of bricks

A principle basic building component that is important to consider is ordinary bricks. Most conventional schools are built with bricks. Bricks are a very low-maintenance and a durable building material. But there are problems associated with settling foundations and years of weathering that can cause bricks to become unstable. Furthermore, new regulations in brick construction are now requiring even greater amounts of rebar re-enforcements to meet seismic requirements. Plus, it takes a lot of insulation in the walls behind them to make them energy efficient. Believe it or not, there are now building materials that are more cost efficient, durable and much less expensive.

Growing anxiety

Another philosophical reason that green schools are a better alternative for our communities is the stress children encounter with the dire predictions of ecological disorder. Whatever you believe to be true about global climate change and other related environmental issues, children will be better off by feeling as secure and safe as possible. The environmental explosion in today’s media is casting a tremendously dark shadow for their futures. You probably will remember, just a few decades ago that there was the threat of nuclear annihilation. Personally and for others, this became the cause of deep-rooted fears that life, as we know it could be destroyed in less than a day. These types of growing anxiety are unhealthy.

Environmentally responsible

Today, children are subjected to this inner fear of ecological devastation. Increasingly, we see psychiatric practitioners documenting these cases of intense anxiety. Responsible stewardship of the environment is a good reason to fight for better energy saving solutions in school facilities. Our children will become our future citizens. They don’t need to be agonizing in fear and despair about the overly reported consequences of a damaged earth. They will need a spirit of hope, a sense of personal responsibility and the ingenuity that will help them cope with the problems they will need to face in their lifetimes. 

Human behavior and ingenuity

Green schools are, therefore, a remarkably practical way to demonstrate how our future can be changed by using the world’s resources more wisely. The one thing that is certain in the entire environmental issue is that the most consequential variable that is unknown in the equation is the one that deals with present and future human behavior and ingenuity. There can be no argument that the actions we decide to take in response to environmental problems now will greatly influence our future decisions. This leads to the last philosophical justification. I’d like to relate some of my personal story to help illustrate its meaningfulness.

Green trailblazers

Many years ago, I had to walk home through a blinding, cold, winter blizzard. It was dark and there was already over four feet of snow on the ground. I decided that I needed to take the shortest route, which would take me off the somewhat plowed streets and lead me across a local golf course. As I walked headlong into a strong wind, I noticed that I was walking on a path through the deep snow that had been formed by others coming this way previously. Had I not had the path, then I would have had to tear through the deep snow and might have possibly not made it home that night. At that moment, it dawned on me that some people have to blaze trails so when others in the future need a way to a better, safer life, they will also have a path to follow and help them through difficulties.

People for the seasons to come

This personal experience ultimately would result in my decision to further an environmental science education with a higher degree that would deal with the poorly understood theological factors that contribute to our environmental uncertainties. Ultimately, several years ago I realized the practical implications of placing students in schools where they could learn these valuable lessons of building green. It is said, relative to architecture, that we build buildings, but they in turn shape us. In addition, few probably remember when former Gov. Cecil Underwood in his farewell address declared, “Not only did we need to become people of all seasons, we needed to become people for the seasons to come.”

Meeting future challenges

Some roads or even interstate highways were once paths blazed through the wilderness by the many explorers who left the comforts of what they knew and what they had always done before, who risked much to help open up new frontiers in our country’s development. The history of our predecessors’ experience in America needs to be repeated even more today for our future generations. Some of us must meet today’s challenge and lead the way for those who will follow.

Green methods

All this now brings us to the indisputably hard part, the methods that make a school green. Because the effort for green schools is relatively new, nationwide data are limited. In most cases, the estimated additional costs of going green will add 2 percent to 6 percent to the project. In school construction, recently completed projects are showing costs that are more toward the estimated high end of 6 percent. In theory, the payback occurs on the back end of the building’s life cycle costs by decreasing operational and, in some cases, maintenance expenses. There are also additional savings from ‘soft’ returns associated with a healthier building. The healthier conditions of a school building are what school designers refer to as high-performance standards; these additional healthy building benefits improve daily attendance, teacher retention and test scores.

Discouraging results

The limited data on actual results from energy savings and improvements in soft costs that are available are not exceptionally significant. A National Center for Policy Analysis 2008 summary, “Green Schools Don’t Make the Grade,” asserts,  “In Washington state---the national leader in embracing the green school movement--- schools built to comply with green standards have consistently failed to meet the energy saving targets claimed by supporters, and have not shown improvements in student health or other metrics.”

Reasons for poor results

There are many reasons why green schools are not what many claimed. First, there are conflicting desires, for example, the desire for more natural light through day lighting requires more windows. Windows are not as energy efficient as an insulated wall. Another example is the desire to bring in more fresh air to increase indoor air quality. This, in turn, leads to the heating and air conditioning units running more often. Also, there are often cookie-cutter standards, forcing expenditures that occasionally do little to achieve energy savings or other goals but must be met to receive required certification points.

Improving results

The key factor is to hire an architect to design your facility that is competent in the best green building practices so you realize the greatest benefit for your investment. A LEED certification does not necessarily mean you will save money and can lead to the wasteful squandering of building funds. Furthermore, the recent explosion of green has created a need for some designers to hurry up and get some type of certification. There are schools districts that have hired firms to design their green schools and those firms had nobody with any certified qualifications to build green. This resulted in some quick shuffling of paperwork and perhaps a short online course to make it all look legitimate. This looks like a rather irrational way to invest in the future of our students, teachers and community, especially when meeting off-the-shelf goals for certification points does not necessarily result in better schools.

Green school design is an art

If your school district is deciding to go green, then you really have to remember that going green is more like art than anything else. As a rule good, green architects are both right- and left-brained, so they can envision the local future needs and place that vision on a practical scale and a workable plan. Green ideals still need to be economically cost-effective in respect to what your local school demands for the best possible use of local resources and your investment. Green improvements are desirable; however, there will always be tradeoffs that will be best decided on an individual basis for each project.  Therefore, school districts will be better off to hire a green school designer with experience and not focus on snarling certifications.

Knowing the price of everything and learning the value of nothing

As mentioned, whatever plan is adopted, it also must include a facility that is healthy and especially not harmful to the health of those who will be using it. For example, most are aware of the costs of asbestos removal or the threats of mold growing in the walls, ceilings or HVAC vents.  These types of common-sense quality technicalities and high-performance standards are now included in school building codes, especially keying in on areas like indoor air quality. However, indoor air quality can mean practically anything from volatile organic compounds to carbon dioxide to mold and dust mites. There are also building codes that are dealing with acoustics. Two additional high-performance characteristics school building authorities have on their future wish lists are thermal comfort and day lighting. The need to balance all these factors with energy and maintenance savings illustrates the arduous nature of green design and how difficult it can be to get effective results. 

Green means local

The one factor of going green that has not been covered and might be of great interest for those that are resisting the loss of community schools to the consolidated schools plan is the concept of ‘locality.’

Recently, in a conversation with a county resident resisting consolidation – someone who has made his livelihood operating trucks – was perhaps some of the best guidance that those who are leading the push for consolidation could consider. He stated, “I’ve seen a lot of people go broke trying to make it operating at a dollar a mile and making 99 cents.” Currently schools districts are reimbursed 80 cents on the dollar for busing students from all ends of their counties. But it is still costing the school board 20 cents to do that and the 80 cents reimbursement represents taxes paid to the state by the very residents who somehow believe that they are receiving ‘free’ money.

Going green in its truest essence requires us to do less commuting and provide learning facilities that are a little closer to home. This could be achieved by placing monitors, teachers’ aides and teachers locally and using more computer technology and distance learning education in our schools.

The future of green

First, because green schools will be continually refined, the perfect green school will never be built. However, we are just beginning to look at how we can start ‘greening’ our schools, and there are still plenty of improvements to be found. The best news is that with a good design and plan, green schools can save school districts money. There are green methods of construction that reduce the cost of building a school by nearly half of what we are presently spending. There are green school plans that make sense for rural areas that don’t want children riding on buses for hours a day. There are green building materials that increase durability and improve energy savings.

If your local school board would like to take a healthier look at going green, and doing it better, we can help. Contact me at Next Generation Schools, by phone 304-269-5168 or e-mail at NextGenerationSchools@verizon.net

Paul Thompson is executive director of Next Generation Schools.

 

ETC.


A Connecticut middle school has banned all physical contact between students. The ban came, say officials at East Shore Middle School, after a student was hospitalized following a blow to the groin. From now on, principal Catherine Williams wrote to parents, students may not touch each other in any way; the possible penalties include expulsion. "What if they are on the playground at recess, or in gym class?" said parent Kathy Casey. "You know, gym class is physical."

- Source: The Week - April 10, 2009.

 


“In general, the great can protect themselves, but the poor and humble require the arm and shield of the law.” – Andrew Johnson.

 

“I love the whole legislative session – even when it is as bad as this one.” – Jean Lawson, legislative analyst for the Senate Education Committee

“We’ve done a lot of good work in this committee this year.” – Senate Education Chairman Bob Plymale

“These are issues that can be handled at the school and the local level. Are you (county board members) worried about deer hunting or spring break?” – Delegate Ron Fragale on the school calendar bill

“These seniority laws have developed over the years because of a great deal of politics being played at the county level by superintendents and boards. In some counties, the board of education is the largest employer in the county.” – Judy Hale of the American Federation of Teachers on seniority provisions in the school innovation zones bill

“If we’re going to attempt to change classroom dynamics in West Virginia, I think we really have to start focusing on performance. I think people can agree that seniority does have a place in that respect, but that seniority doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be the best teacher in that classroom.” – Senate Education Vice-chairman Erik Wells on seniority provisions in the school innovation zones bill

“I think the amendment takes us back to the original concept. It recognizes the fact that we do need those nurses. It recognizes that they do need to be state-funded through the formula. I think everyone wins, especially the kids.” – Delegate Larry Williams on a bill dealing with the ratio of nurses to students

“The school system certainly benefits by having children who have gone through some structured developmental things before they hit the school system because of the importance of brain development in those very early years.” – House Education Committee attorney David Mohr on bill that deals with child care for very young children


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

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

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”