WVSBA The Legislature

July 30, 2010 - Volume 30 / Issue 22

Overview

Stats

Day of Session

Adjourned  Sine Die


Quote:

“The protection of (state) law … gives our unions a much better comfort level than sitting down bargaining with the facts we have in front of us and the changes that need to be made…” – Governor Joe Manchin quoted in a West Virginia Education Association publication

Inside

 

 

 

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


By Jim Wallace

The Legislature’s special session on education reform fell far short of Gov. Manchin’s hopes when he called it in May – and by July, his original plan for getting up to $80 million in federal Race to the Top funds for West Virginia was all but forgotten.

“It’s a little more difficult than I thought it might be. But I am not giving up.” – Gov. Manchin

“It’s a little more difficult than I thought it might be,” Manchin said of education reform when he spoke Tuesday on Talkline on the MetroNews Radio Network. “But I am not giving up.”

Although it wasn’t part of his call for the special session, what Manchin said he would like the most is collective bargaining. With that, he said, education officials and state government could work on an equal basis with unions representing teachers and school service personnel to change the public school system without the restrictions of laws and policies that have been built up over decades to regulate schools. Other states have done it, Manchin said, so he thinks West Virginia could, too. But although the unions have said they also would like collective bargaining, they are not so eager to give up the protections their members have in the current system.

Manchin announced in his State of the State address in January that West Virginia would go after Race to the Top funds and pledged to call a special legislative session on education reform if the state’s application fell short. It not only fell short but failed to make even the first cut in the competition. That led to the special session in May with eight education reform bills. It lasted one week. The governor and legislative leaders then decided to put it on hold for a while to allow a 10-member joint legislative committee, with help from union leaders and other interest groups, to try to work out their differences.

But by the time the special session resumed in July, education reform was overshadowed by the bigger issue of determining how to elect a successor to the late Sen. Robert Byrd, the longest-serving member of Congress. Direct intervention by Manchin just hours before the deadline for the Legislature to act barely saved the election bill, but his education reform proposals were not so fortunate.

When the special session ended on the evening of July 21, the Legislature had passed only three education reform bills – and they were watered down greatly from what Manchin had wanted.

 

House Education Committee gets blamed.

“We have an obstacle,” he said about getting education reform bills through the Legislature. “I don’t know how to get through that obstacle.”

That was a reference to the House of Delegates in general and the House Education Committee in particular. Most of that committee consists of current and former school employees, and it tends to be more favorable to the positions of teachers’ unions than to reformers.

“We were still dealing with the election bill and not even sure of if we could meet.” – Delegate Mary Poling

But House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, said it wasn’t just political positions that made it harder for her committee than the Senate Education Committee to deal with the education reform bills. “On the elections bill, the House had a lot of difficulty getting some of the procedural motions out of the way, and we spent several different sessions on the floor, while the Senate was able to have Education Committee meetings,” she said. “We were still dealing with the election bill and not even sure of if we could meet.”

Indeed, the Senate Education Committee acted quickly on the bills. It even met to consider some of them on the afternoon of July 16, right after Manchin announced his appointment of Carte Goodwin to fill Byrd’s Senate seat temporarily, and before the special session had formally resumed.

“You need to have people who have an open mind to change, and that is what we don’t have on the House Education Committee.” – Sen. Erik Wells

When the House Education Committee did meet, it defeated bills to handle low-performing schools and to provide alternative certification for teachers and principals. The committee approved five education bills, but the House could reach agreement with the Senate on only three of them.

“You need to have people who have an open mind to change, and that is what we don’t have on the House Education Committee,” Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, said several days ago on Talkline. Wells, who is vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee, has clashed with leaders of the West Virginia Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia and fought off a union-led attempt to defeat him for reelection in the May primary. On the radio, he called WVEA President Dale Lee and AFT-WV President Judy Hale “political animals just like legislators are.”

 

Delegate denounces House changes in one bill.

Although most of the bills had quiet deaths, Senate Bill 2004 went down with a bit more of a fuss. It originally was intended to require compulsory health screenings for students entering public schools for the first time and for those entering third grade, sixth grade and ninth grade. The Senate approved it and sent it to the House a day after it was introduced. But the House changed the bill. For example, instead of saying the students “are required to have a comprehensive health screening by a licensed medical provider,” the House version changed “required” to “recommended.” That didn’t sit well with some legislators.

“What we did was to take a ridiculous bill and made it worse. I think that applies to a number of these bills, as a matter of fact.” – Delegate Woody Ireland

“I am not against improving the health of our school children, but I am against just passing a feel-good bill for us,” Delegate Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie, said on the House floor. “What we did was to take a ridiculous bill and made it worse. I think that applies to a number of these bills, as a matter of fact.”

Ireland said he thought people in the education system were ready to make changes if the Legislature would let them.

“In case of health screenings, we’re not willing to really put our money where our mouth is,” he said. “We really do need to improve the health of our school children, but we need to do it right. We need to do it right.”

Just recommending health screenings instead of requiring them, Ireland said, was the equivalent of just recommending speed limits on interstate highways instead of requiring them. But other members defended the House’s approach.

“We have a recommended seat belt law,” Delegate Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, said. “We don’t have a mandatory seat belt law, but we have the best compliance in the whole country. I think we need to get started on improving our children’s health care.”

Poling called the House version of the bill “a public education policy statement. Out of it comes the desire to say that a child’s education is affected by that child’s health. And it recommends that parents have these health screenings and share them with professional educators without taking that responsibility away from the parents, where it should lie.”

The House passed the amended bill on a 75-10 vote on the last day of the special session, but it died when the House and Senate each insisted on sticking with its own version. A conference committee to work out the differences was not appointed.

 

Other bills died more quietly.

Senate Bill 2008, which would have required evaluations of professional school personnel to occur at least annually, also died after the House and Senate insisted on different versions of the bill and did not reach a compromise.

Two other bills, Senate Bill 2005 and Senate Bill 2007, sped through the Senate but never got out of the House Education Committee. Senate Bill 2007’s purpose was to provide alternative certification for principals and allow alternative certification programs for teachers from approved education providers. 

Senate Bill 2005 was a long bill whose purpose was described as facilitating “the improvement of schools and school districts through a number of strategies.” It would have required plans for early warnings to identify students who are likely to have trouble that might lead them to drop out later and provide for intervention to help them. Other provisions of the bill included updates of high-quality education standards, requirements for state annual performance measures to account for growth over the previous year, narrowed deadlines for improvement of low performance in schools, authorization of district-wide transfers of principals in low-performing systems, establishment of a program to assist in the improvement of low-performing systems, and increases in the required graduation rate.

 

A few bills survived.

Among the bills that got through both the House and the Senate to be sent to the governor was Senate Bill 2006, which got through with just minor changes, but the changes it would make are less sweeping than other proposed education reforms. Its purpose is to “encourage teacher collaboration through the establishment of alternative school-level decision-making bodies.” It is to create a process for schools to apply to the state school board to create collaborative teams or to augment existing collaborative teams by replacing the three existing teams required by state board rule: the Strategic Planning Committee, the Technology Team and the School Support Team. The bill also requires the state board to study all currently required school committees and teams and then report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and the Joint Standing Committee on Education.

Another bill that got through the Legislature, Senate Bill 2009, did so only after being cut down to just a small portion of the original bill. As it was introduced, the bill would have provided for pilot programs that would have given additional monetary payments to teachers, principals and assistant principals for working in low-performing, high-poverty or high-minority schools. That section was stripped out of the bill. What was left was a provision to “establish a special community development school pilot program to be implemented in one public school for the duration of five years.” A school on the West Side of Charleston is expected to be selected for that program.

The final education bill that the Legislature approved was Senate Bill 2010, which got through the process with just a minor amendment. It deals with alternative education programs. The bill requires the state board to develop a rule for approving alternative education programs for disruptive students “who are at risk of not succeeding in the traditional school structure.” That rule could provide for waivers of state board policies. The bill also calls on the state board to establish up to five pilot projects at the elementary or middle school levels or both that use alternative schools or similar placements to handle disruptive students.

Gov. Manchin signed all three of those bills into law on Monday.

 

Union leaders had mixed reactions to the session.

“I’m disappointed in other things that weren’t on the call that we know will improve student achievement like lowering class size, collaboration time for teachers, improving teachers’ salaries so we can attract the brightest and best and keep the teachers that we have.” – WVEA President Dale Lee

Although the legislation that came out of the special session was much less than what went into it, Dale Lee of the WVEA was pleased that at least Senate Bill 2010 on alternative education programs was approved. “We have been saying for the last two years that, until we start addressing these problems for the kids and until we start addressing the alternative ed at grade level for kids, we’re really just working around the fringes,” he said.

“I’m disappointed in other things that weren’t on the call that we know will improve student achievement like lowering class size, collaboration time for teachers, improving teachers’ salaries so we can attract the brightest and best and keep the teachers that we have,” Lee added.

Judy Hale of AFT-WV also was disappointed that a few proposals considered by the task force between the May and July special sessions were not included in the governor’s call for the July session. “We were hoping to move class size to the seventh- and eighth-grade level over a period of time, because that’s a very expensive proposition,” she said. “But it’s at the middle schools where we have the most difficulty. The student scores are the lowest there. We have the most discipline problems there. And so I wanted to try [to reduce] class size beginning with the seventh grade.”

“We had asked for just a little, simple statement that said the teacher would have to give his or her consent before giving up a planning period, because we have some abuses out there.” – AFT-WV President Judy Hale

Like Lee, Hale was disappointed that the special session legislation did not include raising teachers’ pay or a proposed new rule dealing with teachers’ planning periods.

“We had asked for just a little, simple statement that said the teacher would have to give his or her consent before giving up a planning period, because we have some abuses out there,” she said. “We have some principals who will take a planning period as many as over 50 times a year. It’s not good for kids. Teachers need time to plan. This happens often at the elementary level, where they have only 30 minutes to plan anyway for the most part. Some of them have a little more than that. And then they have so many subjects they have to plan for. So it’s necessary that they have the planning period.”

The AFT also had asked for legislation calling for an audit of the state’s education spending, but Hale said she wasn’t concerned that it was left off of the governor’s call for the special session. She said the Legislature has expressed interest in doing its own audit and the administration also has indicated it might conduct such an audit.

“So that would be great if we could get two different studies, and I think we’re going to get that,” Hale said. “So I’m not as concerned about that.”

 

The work goes on.

When asked whether all the effort that went into working on education reform was worth it, Lee said it was too soon to tell. “If we forget about all the discussions that were held and not bring anything up during the regular session, then absolutely not – it hasn’t been worth it,” he said. “But I think we gave data and information and proven reform measures that will work to both the House and Senate. They seem to understand the need for that type of reform. And I very hopeful that, in the regular session, bills will be introduced, and we will push for bills to be introduced that will continue to address these true reform measures.”

“But when do you ever get the whole package with the Legislature? You just have to keep working at it.” – AFT-WV President Judy Hale

Hale said she also would try again in the regular legislative session in 2011. She said she didn’t think lawmakers would approve all of the reform measures that were proposed. “But when do you ever get the whole package with the Legislature?” she asked. “You just have to keep working at it.” 

Lee said it was good to at least have discussion on some issues that had not been given much consideration before. Poling agreed with that.

“I think the discussions maybe brought a lot of people up to speed on some of the education issues,” she said. “I cannot agree with the governor that these issues had not been discussed before.”

Howard O’Cull, executive director of the West Virginia School Board Association, said education reform was hindered by being overshadowed by the legislation to work out how to fill Byrd’s unexpired term in the U.S. Senate.

"There also was a long lag between the June and July meetings of the working group, which added to a loss of momentum, with the working group's last meeting being July 12,” he said. “Finally, and most importantly, there is a desire among stakeholders to ‘fix’ education, but the bigger issue is ‘how’ this is to be done and who is to do the 'doing.’ The main output of the working group, no matter how one examines it, was to begin a substantive conversation about public education reform in West Virginia. In future years, we either will be indebted to this approach taken by Gov. Manchin or we will be to the point that generational casts of education interest group personalities find themselves entering West Virginia's long-playing education reform movie. Let's hope it is the former."

Although some of the legislation approved by the House could not get agreement from the Senate, Poling said a few good things came out of the special session.

“I think the Kanawha [County] and other delegations are very excited about the proposal on that community development school,” she said, referring to Senate Bill 2009. “And statewide, I believe there’s some real interest in the alternative education pilots for the elementary and middle schools. We’ve usually focused alternative education programs for high school and disruptive students, and this is trying to focus money on identifying at-risk [students] and keeping them from being disruptive later on. There’s a lot of interest and excitement in that.”

“There were several issues that, while there may have been a consensus in the work group, there was not a consensus from the 25 members of the House Education Committee.” – House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling

On the proposals that didn’t get through the Legislature, especially the two that died in her committee, Poling said she would rather deal with them during the regular session, which lasts 60 days. “There were several issues that, while there may have been a consensus in the work group, there was not a consensus from the 25 members of the House Education Committee,” she said.

Poling saw no urgency for passing the reform measures during the regular session, especially after it became clear that West Virginia would not have a chance to be awarded Race to the Top money. When Manchin called a halt to the special session in May, he said he had just spoken with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who said there might be a third round in the Race to the Top competition. But Poling said that was unlikely. 

“That was pretty obvious even while the work group proceeded that that was off the table as the future of the federal budget took shape,” she said. “I think that federal funding is probably going to focus more on trying to keep teachers in the classrooms and keep funding up on existing programs. While they may still have the competitive grant process, the Race to the Top, as it was proposed, I think is over.”

However, Poling added that the Race to the Top competition never was a factor for her. “I was not willing to support legislation that I felt would not improve education whether it was Race to the Top or not,” she said.

Although Manchin has said he is not giving up on education reform, it’s quite likely he will not be the governor laying out legislation for lawmakers the next time they have a session. Polls indicate that he is the early frontrunner to win election to fill out what remains of Byrd’s term in the U.S. Senate. If that happens, Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, would become the acting governor. There is already plenty of discussion about when an election would have to be held to fill the rest of Manchin’s unexpired term and about reforming the code providing for gubernatorial succession. In that atmosphere, education reform could once again be overshadowed by election reform.

 

Eighteen states are still in the running for Race to the Top

The U.S. Department of Education has chosen federal Race to the Top applications from 18 states and the District of Columbia for the competition’s semifinal round. That round will be judged in Washington, D.C., during the week of August 9.

The semifinalists are in the competition for $3 billion in grants. Winners will be announced in September.

Those having the chance to present their applications in person are: Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Not having made the first round of Race to the Top semifinalists, West Virginia did not submit a “round two” application. That was partly because a May special legislative session came to a halt without passage of eight bills deemed necessary for the federal funds.
The governor and legislators concluded it was too late for second round Race to the Top consideration. There has been talk that West Virginia might the third round of  Race to the Top funding, but a third round has not been announced.

 


By Jim Wallace

The effort to improve vocational education from the middle school level through adulthood has gained the support of officials in both the Department of Education and the higher education system.

The latest person to give lawmakers his ideas about how to accomplish that is Jim Skidmore, chancellor of the West Virginia Community and Technical College System.

“The earlier you can engage students, the better,” he told members of Education Subcommittee A during the July legislative interim meetings. Skidmore said he wants to generate more interest in students about pursuing technical education programs and to see that more of them are prepared not only to enter community and technical colleges but also to graduate from them.

“Anything you can do at the middle school level to get students engaged in technical education I think will be a plus.” – Chancellor Jim Skidmore

“We’re shifting from getting more people in to getting more people through,” he said. Consequently, Skidmore said, he wants to invest more in getting students into career-track programs by their sophomore year in high school using dual-credit technology courses – those that provide both high school and college credits. Such courses are already available in some parts of the state. Skidmore suggested that more dual-credit programs could be offered in health fields, such as courses that would allow students to graduate from high school as certified nursing assistants and then move into nursing programs in higher education.

“Anything you can do at the middle school level to get students engaged in technical education I think will be a plus,” he said. “A lot of it is just so they’ll be exposed to different careers and technical occupations.”

Skidmore said he wants students and their parents at least to know what opportunities are available. He also suggested establishing a scholarship program for career-technical programs.

 

More financial aid would help.

“I’m not against Promise [scholarships],” Skidmore said. “I think that’s a good program, but there is about $40 million in Promise that goes to high school students interested in following baccalaureate education.”

Less than $1 million is spent at community colleges, he said, while acknowledging that students who get Promise scholarships are not the target population for community and technical colleges. Skidmore suggested establishing a program similar to those in Georgia and Tennessee that community colleges could use to get students into technical programs.

“I think that would help attract students in those programs,” he said. “I think it would give some of the career-technical students in high school an incentive to do well in their technical programs in high school so they can get a scholarship to go on to the community colleges and our technical programs.”

Skidmore also mentioned a program that the Toyota plant in Putnam County has that allows students to attend community college two days a week and work at the plant three days a week. He suggested the state could set up a matching fund or a tax credit to help other employers participate in programs like that. His office has already discussed that possibility with several companies and received some interest, he said.

 

Reaching parents is a problem.

In June, members of the subcommittee expressed concern that not enough high schools and middle schools offer vocational education programs anymore. During the July meeting, they expressed more concern that, even when those programs are available, students and their parents are not considering the possibilities soon enough.

“Parents aren’t getting the message.” – Sen. Richard Browning

“Parents aren’t getting the message,” Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, said.

Skidmore said the higher education system and the secondary education system have tried to align their curricula “so students will understand there are definite courses they need to take in high school to be successful at the next level.” But he added that the students who are the best candidates for those courses are hard to reach, because “they’re not the ones who seek out the counselors. We have to seek them out.” To that end, Skidmore said, the Higher Education Policy Commission has outreach programs, but they’re not enough.

“We don’t spend a lot of money on marketing,” he said. “It’s expensive. We need to spend more so we can get the word out.”

But Skidmore said he knows from experience that marketing can work. “We were having problems up in north central West Virginia with the aerospace program at Bridgeport,” he said. “So within a period of about three weeks, we did some real concentrated, targeted marketing. They only had like 10 students enrolled for the fall, and in two weeks, we marketed and got that up to about 25. This was in August, right before school starts. So I know it works.”

However, the challenge is to reach students at a much younger age, Skidmore said. “We need to get students engaged in technical education in middle school,” he said. “We need to do that, because if they’re not getting that, sometimes they get going and it’s too late.”

Helping students get into courses that best suit their interests should continue from middle school through high school, Skidmore said. If some of them go on to baccalaureate programs in college, that’s OK, he said, but most of them would benefit from knowing how vocational education programs in middle school and high school align with programs available at community and technical colleges.

 

Legislators want a plan.

“Something is not working. We’re at a time in the history of this state where we got people thinking about making change.” – Sen. Richard Browning

Browning said he would like lawmakers to receive a plan for such programs and a list to tell them where the system breaks down.

“Something is not working,” he said. “We’re at a time in the history of this state where we got people thinking about making change.”

Skidmore said part of the problem is that some parents want their children to get traditional college educations and not consider going into technical fields. Browning said marketing would help to cure that problem.

Sen. Jesse Guills, R-Greenbrier, agreed that it is difficult to get some parents to understand the value of vocational education. “Technology students are treated as second-rate citizens in this state,” he said, adding that community colleges have a stigma of being for students who cannot afford to go to four-year colleges or don’t have the grades to get into them.

“The guidance counseling fails these students. It seems to me that we should be spending more money for guidance counselors, particularly if they are trying to determine the direction of the students.” – Sen. Jesse Guills

“The guidance counseling fails these students,” Guills said of those best suited for vocational education courses. “It seems to me that we should be spending more money for guidance counselors, particularly if they are trying to determine the direction of the students. We know the better students are going to take care of themselves. They’re typically parent-driven. The parents have higher education degrees.”

Although his parents did not have college educations, Guills said they were determined to see that he went to college. He went on to become a lawyer. But he said guidance counselors need to work with parents to make sure they know that vocational education at community and technical colleges is better for some students than four-year colleges.

“It takes many years to create a perception and it’s going to take many years to end it,” he said.

Guills added that many students at the state’s four-year colleges and universities come from out of state and leave the state after they graduate. He said West Virginia could have a “greater return” for its higher education spending by focusing on community and technical colleges. Skidmore agreed, saying that 83 percent of students at those colleges stay in West Virginia, and that includes border areas like the Northern Panhandle, where it’s easy to cross state borders to go to school. 

Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, said he thinks part of the problem is that schools have changed so much since his youth, when all the boys were expected to take vocational agricultural courses. “We had small, community schools back then,” he said. “We’ve got these huge, conglomerate schools that we’re dealing with.”

But Skidmore said there are ways to engage students even in large, consolidated high schools.

Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, asked how many students who earn associate degrees go on to earn baccalaureate and other degrees. Skidmore said it’s in the range of 35 percent to 40 percent, but indicated that rate is a bit deceiving. “We’re putting more emphasis on technical programs that typically don’t transfer,” he said.

 


 By Jim Wallace

Education Department officials have told lawmakers that West Virginia is doing better than most states in providing prekindergarten programs and in strengthening its curriculum standards.

Clayton Burch, assistant director of the Office of Instruction, said at the July meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability that West Virginia ranks fifth in the United States for access to pre-K programs for four-year-olds and also for three-year-olds. The state ranks 13th for spending on pre-K programs, he said.

In recent years, the state has worked toward a goal of making pre-school programs available for all eligible students by 2012. Many of those programs are in what are considered “collaborative settings,” such as Head Start and privately run programs.

Burch told lawmakers the department has exceeded its goal of 50 percent participation with collaborative community partners by now. “I’m pleased to report in 2009-2010, we actually reached 69 percent,” he said.

But House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, wondered about the level of quality for those pre-Ks. “For quality, we are still in the top 10,” Burch replied.

Delegate Brady Paxton, D-Putnam, asked whether there is any difference in quality between the pre-Ks in nonconventional settings and those in schools. Burch said that varies, but each one receives scores that are used to improve quality.

 

State is on track with Common Core.

State Supt. Steve Paine told lawmakers that West Virginia also is ahead of other states in strengthening curriculum standards to meet the national standards called Common Core. The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, which Paine serves as president, released the Common Core in June. The purpose is to establish common curriculum standards in mathematics and English-language arts for American schools to adopt with the goal of preparing high school graduates better for college or careers.

“I think we’re pretty well positioned,” Paine said. He added that West Virginia has joined several other states in the Smarter Balance Consortium to assess the Common Core. The consortium recognizes that “there is more to assessing a child’s progress than a standardized test,” he said.

Most states are trying to align their curricula with Common Core, Paine said, but Texas and Alaska have announced their intentions not to adopt it and not to participate in any of the assessment consortia. He said Virginia is taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, expressed concern that alignment with Common Core might cause West Virginia’s standards to be weakened in some cases, but Paine assured him that would not happen. He said the state has worked hard to strengthen its curriculum standards. “We don’t intend to give that up,” he said.

Paine also announced the “soft launch” of Learn21, the department’s online learning website. He said it allows students to continue their studies even when they are not at school. It might be useful to keep students going when school must be closed because of snow days, he said.

 


By Jim Wallace

Advocates for legislation to require insurance companies to cover children with autism presented a strong case to lawmakers during the July legislative interim meetings.

The advocates from national and West Virginia organizations combined statistics, passion and PowerPoint slides over two hours to make the points that coverage providing early and intensive treatment for autistic children is best for their health and well-being and also is very affordable. By the time the meeting of Judiciary Subcommittee C ended, several lawmakers indicated they were impressed with the presentation.

“This was a really, really good interim presentation,” Delegate Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, said. She is co-chairwoman of the committee.

 

Small costs could produce significant results.

Lorri Unumb, a South Carolina lawyer who works with the group Autism Speaks as a fulltime advocate, told lawmakers that the number of states adopting laws requiring insurance companies to cover autism has been growing rapidly in the past few years. Indiana was the first to pass such a law in 2001, she said, and it had “miniscule” effects on the cost of health insurance there.

“Children who never before were able to receive therapy are now making remarkable progress.” – Lorri Unumb

“Children who never before were able to receive therapy are now making remarkable progress,” Unumb said.

Now, 23 states require such coverage, she said, most of them through similar legislation. (Minnesota’s requirement resulted from a court case.) Unumb said the Council for Affordable Health Insurance has found that autism coverage has affected premiums in those states by less than 1 percent, although opponents of such legislation claim it has caused premiums to rise by 3 percent to 5 percent.

Using actual claims data from Minnesota, it has been found that the per-member-per-month increase on premiums is only 83 cents, she said, and the average annual cost of Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy is about $30,000.

Unumb explained that autism is not curable, but it is treatable, and ABA therapy is supported as effective by several scientific groups. With such therapy, she said, half the kids can overcome their problems enough to be mainstreamed in school, while the supports others need are at a reduced level than they otherwise would be. Generally, she said, autistic children need about 40 hours per week of ABA treatment.

Getting such treatment for her son, who is now nine years old, cost Unumb and her husband about $75,000, she said. Fortunately, both of them are lawyers, but they still had to sell their house and downsize, as well as make other financial sacrifices. Partly because of Unumb’s advocacy, South Carolina passed a law on autism coverage in 2008.

“It’s sad that in the United States of America, we know of a treatment that works,” she said, but without insurance coverage, only wealthy people can afford it.

ABA treatment works best if it begins as early as possible, she said, and that increases the importance of making sure insurance companies cover it. The costs to society over a lifetime for a child who does not receive such treatment are about $3.2 million, Unumb said.

“An autism tsunami is coming.” – Lorri Unumb

The prevalence of autism also is increasing. Unumb said it occurred in about one out of 2,500 children 25 years ago, but now the rate is about one in 110. “An autism tsunami is coming,” she said.

Unumb warned lawmakers that projections of the costs of autism coverage laws tend to be inflated. In South Carolina, she said, the cost of the 2008 law was initially projected to be $18.9 million a year. That was revised to $9 million, but the actual cost in 2009 was only $856,371, which comes out to about 20 cents per member per month.

“South Carolina is not too different than West Virginia,” Unumb said.

Further, she said, autism coverage laws have positive economic effects in states where they exist. For example, she said, more positions for therapists are created in those states.

“This legislation just makes sense,” Unumb said. “After studying it for years, I realized it is the insurance industry that is not doing its part.”

 

Others also call for changes.

            Jeff Sell, vice president for public policy for the Autism Society, presented a similar message. Like Unumb, he is a lawyer and two of his four children are autistic.

“The benefits side [of an autism coverage law] is so dramatically huge. Early intervention is the key.” – Jeff Sell of the Autism Society

“Autism is a condition that affects the family,” he said. “The benefits side [of an autism coverage law] is so dramatically huge. Early intervention is the key.”

Sell said autistic children need both behavioral intervention and medical intervention. “Our biggest problem has been accessing treatment,” he said. “These families need help. These families are looking to the Legislature.”

Dr. Susannah Poe, an associate professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, said, “Autism is a diagnosis that needs a voice.”

Parents tend to notice a lack of expected skills in their children at ages around 18 months, but they have trouble getting autism diagnosed and treated in West Virginia, she said. There is a three-month waiting list just to see her, Poe said, and then, because autism is not covered by insurance companies in West Virginia, she cannot follow up with the families who come to her.

Poe described daily life with an autistic child as “chronic sorrow,” often with sleep issues, feeding issues, inability to communicate effectively, need for around-the-clock care and behavioral issues.

“Early identification and referral to high-quality, intensive treatment is critical for improving outcomes. Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States.” – Dr. Susannah Poe

“Early identification and referral to high-quality, intensive treatment is critical for improving outcomes,” she said. “Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States.”

However, the reason autism is growing so fast is unknown, she said. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can’t explain the epidemic, Poe said.

Just about any physician can diagnose autism, she said, but few physicians in West Virginia feel comfortable doing so. About one in every 111 children in West Virginia is diagnosed as autistic, Poe said, but only about 1.5 percent of the autistic children in the state get treated for it. In addition, she said, the number of evidence-based intensive treatment services offered in West Virginia is limited.

Poe said insurance coverage would end the discrimination West Virginia families with autistic children face, and it would make financial sense.

“Diagnosis is medical, but treatment is community and educationally based,” she said.

 

State agency’s efforts are limited.

Dr. Barbara Becker-Cottrill, executive director of the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University, said her agency serves about 1,900 families on a regular basis, but it doesn’t have many places to make referrals in the state. The center, which the Legislature established in 1984, finds it impossible to do intensive early intervention on its $2 million annual budget, she said.

West Virginia would likely get more board-certified behavior analysts if the Legislature would require insurance companies to cover autism, Becker-Cottrill said. She noted that the number of such analysts has risen from 18 to 65 in South Carolina since that state’s autism coverage law went into effect two years ago.

“West Virginia does not have nearly enough services to meet the dramatic increase in the prevalence of autism. Autism is an urgent public health concern that must be addressed.” – Dr. Barbara Becker-Cottrill

“West Virginia does not have nearly enough services to meet the dramatic increase in the prevalence of autism,” Becker-Cottrill said. “Autism is an urgent public health concern that must be addressed.”

 Jennifer Saunders, a policy associate at the National Conference of State Legislatures, did not speak for or against the proposed autism coverage law but gave lawmakers perspective on what other states have been doing. She said NCSL has been tracking autism legislation for three years.

Laws vary from state to state in the treatment services that are required to be covered, the ages of children covered and monetary caps, Saunders said. It’s difficult to compare analyses of those laws from state to state, she said. The NCSL’s estimates on per-member-per-month costs for including autism coverage in health care policies range from 74 cents in Louisiana to $15.12 in Pennsylvania, she said, but fiscal models might not consider all the factors that could be affected.

 

Lawmakers want changes.

Delegate Ralph Rodighiero, D-Logan, is not a member of Judiciary Subcommittee C, but he appeared before the members as the father of an autistic son.

“There is hope,” he said.

His son, who is now 18, was diagnosed as autistic at age two. Rodighiero’s wife, who is a registered nurse, quit her job, got training for dealing with autism and worked intensively with their son. They also got mentors who helped keep their son on track. One problem, Rodighiero said, was that their son had no fear and felt no pain, so someone always had to make sure he did not do things that would endanger his safety. Recently, he graduated from high school, ranking 20th in his class, and now works in a job at a local theater.

Rodighiero said his son is proof that intensive therapy works.

Delegate Mark Hunt, D-Kanawha, said there seems to be a high cost for doing nothing about the problem. “We need to do something now,” he said. Becker-Cottrill said she supported everything he said. She added that the state will see “a tremendous amount of adults hitting the system” because they did not receive autism therapy treatment.

Delegate Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha, called the cost of doing nothing “unimaginable.”

Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, asked whether the state should take on the cost of autism treatment. Unumb said other states, including South Carolina, have considered doing that, such as through Medicaid waiver programs, but decided against it. “You can’t kick in enough money even with a very favorable federal match,” she said. Wisconsin and Maryland attempted to cover the costs themselves but were unable to do so, she said.

“That’s what insurance is for,” Unumb said.

Oliverio said that, as a state legislator, he would like to pass the costs off to the federal government. “I may feel different about that in six months,” he added, referring to his candidacy for a seat in the House of Representatives from West Virginia’s First District.



The West Virginia Board of Education has re-elected Priscilla Haden as its president for 2010-2011. The board also re-elected Jenny Phillips from Randolph County as vice president and Robert Dunlevy from Ohio County as secretary.

“I am honored that my colleagues have entrusted me with this position,” Haden said. “I am confident that we will continue to work together to move forward on important educational issues that impact our students.”  

Haden, a Charleston resident, was first appointed to the board in 2003. She was reappointed to a nine-year term in 2004. She was first elected president in 2009, after being elected vice president in 2007 and 2008.

“This is an exciting time in the history of education,” Haden said. “I look forward to working with West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine as we further Global21.”

Haden is a graduate of Morgantown High School and one of the school’s distinguished alumni. She received her bachelor's degree and master’s degrees from West Virginia University. She has taught in schools in Monongalia, Wood and Kanawha counties. She also is a former member of the Kanawha County Board of Education.

Phillips was first appointed to the board in 2005 to fill a vacancy created after the death of longtime state board member Paul Morris. She was reappointed in 2007 for a term ending in 2016. She spent 22 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Robert Dunlevy was named to the West Virginia Board of Education in November 2005 for a term ending in 2014. A native of Ohio County, Dunlevy holds a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University. In addition to his state board duties, he also serves on the School Building Authority and the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission.

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

Source: West Virginia Department of Education.

 


Fifteen county school systems have implemented universal prekindergarten programs, up from five last year. The state school board has approved 40 other county plans that outline how they plan to adopt preschool programs for all students by 2012.

“Educational and political leaders across West Virginia have made early childhood education a priority,” state Supt. of Schools Steve Paine said. “They know it’s a good investment. A study by Marshall University found that for every $1 West Virginia spends on good early childhood development, the state saves $5.20.”

West Virginia has been recognized nationally for a progressive state law that requires universal preschool be available to all of the state’s four-year-olds by the 2012-2013 school year. In 2009, preschool enrollment neared 14,000 children, about 72 percent of those eligible. About 70 percent of the programs are in collaborative settings with Head Start, child care and private programs. State code requires counties to submit a plan to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the state Board of Education every two years outlining progress. The board approved the plans at its July meeting.

Those counties that have met universal preschool status are: Braxton, Clay, Cabell, Harrison, Jackson, Lewis, Mineral, Pleasants, Randolph, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler and Wirt. All other counties submitted plans to enact universal preschool.

West Virginia also has been singled out for providing better access to preschool programs and dedicating more dollars to the effort than most other states in the country. Last year, West Virginia spent about $70 million, not including federal and child care funding, on the universal prekindergarten program.

Research shows that high-quality preschool improves high school graduation and college attendance rates, employment and earnings, and it lessens future crime and delinquency. It also helps fight unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and drug use.

Also during their July meeting, state board members voted to update the state preschool policy and place the proposed changes into a 30-day public comment period. The revisions would update the content standards and objectives and the learning criteria to better align them with 21st century updates to the K-12 curriculum as well as the Common Core State Standards initiative.

Source: West Virginia Department of Education


The West Virginia Department of Education has entered a partnership to create the Ambervision program to respond more quickly and safely to reunite missing children with their families.

Across the United States, a child is reported missing every 40 seconds. That's 800,000 children a year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. And of those who disappear, 40 percent are killed within the first hour, about the time it traditionally takes police to get a photo of a missing child.

In the Ambervision program, a secure database accessible only by law enforcement will be created from photos taken this fall as students pose for their school pictures. Authorities will be able to download the images within seconds of learning a child is missing.

This highly sophisticated system uses state-of-the-art biometric technology to turn a child's school photo into a three-dimensional avatar to better assist law enforcement, the media and the general public to facilitate an abducted child's safe return. Ambervision will work in conjunction with the Amber Alert program, a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate urgent bulletins in the most serious child-abduction cases.

"The Department of Education is committed to keeping West Virginia's children free from harm," state Supt. Steve Paine said. "Ambervision adds to our ability to keep every child safe and increases the chances of a good outcome in the unfortunate event of a missing child."

The West Virginia Board of Education is in the process of updating Policy 4350 - Procedures for the Collection, Maintenance and Disclosure of Student Data to require that student photo records be kept and to provide consistent school directory data statewide. The policy is currently out for comments and should be approved before the beginning of school. Ambervision will help West Virginia's 55 county school systems comply with these new state regulations.

Superintendents will be asked to make sure that school administrators check to see that all children's names and photos match. County school systems then will be asked to share the school directory information, including the electronic picture, with Ambervision each October. The project will serve almost 282,000 children enrolled in 742 public schools across West Virginia in addition to almost 100 children enrolled at the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

"A missing child is every parent's worst nightmare," Paine said. "Amber Alert has proven to be an effective tool in helping reunite families. Ambervision will add to the effectiveness of the Amber Alert program by expanding the database so that law enforcement is better prepared should the unthinkable happen. When a child is lost or abducted we want everyone to be vigilant and aware. Ambervision will help us do just that."

The Ambervision program picks up where the AmberView program left off. It was dissolved in 2009 when the National Institute of Justice stopped funding the program. Thousands of photos collected through AmberView were destroyed, making the Ambervision partnership even more important.

For more information on the Ambervision program, contact the West Virginia Department of Education's Office of Professional Preparation at 304-558-7010 or the Office of Communications at 304-558-2699. Information also is available on the Ambervision website at http://www.ambervision.org.

Source: West Virginia Department of Education

 


While many West Virginia students may not be in class this summer, that doesn’t mean they can’t go to school. The West Virginia Department of Education’s online learning website, Learn21, allows students to continue to learn when they’re away from the classroom.

The state school board received a demonstration of the site earlier this month.

 “Learn21 allows students to learn while they play,” West Virginia Supt. Steve Paine said. “Learn 21 is an ever-changing resource. As such, we need the help of educators, parents and students to provide feedback, which will lead the site’s evolution.”

Learn21 provides engaging Web-based math resources for students from prekindergarten to 12th grade. Social studies and science resources will be added to the Learn21 website for the start of the 2010-2011 school year. Since its launch this spring, about 35,000 visits have been made to the site.

Learn21 provides multiple opportunities for principal, teacher and student feedback. Comment boxes are provided throughout the website for thoughts and suggestions.

For more information, contact Learn21 Coordinator Donna Landin at (304) 558-3199, visit the site at http://wvde.state.wv.us/learn21, or contact the Office of Communications at 304-558-2699.

Source: West Virginia Department of Education



A few people who have served on school boards – or intended to do so – have run into legal troubles.

Former Logan County Board of Education member Allison Lambert, 43, of Man is going to federal prison for a year and one day. She had admitted that she failed to report about $1 million in income that she made from the Colonial Room Motel and Restaurant from 2004 to 2008. Lambert also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

In the Northern Panhandle, Joseph Adams, Jr., had intended to serve on the Brooke County school board after getting elected to it in May. However, since then, he was charged with embezzlement in Marshall County, so he decided not to take his board position. His attorney broke the news to the school board in a letter: “After much deliberation, Mr. Adams advises that he will not be able to fulfill his duties as a member of the Brooke County Board of Education and therefore regretfully declines to take the oath of office for the position of a member of the Brooke County Board of Education.”

The school board plans to appoint someone to fill that seat temporarily and put the position up for election again in the Nov. 2 general election.

Adams faces four counts of obtaining money, goods or property by false pretense in Marshall County Magistrate Court. It is alleged the violations occurred while he served as accounting supervisor at  REM West Virginia’s corporate office in Benwood.

Sources: Various news media accounts, including Weirton Daily Times



The sudden resignation of an elected member left the Monongalia County school board with a void for half a month.

Rebecca Myers, who was elected to the Monongalia County Board of Education in the May 2010 primary, abruptly stepped down July 6 -- the day before what would have been her swearing-in and first meeting. She told Supt. Frank Devono she wouldn't be able to adequately serve because she was pursuing jobs out of state.

That left the county board one member shy.

 Myers's sudden departure sparked a discussion between Devono, board members and Howard O'Cull, who heads the state School Board Association.

Former member Mike Kelly, whom Myers defeated in the May election, reoccupied the seat Tuesday evening. It was empty for two weeks, because Myers had not submitted a resignation letter. Devono and board Vice President Joe Statler, among others, said a resignation letter was necessary before the board could proceed. However, longtime board member Clarence Harvey disagreed. He said that, because Myers was never sworn in, she wasn't technically serving – and O'Cull sided with him.

In the end, though, Devono deferred to Monongalia County Clerk Carye Blaney, who said, swearing-in or no, that Myers was indeed an official board member since she was duly elected.

NOTE: Based on an article which appeared in the Jul, 28, 2010, edition of the Dominion Post of Morgantown. Reference: http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=10542589


 

Editor’s Note: -- Jim Wallace is a former government reporter for the Charleston Daily Mail and former news director of West Virginia Public Radio. He now works for TSG Consulting in Charleston and writes for several national and West Virginia publications.

 

 

 

Presidents Retreat


Retreat provided focus on county board president position, how to conduct hearings, and “County Showcase”

The West Virginia School Board Association’s 2010 Presidents’ Retreat, held July 16 and 17 in Wheeling, focused on the role of the county board president generally. More specifically, it dealt with the president or presiding officer’s role in conducting various hearings, including student suspension or expulsion hearings and personnel hearings.

A significant program segment was devoted to a “County Showcase,” in which members discussed innovative programs, services or offerings unique to their counties. This program segment will be the focus of future reporting in The Legislature.

About 50 county board presidents, vice presidents and board members, along with one county school superintendent, attended the retreat.

 

Ohio County Board of Education President Erik Schramm outlines the OCBOE'S "Middle College" program a collaborative venture with  West Virginia Northern Community College geared to helping at-risk middle school/junior high school students. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WVSBA Direct

 

West Virginia School Board Association President Mike Mitchem (McDowell) has announced the appointment of Barbara A. Parsons, Ed.D., (Monongalia) and Rick Snuffer (Raleigh) as co-chairs of a newly-formed WVSBA Strategic Planning Committee.

Mitchem also has announced Immediate Past President Rick Olcott (Wood) will serve as executive adviser to the committee. Other members – including at least one county board member per Regional Education Service Agency Region  as well as an cohort of individuals external to the organization – will be named at an August 13 WVSBA Executive Board Retreat.

“We hear this all the time, but WVSBA is at a cross-roads as an organization, Mitchem said in written comments to the association’s governing board. “Putting it plainly, newly emerging issues, some legislative in nature, demand a new look at what we do as an organization; what we stand for; and what we hope to accomplish.”

Further, he said, “Truly, we need to find some of the best, brightest and most capable members of the association, a few external friends and allies and a detractor or two to make the right mix.” He said the committee will hold its first meeting at WVSBA’s Conference ’10 in September.

“We see this group as providing some real direction to WVSBA at the FY12 Annual Business Meeting in February 2011,” Mitchem added. “We’re going to see what is working, what is not working with the organization, how we can better serve members, and to examine barriers and buffers to getting where we need to be in the future.”

Association members who wish to be considered for service on the committee should contact WVSBA Executive Director Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D. O’Cull’s preferred contact information is hocull@wvsba.org

 

Parsons.

Parsons, who is Monongalia County’s board president, was appointed to that board in 2000 to fill an unexpired term. She subsequently was elected to a four-year term in 2002 and was re-elected in May 2006 and 2010.

A Morgantown area resident for 35 years, Parsons earned a bachelor’s degree in Family Resources, a master’s in Industrial and Labor Relations and a doctorate in Education from West Virginia University. She is employed as director of Education Services for Monongalia Health System, Inc.

 Parsons served on the Morgantown Utility Board 1991-2001 and was a facilitator for COMPAC, a community transportation improvement group. A 1992 graduate of Leadership West Virginia, she is among the founders of Leadership Monongalia and currently coordinates the local leadership development program’s activities. She recently was appointed to serve on Monongalia County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization.

 

Snuffer.

Snuffer, an executive with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, served as association president in FY09. In his USDA capacity, Snuffer served as an information technology specialist, helping implement automation of USDA-Farm Security Administration offices in West Virginia.

In other USDA work, Snuffer served as a County Executive Director for Raleigh and Wyoming Counties. He has teaching experience as well, helping develop Fayette County Schools vocational agriculture programs (Fayette Plateau Vo-Tech Center). Among awards and distinctions, Snuffer has been awarded the Secretary of Agriculture’s Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award.

He has been a member of the RCBOE since a 2003 appointment, having been elected in 2004 and 2008. Snuffer, who has served two terms as Raleigh County Board President, is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of West Virginia University’s Animal Scienceand Agriculture Education Program.

 

Olcott.

Olcott was elected to the Wood County Board of Education in November 2004 and re-elected in 2006 and 2010. He served as its president from 2008 to 2010. He serves on the West Virginia County Board Member Training Standards Committee, West Virginia Department of Education Innovation Zones Selection Committee, West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Committee Board, Morris Tippens Scholarship Committee, and Wood County Schools Safety Committee.

 His school experience includes four years as a high school assistant tennis coach, high school Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) president and a four-year LSIC member of the high school principal selection committee. He is a RESA V-certified substitute teacher.

He graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1979 with a B.S. in Business Administration. He obtained CPIM professional supply chain certification in 1997, and was recertified in 2003 and 2008.

Olcott is a Global Supply Chain Manager with DuPont Filaments, where he has been employed for more than 29 years. He is past president and a current board member of the Parkersburg APICS chapter for supply chain professionals and past President of the Pahlhurst Plaza Maintenance Association.

The Executive Board’s August 13-14 Retreat will be held at the Country Inn & Suites, Beckley, W. Va. Mitchem stresses that the program is open to all members. Members should contact O’Cull for more information, he said.




Meeting Thursday, July 29, 2010, the Mason County Board of Education voted to appoint  Suzanne K. Dickens as interim superintendent for a term to end June 30, 2011.

She served as Mason County Schools Assistant Superintendent from 2000-2005. Other MCBOE central office positions included Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Title I, II and IV Coordinator, and Schools to Work Facilitator.

She also has served as a teacher, consultant and currently is a Marshall University instructor.

MCBOE President Dale Shobe said the board likely will conduct a superintendent search after January 1.

Dickens was appointed to fill a vacancy to occur August 16 when superintendent William Capehart, Ed.D., will assume teaching duties at  the University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Ohio.

Capehart was appointed as MCBOE superintendent in spring 2010.

Shobe said the West Virginia School Board Association is likely to be called upon to the assist the board in its 2011 search.

 

Barbour County.

The Barbour County Board will meet early next month to select a new superintendent.

During the last few months, the BCBOE has participated in an extensive search process coordinated by WVSBA.

The major portion of that process culminates Saturday with a county public forum at Philip Barbour High School. Community members will meet the four candidates selected by the BCBOE to be interviewed for the superintendent position.

Those persons include Moke Post, H. Moke Post, principal, Belington Middle School, Belington; Ben L. Guido, Ed.D., principal, Norwood Elementary School, Stonewood; Tina L. Edwards, director of instructional services and special education/Ritchie County Schools, Harrisville; and, Ronald V. Whetzel, assistant superintendent/director of special education/Monroe County Schools, Union.

“We wanted a thorough process with a lot of community and staff involvement,” according to Dave Strait, Barbour County Board President.

Strait said the board was quite pleased with the applicant pool as well. “We are a small county, but we received 12 applications. According to various board members I have spoken with from across the state that is unheard of at this time of the year. I think this speaks well for the process we are using, it’s fair and open.”

After the Saturday process is completed, which includes candidates responding to 10 questions submitted by the public as well as a luncheon for candidates and the board followed by board interviews, Strait said the board “will be prepared to make an important, informed decision as to the person we select.

“We're also pleased that we've gotten more than 50 questions from citizens and citizen groups. Enlisting the help of WVSBA was definitely the right move. They have experience and contacts that make them invaluable. I think the thing that I am most pleased about is that after talking to many of our citizens, they feel that this superintendent search process is being done the right way. The board knows that this is a crucial decision in making Barbour County a strong, effective school system, especially given our financial constraints.”

DeEdra Lundeen, former Barbour County Schools Superintendent, was named as Grant County Schools Superintendent late last spring by the state superintendent of schools.

The GCBOE is one of six county boards in which the state has intervened.

 

 

The West Virginia School Board Association’s annual training conference will be held September 10-11 at the Town Center Marriott Hotel in Charleston.

“We are working to finalize training program details for presentation to the County Board Member Training Standards Review Committee (TSRC) at their August 11 meeting,” association Executive Director Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D., said. He also serves as TSRC secretary.

“A major theme, based on member surveys, is the whole issue of what we might term ‘vocational education’ in West Virginia and how career and technical education fits into the current Pre-K – 12  schooling model,” O’Cull said.

“This program will be more than just about career/technical education but will examine if we have ‘rigored-out’ an entire segment of students due to an emphasis on academic schooling and how these two patterns, if they are present, affect the state’s obligation to provide  a thorough and efficient system of schools,” he said.

“Really, the program is equally about the impact of ‘rigor,’ Common Core or nationally-inspired standards and whether or not this rush to ‘rigor,’ again, is leading to a comprehensive increase in school dropouts who might, given alternate offerings, flourish a little better,” O’Cull said.

“In designing the program, we’re going to examine whether or not leaving some kids ‘behind’ constitutes an educational crisis as some persons allege,” he said.

Other program elements include a review of education legislation enacted in the 2010 regular and special legislative sessions, a study of Innovation Zones, and several workshops.

O’Cull said a schedule will be available following the TSRC meeting.

 

 

County board members are encouraged to submit any FY10 training records not having been provided to the West Virginia School Board Association staff as of June 30, 2010.

“It is necessary that we receive these records by August 10 to prepare, for state Board of Education approval, county board member training records for FY10,” Executive Director Howard M. O’Cull, Ed.D., said. He also serves as secretary of the state’s County Board Member Training Standards Review Committee (TSRC).

O’Cull said the WVSBA staff, based on committee guidelines, are responsible “only for maintaining detailed records of association-sponsored school board member training activities and programming. Other non-association programming is accepted, of course, upon TSRC approval and with proper documentation.”

Most “external training” occurs at county board retreats, workshops sponsored by Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs) or other programming “approved by the TSRC,” O’Cull said.

Records should be submitted to Shirley Davidson, WVSBA Administrative Assistant. Her preferred contact information is sdavidson@wvsba.org (electronic communications), although hard-copy verification is necessary as well.

The TSRC is a statutorily-sanctioned committee whose role is to ensure high-quality standards for county board member training. The committee has existed in some form since 1989. It was codified in 2009 at the behest of the West Virginia School Board Association and the state Board of Education. State board member Gayle Manchin (Kanawha) heads the group.

For more information, please contact O’Cull. His preferred contact information is hocull@wvsba.org or you may call 304-346-0571.

 

 

Aubry Angell Wilson, a recently elected member of the Upshur County Board of Education, died on July 11 at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. He was 77.

Wilson had attended Upshur County schools and was a graduate of West Virginia University with degrees in horticulture and extension education. He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and was stationed in Germany.

His professional career began as the 4-H Club agent for Ritchie County. Subsequently, he taught horticulture at Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Vocational Tech School in New Brunswick, N.J. He assisted the Allegheny Park System in Pennsylvania with the design of several parks and developed the horticulture curriculum taught nationally at vocational tech schools. In 1980, Wilson returned to Buckhannon to start Central West Virginia Nursery.

Wilson was active in politics and the Republican Party.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Margaret Wass Wilson. Also surviving are: a daughter, two sons, several grandchildren, three sisters and one brother.  

Funeral services were held  July 15, 2010.

WVBE Policies on Comment

 

State Board Policies
The following West Virginia Board of Education policies are open for comment. The West Virginia Department of Education website link is http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/.


Open for Public Comment

POLICY 2520.15 - Early Learning Standards Framework: Content Standards and Learning Criteria for West Virginia Pre-Kindergarten (WV Pre-k) (PDF) Until August 13 Comment Online!

POLICY 4110 - Attendance (PDF) Until August 13 Comment Online!

POLICY 2422.7 - Standards for Basic and Specialized Health Care Procedures (PDF) Pending Board Action Source: West Virginia Board of Education

Source: West Virginia Board of Education

 

Ethics Commission Advisory Opinions

 

The following is a summary of West Virginia Ethics Commission Advisory Opinions which relate to or may be of interest to county board members:

SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY OPINION NO. 2010-01 (Issued June 3, 2010 by The WEST VIRGINIA ETHICS COMMISSION) 

OPINION SOUGHT:

A newly-elected (County Board Member asks whether she may serve on the County Board of Health.)

CONCLUSION

Accordingly, the Commission hereby finds that because the Board of Health is a compensated public office, the Requester may not remain a Board Member of the County Board of Health pursuant to W.Va. Code § 18-5-1a.

Reference: http://www.wvethicscommission.org/SBAO-PDF/SBAO%202010-01.pdf

*

ADVISORY OPINION NO. 2010-13 (Issued July 8, 2010 by The WEST VIRGINIA ETHICS COMMISSION) 

OPINION SOUGHT:

A  member of a County Board of Education (BOE) whose wife is employed by the BOE as one of four auditors in the Finance Department located in the Central Office asks for guidance as to when he may participate in the discussions and/or vote on matters affecting his wife’s employment, including the BOE’s annual budget.

CONCLUSION

…The Commission hereby finds that the Requester may continue to participate in the discussion and vote on the overall budget. In the event that there is a line item in the budget concerning his spouse’s compensation and/or the compensation of the auditors and if the BOE specifically addresses any such line item, then he must recuse himself from participating in the discussion and decision-making process by fully disclosing his disqualifying interest, physically removing himself from the room during the period, and recusing himself from voting on the issue…Once the BOE concludes its discussion and deliberation (including voting, if required) on any such line item, then the Requester may return to the room and participate in the discussion, deliberation and vote on the budget in its entirety…

Reference: http://www.wvethicscommission.org/AO%20for%20Web%20-PDF/AO%202010-13.pdf

*


ADVISORY OPINION NO. 2010-14 ( Issued July 8, 2010 by The WEST VIRGINIA ETHICS COMMISSION)

OPINION SOUGHT:
An Elected Member of a Board of Education who is the owner of a fast-food restaurant asks whether:

  1. The Board of Education may purchase meals from his restaurant for special events such as math field day;
  2. Sports teams from the schools may purchase meals from his restaurant for team travel;
  3. Schools in the county school system may hold spirit nights at his restaurant if a percentage of the proceeds from the sales go to the schools;
  4. His restaurant may sell sandwiches and related food items to booster groups for resale through concession stands; and/or,
  5. The teachers’ credit union may purchase meals from his restaurant

CONCLUSION

The Commission finds that the Requester does not have sufficient voice, influence or control so as to trigger the limitations in § 61-10-15  (Pecuniary Interest Act) in regard to contracting with boosters.  However, limitations apply.  First, to the extent that any teachers, coaches or other school personnel are involved with the booster clubs, they may not be involved in directing the booster clubs to make purchases from the BOE Member; instead, all such decision-making power should be delegated to parent members; Second, the Requester’s business must disclose this requirement to all booster clubs with which he does business and provide them a copy of this opinion; Third, to the extent possible, all business between the Requester’s restaurant and the boosters should be conducted by a representative from the Requester’s business; and, Fourth, the Requester must recuse himself from discussing or voting upon matters, if any, which come before the BOE in regard to any booster club’s financial statements.  For recusal to be proper under the Ethics Act, he must disclose his interest and excuse himself from participating in the discussion and decision-making process by physically removing himself from the room during the discussion and vote on the matter.    

Further, the Commission finds that the Requester’s restaurant may host Spirit Nights on behalf of booster clubs.   The same limitations set forth above apply.  Additionally, the booster club hosting the event and the restaurant shall make it clear that the event is being held for the booster club’s benefit, not a school or the BOE Office.  For example, a banner at the event may read, “Sponsored by the Booster Club.”  Any advertising or other form of promotion for the event shall also contain this information. 

Credit Union

The credit union is a non-profit which has public, private and parochial school teachers as members.  The BOE allows it free use of office space.

The Commission held in A.O. 99-34 that a County Commissioner could be employed by a community service organization to which the County Commission provided financial support.  The Commission found that this type of financial support was not the type of transaction governed by § 61-10-15. The Commission held that he could work there.

Similarly, here, the Commission finds that the fact the BOE provides financial support through the donation of free office space does not constitute the requisite voice, influence or control so as to trigger the restrictions in § 61-10-15.  Hence, the requester may continue to sell food and related items to the credit union...             

NOTE: The Commission ruled that the County Board of Education may not purchase food from his restaurants; however, a different conclusion was reached in regard to booster clubs.  

 Reference: http://www.wvethicscommission.org/AO%20for%20Web%20-PDF/AO%202010-14.pdf


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ADVISORY OPINION NO. 2010-15 (Issued July 8, 2010 by The WEST VIRGINIA ETHICS COMMISSION) 

OPINION SOUGHT:

An Elected Board of Education Member asks whether he may serve as a football official, for compensation, in the county school system.

CONCLUSION

…The Commission finds that that an elected BOE member may not serve as a compensated sports official in the County where he serves as a BOE Member. He may volunteer as a referee and receive the nominal sum of $1.00 if required for insurance coverage…

 Reference: http://www.wvethicscommission.org/AO%20for%20Web%20-PDF/AO%202010-15.pdf

 

For more information, please contact the state Ethics Commission by calling 304.558.0664 or use email - http://www.wvethicscommission.org/

 

Boardsmanship

 

 


The West Virginia School Board Association receives frequent questions concerning reconsideration or rescission of motions made in county board of education meetings.

WVSBA Counsel Howard E. Seufer Jr., Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love, discusses this issue by noting:

“Many if not most West Virginia school boards have policies requiring the use of Robert’s Rules of Order.  The boards need to be aware that Robert’s Rules for the conduct of a large assembly are different from the rules that apply to a county board meeting.  According to Robert’s, ‘in a board meeting where there are not more than about a dozen members present, some of the formality that is necessary in a large assembly would hinder business.  The rules governing such meetings are different from the rules that hold in other assemblies.’

“Thus, a motion to reconsider may be handled differently in a meeting of a five-member school board than it is in a body with many more members:

  1. During county board meetings, a motion to reconsider is in order regardless of how long ago the original vote was taken.
  2. There is no limit to the number of times a question can be reconsidered, except that no motion can be reconsidered twice at the same meeting unless it was materially amended during its first reconsideration. 
  3. The motion to reconsider may be made by anyone who did not vote on the losing side when the initial vote was taken.  It may be made by a member who voted on the prevailing side, did not vote on the original motion, or was absent when the original vote was taken.
  4. A motion to reconsider requires a two-thirds vote for adoption unless all members who voted on the prevailing side are present or were notified in advance that the motion to reconsider would be made, in which case a majority vote is necessary.
“An alternative to the motion to reconsider is the motion to rescind the prior action of the board. 
  1. Like the motion to reconsider, a motion to rescind can be made regardless of how much time has passed since the original vote was taken.
  2. It, too, requires a two-thirds vote for adoption unless previous notice has been given.
  3. Unlike the motion to reconsider, however, the motion to rescind can be made by any member, regardless of how the movant voted on the original question.

“As to either kind of motion, nothing in Robert’s Rules appears to prohibit a board, after rescinding prior action or, upon reconsideration, defeating a prior motion, from immediately entertaining an alternative motion on the same subject.  This assumes, of course, that the published notice or agenda of the meeting fairly notified the public and news media that the board would consider taking such action.

“County boards should not lightly attempt to undo prior action that established binding contract or property rights in other parties or that initiated a course of action that, having been taken, cannot be undone without violating a law or causing damage to a party that justifiably relied upon the original action.  To do so could have serious negative consequences for the school board and its members, including liability.  In all such cases a county board should proceed with caution and the advice of counsel.”

 

 

Resources

 

 

 

Schools across West Virginia have increased the tutoring programs they provide to students.

It’s a result of the state school board’s adoption last year of state Policy 2512: Instructional Supports for Third and Eighth Grade Students to Achieve Critical Skills. Its purpose was to incorporate legislative changes requiring schools to provide extra assistance to students in danger of not having the necessary skills to advance from the third and eighth grades. With $6.2 million in grant money made available last year, counties have set up 119 intervention programs before, after and during school, as well as over spring break and over the summer break.

“Counties are working hard to make sure struggling students get the additional help they need at crucial times in their educational careers,” state Supt. Steve Paine said. “Research tells us that if children don’t master certain critical skills by the third grade, it is difficult for them to catch up. Eighth grade also is a pivotal point to ensure that children have success in high school and beyond. This program is helping address that.”

Statewide, 6,282 third graders have received help in reading and 6,163 have received help with math. Among eighth-grade students, 7,401 have received intervention help in reading and 8,344 received assistance with math, according to data presented to the state board.

To qualify for a grant, counties were required to:

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

Source: West Virginia Department of Education

 

 

Commentary

 

 


By Paul Epstein

WHEN my mother was in her 80s, my brother bought her a computer so that she could participate in e-mail exchanges and receive digital pictures of her grandchildren. It was a disaster. Though her mind was sharp, this lifelong learner with a master's degree could not "read" the screen, and every window that popped up represented a paralyzing choice for her: "If I click wrong, I might fail again."

We know that humans who do not develop language in childhood may never speak, that young minds need countless hours of exposure to letters, words, phonemes, in order to be ready to learn to read. We have learned that writing, too, is a developmental process.

Students, regardless of when they start, tend to go through many stages on the way to becoming competent writers and readers; and learning to read and write for the many challenges and purposes that we face in school, in work, and in the community is a life-long task. But as a society, we agree that we must invest in literacy because reading and writing are critical skills.

In the 21st century, the ability to use computers and other digital technology is a critical skill.

As governor of West Virginia from 1988-1996, Gaston Caperton instituted a statewide program to place three computers and reliable basic skills software in every classroom.

This introduced basic computer skills to students and teachers, and my state's early embrace of computer technology has been maintained and upgraded by subsequent administrations. For a mountainous, rural state, technology offers the possibility of bringing the world into isolated classrooms.

In the 23 years I have taught in West Virginia elementary schools, many students have benefited tremendously from these computers, but I've also seen many computers sitting unused in the backs of classrooms or used for games and activities with limited educational value.

Though teachers received some training in using the hardware and software, from what I've seen, few integrated these powerful tools into their everyday lessons. Only recently, as teachers have started receiving an array of "in-classroom" equipment like laptops and projectors, am I seeing a shift.

But simply providing equipment is not enough. I have learned through my involvement with the National Writing Project that teachers need to be comfortable with their own writing process before they can be effective teachers of writing. They must also be comfortable and confident users of technology before they can be effectively employ technology in their lessons.

I was very fortunate to have had a principal in 2000 who recognized that a teacher enthused about writing and technology with a computer lab would not only ensure that all students in the school were using the computers for reading, writing, and enhancing content learning, but he could also collaborate with other teachers, increasing their knowledge and skills.

Since then, I have found that when my colleagues see the power of computers to motivate students to engage in the writing process, including dreaded revision and editing, and when they get support in using the technology to enhance their classroom objectives, they embrace writing and technology.

The National Writing Project model of sustained professional development led by teachers is the most promising way to influence the nation's teaching force to embrace writing and technology in the digital age.

Technology spending is necessary and important to increase availability of technology tools and internet infrastructure. But teachers must be at the center of change aimed at preparing students for the 21st Century. The National Writing Project has put extensive time and expertise into developing and researching teacher leadership.

Teachers at the Center of Education: Writing, Learning and Leading in the Digital Age should remind those who lead schools, districts, and teacher preparation programs that there are teachers who are exploring uses of technology to enhance students' educational experiences.

Teachers must be given time and opportunity to share their most promising practices in their schools and districts through mentorship, coaching, or professional development programs in order to effectively implement a 21st Century curriculum for all students.

Paul Epstein is a Kanawha County teacher. This commentary was first published by The College Board.

 

ETC.

 

 

 


D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced that she has fired 241 teachers, including 165 who received poor appraisals under a new evaluation system that for the first time holds some educators accountable for students' standardized test scores. Dismissals for performance are exceedingly rare in D.C. schools -- and nationwide. The firings mark the beginning of Rhee's bid to make student achievement a high-stakes proposition for teachers. The Washington Teachers' Union said that it will contest the terminations. (Washington Post, 07/24/10)          

 

Aesop’s Fables – Belling the Cat

 

Once upon a time, all the mice met, together in council, to discuss the best means of securing themselves against the attacks of the cat.

After several suggestions had been debated, a Mouse of some standing and experience got up and said, "I think I have hit upon a plan which will ensure our safety in the future, provided you approve and carry it out. It is that we should fasten a bell around the neck of our enemy the cat, which will, by its tinkling, warn us of her approach."

This proposal was warmly applauded, and it had been decided to adopt it, when an old Mouse got upon his feet and said, "I agree with you all that the plan before us is an admirable one: but may I ask who is going to bell the cat?"

 

 

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

 

“It’s a little more difficult than I thought it might be.” – Gov. Manchin on education reform

“You need to have people who have an open mind to change, and that is what we don’t have on the House Education Committee.” – Sen. Erik Wells

“What we did was to take a ridiculous bill and made it worse. I think that applies to a number of these bills, as a matter of fact.” – Delegate Woody Ireland

“I’m disappointed in…things that weren’t on the call that we know will improve student achievement like lowering class size, collaboration time for teachers, improving teachers’ salaries so we can attract the brightest and best and keep the teachers that we have.” – WVEA President Dale Lee

“When do you ever get the whole package with the Legislature? You just have to keep working at it.” – AFT-WV President Judy Hale

“There is a desire among stakeholders to ‘fix’ education, but the bigger issue is ‘how’ this is to be done and who is to do the 'doing.’ – WVSBA Executive Director Howard O’Cull

“There were several issues that, while there may have been a consensus in the work group, there was not a consensus from the 25 members of the House Education Committee.” – House Education Chairwoman Mary Poling

“The guidance counseling fails these students. It seems to me that we should be spending more money for guidance counselors, particularly if they are trying to determine the direction of the students.” – Sen. Jesse Guills on students who should consider vocational programs

“An autism tsunami is coming.” – Lorri Unumb, autism insurance coverage advocate

“The benefits side [of an autism coverage law] is so dramatically huge. Early intervention is the key.” – Jeff Sell of the Autism Society

“Early identification and referral to high-quality, intensive treatment is critical for improving outcomes. Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States.” – Dr. Susannah Poe

“West Virginia does not have nearly enough services to meet the dramatic increase in the prevalence of autism. Autism is an urgent public health concern that must be addressed.” – Dr. Barbara Becker-Cottrill

 

 

Last Word

“The wide world is all about you; you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot fence it out.” – J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), British writer and author of the richly inventive epic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings.


By Adam McCallister

With the plethora of disasters our country and world now face -- economic collapse, environmental disasters and gruesome wars -- it is easy to forget another, more subtle disaster: our educational system.

With new, failed policies (No Child Left Behind), we only see our schools and universities crumble into ineffective prisons, a place children go to wait until their daily sentence is up.

As an enlisted student, I have noticed many changes since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind, some fantastic, some dreadfully infuriating.

What has this act brought us? Improved test scores and more funding, yet the funding is all for the testing. With roughly $50 billion for a budget, a large percentage is retained to give the same standardized tests to millions of kids around the nation. Do we see the funding, which is given to states in order of need, go to paying for adequate teachers? Do we see the funding go to ensure our classrooms have textbooks and usable equipment? After finishing an academic year where one-third of my teachers were unqualified to actually teach, the answer is an unfortunate "no."

The first thought one might have when presented with my argument is that, if the test scores are improving, do the other quarrels matter? For one, it is quite easy to manipulate test scores. When funding is dependent on success, schools cut corners. Rather than employing scholars who have adequate credentials and the knowledge to give to our students, we find our classrooms led not by scholars, but by trained seals!

A study conducted by the International Reading Association found that children are now taught how to perform a task, but the student does not develop an understanding of the task. The book "Understanding by Design" gives the example of two states, New York and Michigan, that both required schools to teach the Pythagorean Theorem.

Unfortunately, even though both states covered it, two-thirds of eighth graders missed word problems where one must use the famous formula to calculate the distance between set points. The students simply were unaware of what to do. Had it simply been an equation to solve, surely enough, teaching "to the test" would have worked, but when actual knowledge is needed instead of brainwashed reflexes, the students found themselves drowning in a sea of words on a math test.

Not only are the tests forcing teachers to not teach, but the tests themselves are ineffective. We see non-English native speakers being forced to take English tests, and a group of blind kids having their tests marked as zeroes because someone read their test aloud, something not allowed in NCLB rules. So now we are not getting an education, and discriminating against the disabled. Good call, Congress.

The next idea for the politicians appears to be the extension of the school year. First, they ruined the ethics and understanding shown to previous generations, and now they dare propose students staying in school year round? Prolonged exposure to a deplorable scholastic system benefits no one, but tortures all. A farmer who plants a crop on barren land and harvests nothing would not, in sound mind, plant twice the amount the next year. Before adding more time to our school year, the system itself should be improved.

As a student in this state, I demand an educational system that values merit, not percentages; abilities, not possibilities; education, not profit. Only when we rise up and demand change shall change occur. So, take pride in our state, and give the future hope of beneficial education. For how can our nation keep its international dominance, when its future leaders lack a well-endowed liberal education?


Adam McCallister is a student at Lincoln County High School.

This article was originally published in the July 23, 2010, issue of the Charleston Gazette

 

 

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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

Mike Mitchem (McDowell), 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”