COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 352

(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, Jackson, Manchin,

Love, Schoonover, Oliverio, Wagner, Yoder,

Blatnik and Wiedebusch)

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[Originating in the Committee on Education;

reported February 22, 1996.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact sections eight and eight-b, article four, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the employment terms, class titles and seniority rights of paraprofessionals, autism mentors and braille or sign reading specialists.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections eight and eight-b, article four, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.

§18A-4-8. Employment term and class titles of service personnel; definitions.
The purpose of this section is to establish an employment term and class titles for service personnel. The employment term for service personnel shall be no less than ten months, a month being defined as twenty employment days: Provided, That the county board of education may contract with all or part of these personnel for a longer term. The beginning and closing dates of the ten-month employment term shall not exceed forty-three weeks.
Service personnel employed on a yearly or twelve-month basis may be employed by calendar months. Whenever there is a change in job assignment during the school year, the minimum pay scale and any county supplement shall be applicable.
Service personnel employed in the same classification for more than the two hundred day minimum employment term shall be paid for additional employment at a daily rate of not less than the daily rate paid for the two hundred day minimum employment term.
No service employee, without his agreement, shall be required to report for work more than five days per week and no part of any working day may be accumulated by the employer for future work assignments, unless the employee agrees thereto.
Should an employee whose regular work week is scheduled from Monday through Friday agree to perform any work assignments on a Saturday or Sunday, the employee shall be paid for at least one-half day of work for each such day he reports for work, and if the employee works more than three and one-half hours on any Saturday or Sunday, he shall be paid for at least a full day of work for each such day.
Custodians, aides, maintenance, office and school lunch employees required to work a daily work schedule that is interrupted, that is, who do not work a continuous period in one day, shall be paid additional compensation which shall be equal to at least one-eighth of their total salary as provided by their state minimum salary and any county pay supplement, and payable entirely from county funds: Provided, That when engaged in duties of transporting students exclusively, aides shall not be regarded as working an interrupted schedule.
Upon the change in classification or upon meeting the requirements of an advanced classification of or by any employee, his salary shall be made to comply with the requirements of this article, and to any county salary schedule in excess of the minimum requirements of this article, based upon his advanced classification and allowable years of employment.
An employee's contract as provided in section five, article two of this chapter shall state the appropriate monthly salary the employee is to be paid, based on the class title as provided in this article and any county salary schedule in excess of the minimum requirements of this article.
The column heads of the state minimum pay scale and class titles, set forth in section eight-a of this article, are defined as follows:
"Pay grade" means the monthly salary applicable to class titles of service personnel.
"Years of employment" means the number of years which an employee classified as service personnel has been employed by a board of education in any position prior to or subsequent to the effective date of this section and including service in the armed forces of the United States if the employee were employed at the time of his induction. For the purpose of section eight-a of this article, years of employment shall be limited to the number of years shown and allowed under the state minimum pay scale as set forth in section eight-a of this article.
"Class title" means the name of the position or job held by service personnel.
"Accountant I" means personnel employed to maintain payroll records and reports and perform one or more operations relating to a phase of the total payroll.
"Accountant II" means personnel employed to maintain accounting records and to be responsible for the accounting process associated with billing, budgets, purchasing and related operations.
"Accountant III" means personnel who are employed in the county board of education office to manage and supervise accounts payable and/or payroll procedures.
"Aide I" means those personnel selected and trained for teacher-aide classifications such as monitor aide, clerical aide, classroom aide or general aide.
"Aide II" means those personnel referred to in the "Aide I" classification who have completed a training program approved by the state board of education, or who hold a high school diploma or have received a general educational development certificate. Only personnel classified in an Aide II class title shall may be employed as an aide in any special education program.
"Aide III" means those personnel referred to in the "Aide I" classification who hold a high school diploma or a general educational development certificate, and have completed six semester hours of college credit at an institution of higher education or are employed as an aide in a special education program and have one year's experience as an aide in special education.
"Aide IV" means personnel referred to in the "Aide I" classification who hold a high school diploma or a general educational development certificate and who have completed eighteen hours of state board-approved college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher education, or who have completed fifteen hours of state board-approved college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher education and successfully completed an in-service training program determined by the state board to be the equivalent of three hours of college credit.
"Audiovisual technician" means personnel employed to perform minor maintenance on audiovisual equipment, films, supplies and the filling of requests for equipment.
"Auditor" means personnel employed to examine and verify accounts of individual schools and to assist schools and school personnel in maintaining complete and accurate records of their accounts.
"Autism mentor" means personnel who work with autistic students and who meet standards and experience to be determined by the state board: Provided, That the state board shall determine these standards and experience on or before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two: Provided, however, That if any employee has held or holds an aide title and becomes employed as an autism mentor, the employee shall hold a multiclassification status that includes aide and autism mentor titles in accordance with section eight-b of this article:
"Braille or sign language specialist" means personnel employed to provide braille and/or sign language assistance to students: Provided, That if any employee has held or holds an aide title and becomes employed as a braille or sign language specialist, the employee shall hold a multiclassification status that includes aide and braille or sign language specialist titles in accordance with section eight-b of this article.
"Bus operator" means personnel employed to operate school buses and other school transportation vehicles as provided by the state board of education.
"Buyer" means personnel employed to review and write specifications, negotiate purchase bids and recommend purchase agreements for materials and services that meet predetermined specifications at the lowest available costs.
"Cabinetmaker" means personnel employed to construct cabinets, tables, bookcases and other furniture.
"Cafeteria manager" means personnel employed to direct the operation of a food services program in a school, including assigning duties to employees, approving requisitions for supplies and repairs, keeping inventories, inspecting areas to maintain high standards of sanitation, preparing financial reports and keeping records pertinent to food services of a school.
"Carpenter I" means personnel classified as a carpenter's helper.
"Carpenter II" means personnel classified as a journeyman carpenter.
"Chief mechanic" means personnel employed to be responsible for directing activities which ensure that student transportation or other board-owned vehicles are properly and safely maintained.
"Clerk I" means personnel employed to perform clerical tasks.
"Clerk II" means personnel employed to perform general clerical tasks, prepare reports and tabulations and operate office machines.
"Computer operator" means qualified personnel employed to operate computers.
"Cook I" means personnel employed as a cook's helper.
"Cook II" means personnel employed to interpret menus, to prepare and serve meals in a food service program of a school and shall include personnel who have been employed as a "Cook I" for a period of four years, if such personnel have not been elevated to this classification within that period of time.
"Cook III" means personnel employed to prepare and serve meals, make reports, prepare requisitions for supplies, order equipment and repairs for a food service program of a school system.
"Crew leader" means personnel employed to organize the work for a crew of maintenance employees to carry out assigned projects.
"Custodian I" means personnel employed to keep buildings clean and free of refuse.
"Custodian II" means personnel employed as a watchman or groundsman.
"Custodian III" means personnel employed to keep buildings clean and free of refuse, to operate the heating or cooling systems and to make minor repairs.
"Custodian IV" means personnel employed as head custodians. In addition to providing services as defined in "Custodian III," their duties may include supervising other custodian personnel.
"Director or coordinator of services" means personnel who are assigned to direct a department or division. Nothing herein shall may prohibit professional personnel or professional educators as defined in section one, article one of this chapter, from holding this class title, but professional personnel shall may not be defined or classified as service personnel unless the professional personnel held a service personnel title under this section prior to holding class title of "director or coordinator of services": Provided, That funding for professional personnel in positions classified as directors or coordinators of services who were assigned prior to the first day of May, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, shall may not be required to be redirected from service personnel categories as a result of this provision until the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six. Thereafter, directors or coordinators of service positions shall be classified as either a professional personnel or service personnel position for state aid formula funding purposes and funding for directors or coordinators of service positions shall be based upon the employment status of the director or coordinator either as a professional personnel or service personnel.
"Draftsman" means personnel employed to plan, design and produce detailed architectural/engineering drawings.
"Electrician I" means personnel employed as an apprentice electrician helper or who holds an electrician helper license issued by the state fire marshal.
"Electrician II" means personnel employed as an electrician journeyman or who holds a journeyman electrician license issued by the state fire marshal.
"Electronic technician I" means personnel employed at the apprentice level to repair and maintain electronic equipment.
"Electronic technician II" means personnel employed at the journeyman level to repair and maintain electronic equipment.
"Executive secretary" means personnel employed as the county school superintendent's secretary or as a secretary who is assigned to a position characterized by significant administrative duties.
"Food services supervisor" means qualified personnel not defined as professional personnel or professional educators in section one, article one of this chapter, employed to manage and supervise a county school system's food service program. The duties would include preparing in-service training programs for cooks and food service employees, instructing personnel in the areas of quantity cooking with economy and efficiency, and keeping aggregate records and reports.
"Foremen" means skilled persons employed for supervision of personnel who work in the areas of repair and maintenance of school property and equipment.
"General maintenance" means personnel employed as helpers to skilled maintenance employees and to perform minor repairs to equipment and buildings of a county school system.
"Glazier" means personnel employed to replace glass or other materials in windows and doors and to do minor carpentry tasks.
"Graphic artist" means personnel employed to prepare graphic illustrations.
"Groundsmen" means personnel employed to perform duties that relate to the appearance, repair and general care of school grounds in a county school system. Additional assignments may include the operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning duties in buildings.
"Handyman" means personnel employed to perform routine manual tasks in any operation of the county school system.
"Heating and air conditioning mechanic I" means personnel employed at the apprentice level to install, repair and maintain heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical equipment.
"Heating and air conditioning mechanic II" means personnel employed at the journeyman level to install, repair and maintain heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical equipment.
"Heavy equipment operator" means personnel employed to operate heavy equipment.
"Inventory supervisor" means personnel who are employed to supervise or maintain operations in the receipt, storage, inventory and issuance of materials and supplies.
"Key punch operator" means qualified personnel employed to operate key punch machines or verifying machines.
"Locksmith" means personnel employed to repair and maintain locks and safes.
"Lubrication man" means personnel employed to lubricate and service gasoline or diesel-powered equipment of a county school system.
"Machinist" means personnel employed to perform machinist tasks which include the ability to operate a lathe, planer, shaper, threading machine and wheel press. Such personnel should also have ability to work from blueprints and drawings.
"Mail clerk" means personnel employed to receive, sort, dispatch, deliver or otherwise handle letters, parcels and other mail.
"Maintenance clerk" means personnel employed to maintain and control a stocking facility to keep adequate tools and supplies on hand for daily withdrawal for all school maintenance crafts.
"Mason" means personnel employed to perform tasks connected with brick and block laying and carpentry tasks related to such laying.
"Mechanic" means personnel employed who can independently perform skilled duties in the maintenance and repair of automobiles, school buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment to use in a county school system.
"Mechanic assistant" means personnel employed as a mechanic apprentice and helper.
"Multiclassification" means personnel employed to perform tasks that involve the combination of two or more class titles in this section. In such instances the minimum salary scale shall be the higher pay grade of the class titles involved.
"Office equipment repairman I" means personnel employed as an office equipment repairman apprentice or helper.
"Office equipment repairman II" means personnel responsible for servicing and repairing all office machines and equipment. Personnel shall be responsible for parts being purchased necessary for the proper operation of a program of continuous maintenance and repair.
"Painter" means personnel employed to perform duties of painting, finishing and decorating of wood, metal and concrete surfaces of buildings, other structures, equipment, machinery and furnishings of a county school system.
"Paraprofessional" means a person certified pursuant to section two-a, article three of this chapter to perform duties in a support capacity including, but not limited to, facilitating in the instruction and direct or indirect supervision of pupils under the direction of a principal, a teacher, or another designated professional educator: Provided, That no person employed on the effective date of this section in the position of an aide may be reduced in force or transferred to create a vacancy for the employment of a paraprofessional: Provided, however, That if any employee has held or holds an aide title and becomes employed as a paraprofessional, the employee shall hold a multiclassification status that includes aide and paraprofessional titles in accordance with section eight-b of this article: Provided further, That once an employee who holds an aide title becomes certified as a paraprofessional and is required to perform duties that may not be performed by an aide without paraprofessional certification, he or she shall receive the paraprofessional title pay grade.
"Plumber I" means personnel employed as an apprentice plumber and helper.
"Plumber II" means personnel employed as a journeyman plumber.
"Printing operator" means personnel employed to operate duplication equipment, and as required, to cut, collate, staple, bind and shelve materials.
"Printing supervisor" means personnel employed to supervise the operation of a print shop.
"Programmer" means personnel employed to design and prepare programs for computer operation.
"Roofing/sheet metal mechanic" means personnel employed to install, repair, fabricate and maintain roofs, gutters, flashing and duct work for heating and ventilation.
"Sanitation plant operator" means personnel employed to operate and maintain a water or sewage treatment plant to ensure the safety of the plant's effluent for human consumption or environmental protection.
"School bus supervisor" means qualified personnel employed to assist in selecting school bus operators and routing and scheduling of school buses, operate a bus when needed, relay instructions to bus operators, plan emergency routing of buses and promoting good relationships with parents, pupils, bus operators and other employees.
"Secretary I" means personnel employed to transcribe from notes or mechanical equipment, receive callers, perform clerical tasks, prepare reports and operate office machines.
"Secretary II" means personnel employed in any elementary, secondary, kindergarten, nursery, special education, vocational or any other school as a secretary. The duties may include performing general clerical tasks, transcribing from notes or stenotype or mechanical equipment or a sound-producing machine, preparing reports, receiving callers and referring them to proper persons, operating office machines, keeping records and handling routine correspondence. There is nothing implied herein that would prevent such the employees from holding or being elevated to a higher classification.
"Secretary III" means personnel assigned to the county board of education office administrators in charge of various instructional, maintenance, transportation, food services, operations and health departments, federal programs or departments with particular responsibilities of purchasing and financial control or any personnel who have served in a position which meets the definition of "Secretary II" or "Secretary III" herein for eight years.
"Supervisor of maintenance" means skilled personnel not defined as professional personnel or professional educators as in section one, article one of this chapter. The responsibilities would include directing the upkeep of buildings and shops, issuing instructions to subordinates relating to cleaning, repairs and maintenance of all structures and mechanical and electrical equipment of a board of education.
"Supervisor of transportation" means qualified personnel employed to direct school transportation activities, properly and safely, and to supervise the maintenance and repair of vehicles, buses, and other mechanical and mobile equipment used by the county school system.
"Switchboard operator-receptionist" means personnel employed to refer incoming calls, to assume contact with the public, to direct and to give instructions as necessary, to operate switchboard equipment and to provide clerical assistance.
"Truck driver" means personnel employed to operate light or heavy duty gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.
"Warehouse clerk" means personnel employed to be responsible for receiving, storing, packing and shipping goods.
"Watchman" means personnel employed to protect school property against damage or theft. Additional assignments may include operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning duties.
"Welder" means personnel employed to provide acetylene or electric welding services for a school system.
In addition to the compensation provided for in section eight-a of this article, for service personnel, each service employee shall, notwithstanding any provisions in this code to the contrary, be entitled to all service personnel employee rights, privileges and benefits provided under this or any other chapter of this code without regard to such the employee's hours of employment or the methods or sources of compensation.
Service personnel whose years of employment exceed the number of years shown and provided for under the state minimum pay scale set forth in section eight-a of this article may not be paid less than the amount shown for the maximum years of employment shown and provided for in the classification in which he is employed.
The county boards shall review each service personnel employee job classification annually and shall reclassify all service employees as required by such job classifications. The state superintendent of schools is hereby authorized to withhold state funds appropriated pursuant to this article for salaries for service personnel who are improperly classified by such the county boards. Further, he shall order county boards to correct immediately any improper classification matter and with the assistance of the attorney general shall take any legal action necessary against any county board to enforce such order.
No service employee, without his written consent, may be reclassified by class title, nor may a service employee, without his written consent, be relegated to any condition of employment which would result in a reduction of his salary, rate of pay, compensation or benefits earned during the current fiscal year or which would result in a reduction of his salary, rate of pay, compensation or benefits for which he would qualify by continuing in the same job position and classification held during said fiscal year and subsequent years.
Any board failing to comply with the provisions of this article may be compelled to do so by mandamus, and shall be liable to any party prevailing against the board for court costs and his reasonable attorney fee, as determined and established by the court.
Notwithstanding any provisions in this code to the contrary, service personnel who hold a continuing contract in a specific job classification and are physically unable to perform the job's duties as confirmed by a physician chosen by the employee shall be given priority status over any employee not holding a continuing contract in filling other service personnel job vacancies if qualified as provided in section eight-e of this article.
§18A-4-8b. Seniority rights for school service personnel.

A county board of education shall make decisions affecting promotion and filling of any service personnel positions of employment or jobs occurring throughout the school year that are to be performed by service personnel as provided in section eight, article four of this chapter, on the basis of seniority, qualifications and evaluation of past service.
Qualifications shall mean that the applicant holds a classification title in his category of employment as provided in this section and must be given first opportunity for promotion and filling vacancies. Other employees then must be considered and shall qualify by meeting the definition of the job title as defined in section eight, article four of this chapter, that relates to the promotion or vacancy. If the employee so requests, the board must show valid cause why an employee with the most seniority is not promoted or employed in the position for which he applies. Applicants shall be considered in the following order:
(1) Regularly employed service personnel;
(2) Service personnel whose employment has been discontinued in accordance with this section;
(3) Professional personnel who held temporary service personnel jobs or positions prior to the ninth day of June, one thousand nine hundred eighty-two, and who apply only for such temporary jobs or positions;
(4) Substitute service personnel; and
(5) New service personnel.
The county board of education may not prohibit a service employee from retaining or continuing his employment in any positions or jobs held prior to the effective date of this section and thereafter.
A promotion shall be defined as any change in his employment that the employee deems to improve his working circumstance within his classification category of employment and shall include a transfer to another classification category or place of employment if the position is not filled by an employee who holds a title within that classification category of employment. Each class title listed in section eight, article four of this chapter shall be considered a separate classification category of employment for service personnel, except for those class titles having Roman numeral designations, which shall be considered a single classification of employment. The cafeteria manager class title shall be included in the same classification category as cooks. The executive secretary class title shall be included in the same classification category as secretaries. Paraprofessional, autism mentor, and braille or sign language specialist class titles shall be included in the same classification category as aides.
For purposes of determining seniority under this section an employee's seniority begins on the date that he enters into his assigned duties.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, decisions affecting such personnel with respect to extra-duty assignments shall be made in the following manner: An employee with the greatest length of service time in a particular category of employment shall be given priority in accepting such assignments, followed by other fellow employees on a rotating basis according to the length of their service time until all such employees have had an opportunity to perform similar assignments. The cycle then shall be repeated: Provided, That an alternative procedure for making extra-duty assignments within a particular classification category of employment may be utilized if the alternative procedure is approved both by the county board of education and by an affirmative vote of two thirds of the employees within that classification category of employment. For the purpose of this section, extra-duty assignments are defined as irregular jobs that occur periodically or occasionally such as, but not limited to, field trips, athletic events, proms, banquets and band festival trips.
Boards shall be required to post and date notices of all job vacancies of established existing or newly created positions in conspicuous working places for all school service employees to observe for at least five working days. The notice of such job vacancies shall include the job description, the period of employment, the amount of pay and any benefits and other information that is helpful to the employees to understand the particulars of the job. After the five day minimum posting period all vacancies shall be filled within twenty working days from the posting date notice of any job vacancies of established existing or newly created positions.
All decisions by county boards of education concerning reduction in work force of service personnel shall be made on the basis of seniority, as hereinafter provided.
The seniority of any such service personnel shall be determined on the basis of the length of time the employee has been employed by the county board of education within a particular job classification. For the purpose of establishing seniority for a preferred recall list as hereinafter provided, when an employee has been employed in one or more classifications, the seniority accrued in each previous classification shall be retained by the employee.
Should a county board of education be required to reduce the number of employees within a particular job classification, the employee with the least amount of seniority within that classification or grades of classification shall be properly released and employed in a different grade of that classification if there is a job vacancy: Provided, That if there is no job vacancy for employment within such classification or grades of classification, he shall be employed in any other job classification which he previously held with the county board if there is a vacancy and shall retain any seniority accrued in such job classification or grade of classification.
If two or more employees accumulate identical seniority, the priority shall be determined by a random selection system established by the employees and approved by the county board.
All employees whose seniority with the county board is insufficient to allow their retention by the county board during a reduction in work force shall be placed upon a preferred recall list and shall be recalled to employment by the county board on the basis of seniority.
Employees placed upon the preferred list shall be recalled to any position openings by the county board within the classification(s), where they had previously been employed, or to any lateral position for which the employee is qualified or to a lateral area for which an employee has certification and/or licensure.
Employees on the preferred recall list shall not forfeit their right to recall by the county board if compelling reasons require an employee to refuse an offer of reemployment by the county board.
The county board shall be required to notify all employees on the preferred recall list of all position openings that from time to time exist. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail to the last known address of the employee; it shall be the duty of each such employee to notify the county board of any change in the address of such employee.
No position openings may be filled by the county board, whether temporary or permanent, until all employees on the preferred recall list have been properly notified of existing vacancies and have been given an opportunity to accept reemployment.
Any board failing to comply with the provisions of this article may be compelled to do so by mandamus and shall be liable to any party prevailing against the board for court costs and his reasonable attorney fee, as determined and established by the court. Further, employees denied promotion or employment in violation of this section shall be awarded the job, pay and any applicable benefits retroactively to the date of the violation and payable entirely from local funds. Further, the board shall be liable to any party prevailing against the board for any court reporter costs including copies of transcripts.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include the school service personnel class title of paraprofessional, autism mentor, and braille or sign language specialist within the same classification category as aides and to clarify when aides who become certified as paraprofessionals receive the pay grade for paraprofessional titles.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.