H. B. 3020

(By Delegates Mezzatesta, Manuel, Williams, Shelton, Houston, Willis and Harrison)


(Originating in the Committee on Education)

[March 1, 1999]



A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article two-i, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section nine, article three of said chapter; and to amend and reenact section nine, article nine-a of said chapter, all relating to prohibiting the chairman of the West Virginia staff development advisory council from being an employee of the state department of education; reducing the state department of education budget annually by a percentage equal to the decrease in net enrollment; and allowing additional amounts to be appropriated to the allowance for other current expense and substitute employees.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article two-i, chapter eighteen of the code of west Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that section nine, article three of said chapter be amended and reenacted; and that section nine, article nine-a of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2I. STAFF DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS.
§18-2I-4. Functions of the West Virginia staff development advisory council.

The council shall:
(a) Identify and prioritize statewide staff development needs;
(b) Identify effective staff development programs to meet identified needs;
(c) Communicate staff development information and findings to the regional staff development councils, the state board and the legislative oversight commission on education accountability by the first day of September of each year;
(d) Convene regular meetings on a semiannual basis to effectuate the requirements in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section; and
(e) Elect
a chairman who shall serve two years: Provided, That the chairman may not be an employee of the state department of education.
ARTICLE 3. STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
§18-3-9. State department of education.

For carrying into effect the provisions of this chapter, the state superintendent of schools shall maintain a department of education at his office at the state capitol, and he shall have authority to employ assistants and such other employees as may be necessary.
For each fiscal year beginning the first day of July, two thousand, and thereafter, the personal services, annual increment and employee benefits of the state department of education budget shall each be reduced by a percentage equal to the difference between the current net enrollment and the net enrollment from the previous year divided by the net enrollment from the previous year: Provided, That if the current net enrollment is greater than or equal to the net enrollment from the previous year then there may be no reductions. For the purposes of this calculation, net enrollment is defined in section two, article nine-a of this chapter.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-9. Foundation allowance for other current expense and substitute employees.

The total allowance for other current expense and substitute employees shall be the sum of the following, excluding any additional amounts appropriated by the Legislature for those purposes: Provided, That each of the three amounts set forth in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this section shall not exceed the preceding year's allowance by more than four percent:
(1) For current expense, for the year one thousand nine hundred ninety--ninety-one and thereafter, ten percent of the sum of the computed state allocation for professional educators and service personnel as determined in sections four and five of this article. Distribution to the counties shall be made proportional to the average of each county's average daily attendance for the preceding year and the county's second month net enrollment; plus
(2) For professional educator substitutes or current expense, two and five-tenths percent of the computed state allocation for professional educators as determined in section four of this article. Distribution to the counties shall be made proportional to the number of professional educators authorized for the county in compliance with sections four and five-a of this article; plus
(3) For service personnel substitutes or current expense, two and five-tenths percent of the computed state allocation for service personnel as determined in section five of this article. Distribution to the counties shall be made proportional to the number of service personnel authorized for the county in compliance with sections five and five-a of this article; plus
(4) For academic materials, supplies and equipment for use in instructional programs, two hundred dollars multiplied by the number of professional instructional personnel employed in the schools of the county. Distribution shall be made to each county for allocation to the faculty senate of each school in the county on the basis of two hundred dollars per professional instructional personnel employed at the school. Faculty senate means a faculty senate created pursuant to section five, article five-a of this chapter. Decisions for the expenditure of such funds shall be made at the school level by the faculty senate in accordance with the provisions of said section five, article five-a and shall not be used to supplant the current expense expenditures of the county. Beginning on the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and every September thereafter, county boards shall forward to each school for the use by faculty senates the appropriation specified in this section. Each school shall be responsible for keeping accurate records of expenditures.