H. B. 4537
(By Delegates Armstead, Williams, Anderson,
L. Smith and Azinger)
[Introduced February 15, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen-a, article five,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to school
closing or consolidation; requiring the county boards of
education to reduce to writing its reasons and supporting
data for school closure or consolidation and to make the
reasons and data available to the public at least sixty days
prior to a public hearing on the school closure or
consolidation; and requiring county boards of education to
provide reasons and supporting data regarding school closure
or consolidation at least sixty days prior to a public
hearing on school consolidation or closure to the local
school improvement council representing an affected school which is proposed to be closed or consolidated, and a school
which will receive the students who are relocated as a
result of the closure or consolidation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen-a, article five, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-13a. School closing or consolidation.
In addition to the provisions of section thirteen of this
article, prior to any final decision of a county board of
education on any proposal to close or consolidate any school,
except in cases in which a construction bond issue was passed by
the voters and which bond issue included the schools to be closed
or consolidated, the county board of education shall:
(1) Prepare and reduce to writing its reasons and supporting
data regarding such school closing or consolidation. The written
reasons required under this section shall be available for public
inspection in the office of the county school superintendent
during the four successive weeks before sixty days immediately
preceding the date of the public hearing required by this
section; and
(2) Provide for a public hearing, notice of which shall be
advertised by publication in a newspaper of general circulation
in the locality of the affected school at least once a week for
four successive weeks prior to the date of the hearing. The
notice shall contain the time and place of the hearing and the
proposed action of the school board. A copy of such notice shall
be posted at the affected school in conspicuous working places
for all professional and service personnel to observe, and such
notice shall remain posted for four successive weeks prior to the
date of the required public hearing. At least a quorum of the
school board members and the county superintendent from the
county wherein the affected school is located shall attend and be
present at the public hearing. Members of the public shall have
the right to be present, to submit statements and testimony, and
to question county school officials at the public hearing; and
(3) At least sixty days prior to any public hearing on
school closure or consolidation required by subsection (2) of
this section, the county board of education shall provide its
reasons and supporting data regarding the school closure or
consolidation to the local school improvement council
representing an affected school which is proposed to be closed or consolidated, and any school which will receive the students who
are relocated as a result of the closure or consolidation. Any
local school improvement council representing an affected school
may submit findings and recommendations to the county board of
education relating to the proposed closure or consolidation prior
to or at the public hearing.
Any such proposal to close or consolidate any school by any
county board of education shall be further subject to any current
rules and regulations of the state board of education relating to
school closing or consolidation: Provided, That after the
effective date of this section the state board shall promulgate
rules and regulations which shall prescribe in detail the type of
supporting data a county board of education shall include as part
of its written statement of reasons required by this section for
school closing or consolidation, including the transportation
time of the affected students and which shall include any data
required by the state board of education to amend a county's
comprehensive educational facilities plan.
This section shall take effect on the date of passage and
shall affect any school not physically closed or consolidated as
of that date: Provided, That the written reasons shall include all supporting data required by the state board of education to
amend a county's comprehensive education facilities plan.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Local
Educational Community Input Act. The act will require county
boards of education to make available to the public reasons and
supporting data regarding any school closure or consolidation at
least sixty days prior to a public hearing on the school closure
or consolidation, and to provide such information at least sixty
days prior to the public hearing to the local school improvement
council representing any affected school which is proposed to be
closed or consolidated, and any school which will receive the
students who are relocated as a result of the closure or
consolidation.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.