H. B. 4778


(By Delegates Mezzatesta, Williams, Anderson,

Ennis and Armstead)


(Originating in the House Committee on Education)

[February 28, 2000]




A BILL to amend and reenact sections, four, five-a, nine and ten, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to public school support; foundation allowance; foundation allowance for professional educators; foundation allowance to improve instructional programs; personnel; salaries; net enrollment; adjusted enrollment; student to teacher ratios; ratios of foundation allowances for professional educators and service personnel to net enrollment; foundation allowance for other current expense and substitute employees; academic materials, supplies and equipment; faculty senate; debt service and revenue bonds; and school building capital improvements fund.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections four, five-a, nine and ten, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-4. Foundation allowance for professional educators.

The basic foundation allowance to the county for professional educators shall be the amount of money required to pay the state minimum salaries, in accordance with provisions of article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code, to the personnel employed: Provided, That in making this computation no county shall may receive an allowance for the personnel professional educators which number is in excess of educators fifty-three and one-half sixty-five one hundredths professional educators to each one thousand students in adjusted enrollment: Provided, however, That any county not qualifying under the provision of section fourteen of this article is eligible for a growth rate in professional personnel in any one year not to exceed twenty percent of its total potential increase under this provision, except that in no case shall may the limit be fewer than five professionals: Provided further, That the number of and the allowance for personnel paid in part by state and county funds shall be prorated: And provided further, That where two or more counties join together in support of a vocational or comprehensive high school or any other program or service, the professional educators for the school or program may be prorated among the participating counties on the basis of each one's enrollment therein and that the personnel shall be considered within the above-stated limit: And provided further, That in the school year beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, and in each school year thereafter each county board shall establish and maintain a minimum ratio of fifty and fifteen one hundredths professional instructional personnel per one thousand students in adjusted enrollment: And provided further, That no permanent substitute shall may be included in the minimum ratio for professional instructional personnel. Permanent substitutes may be included in the computation for professional educators. For the purposes of this section, permanent substitute means a full-time employee who performs the duties of a day-to-day substitute: And provided further, That no county shall may have less than a total of five principals and central office administrators. Any county board which does not establish and maintain this minimum ratio shall suffer a pro rata reduction in the allowance for professional educators under this section: And provided further, That no county shall may be penalized if it has increases in enrollment during that school year: And provided further, That any county board which does not establish and maintain this minimum ratio shall utilize any and all allocations to it by provision of section fourteen of this article solely to employ professional instructional personnel until the minimum ratio is attained. Every county shall utilize methods other than reductions in force, such as attrition and early retirement, before implementing their reductions in force policy to comply with the limitations of this section. It is the intent of the Legislature that in planning reductions in force to comply with reduced ratios of professional educators to students in adjusted enrollment, county boards shall consider positions for elimination in the following order: (1) Central office administrators; (2) assistant principals; and (3) principals.
No county shall may increase the number of administrative personnel employed as either professional educators or pay grade "H" service personnel above the number which were employed, or for which positions were posted, on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety, and, therefore, county boards shall whenever possible utilize classroom teachers for curriculum administrative positions through the use of modified or extended contracts. Provided, That the governor shall submit a recommendation to the Legislature at the beginning of the regular session thereof in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, which proposes a method for establishing a responsible level of administrative support for each county school system and a pay scale differentiation on a daily rate between classroom positions and administrative positions when all other factors are equal.
 §18-9A-5a. Ratio of foundation allowances for professional educators and service personnel to net enrollment.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish maximum ratios between the numbers of professional educators and service personnel in the counties which are funded through the public school support plan and the net enrollment in the counties, such ratios are in addition to the ratios provided for in sections four and five of this article. It is the intent of the Legislature to adjust these ratios pursuant to legislative act as may be appropriate when additional personnel are needed to perform additional duties.
(b) Commencing with the school year one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine--ninety two thousand-two thousand one, and each year thereafter, in computing the basic foundation allowance to a county for professional educators and the basic foundation allowance to a county for service personnel under sections four and five of this article, a county shall may not receive an allowance for such personnel which number per one thousand students in net enrollment is in excess of the number of professional educators and the number of service personnel in the county computed as follows:
Maximum professionalMaximum service
For theeducators per 1000personnel per 1000
school yearnet enrollment thenet enrollment the
preceding yearpreceding year
1998-99
74.0
43.5


 Maximum serviceMaximum service
personnel per 1000personnel per 1000
For the
Maximum professionalnet enrollment thenet enrollment the

school year educators per 1000 preceding year forpreceding year for
1999-2000 net enrollment the each high density each low density
and preceding year county
county

thereafter 74.0 43.6
44.5

 Maximum
Maximum

professional
professionalMaximum ServiceMaximum service

educators per
educators per
personnel per
personnel per

1000 net
1000 net
1000 net
1000 net

For theenrollment the
enrollment the
enrollment the
enrollment the

school yearpreceding year
preceding year
preceding year
preceding year

2000-2001 for each high
for each low
for each high
for each low

anddensity county
density county
density county
density county

thereafter
74.2
75.1
43.6
44.5


 (c) Every county shall utilize methods other than reductions in force, such as attrition and early retirement, before implementing their reductions in force policy to comply with the limitations of this section.
§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: Provided, That for the fiscal year beginning the first day of July, two thousand, and thereafter, each of the three amounts set forth in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this section shall may not exceed the preceding year's allowance by more than four and one- half 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 may 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 Each September, county boards shall forward to each school for the use by faculty senates the appropriation specified in this section. Each school shall be is responsible for keeping accurate records of expenditures.
§18-9A-10. Foundation allowance to improve instructional programs.

(a) For the school year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight two thousand, and thereafter, the sum of the allocations shall be the amount appropriated by the Legislature for such purposes:
(1) One hundred fifty thousand dollars shall be allocated to
to each county;
(2) Distribution to the counties of the remainder of these funds 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. Moneys allocated by provision of this section shall be used to improve instructional programs according to a plan for instructional improvement which the affected county board shall file with the state board by the first day of August of each year, to be approved by the state board by the first day of September of that year, if such plan substantially complies with standards to be adopted by the state board: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, moneys allocated by provision of this section may also be used in the implementation and maintenance of the uniform integrated regional computer information system; and
(3) Up to twenty-five ten percent of this allocation may be used to employ professional educators and/or service personnel in counties after all applicable provisions of sections four and five of this article have been fully utilized. Provided, That for the school year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, only, up to an additional twenty-five percent of this allocation may be used to employ classroom teachers, as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code, and/or service personnel in counties after all applicable provisions of sections four and five of this article have been fully utilized: Provided, however, That service personnel employed with the additional twenty-five percent for the school year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, only, may not include directors, coordinators or supervisors.
Prior to the use of any funds from this section for personnel costs, the county board must receive authorization from the state superintendent of schools. The state superintendent shall require the district board to demonstrate: (1) The need for the allocation; (2) efficiency and fiscal responsibility in staffing; and (3) sharing of services with adjoining counties and the regional educational service agency for that county in the use of the total local district board budget. District boards shall make application apply for available funds for the next fiscal year by the first day of May of each year. On or before the first day of June, the state superintendent shall review all applications and notify applying district boards of the distribution of the allocation. Provided, That for the school year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, only, the state superintendent shall review all applications and notify applying district boards of the distribution of the allocation on or before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three. Such funds shall be distributed during the fiscal year as appropriate. The state superintendent shall require the county board to demonstrate the need for an allocation for personnel based upon the county's inability to meet the requirements of state law or state board policy: Provided, however That the funds available for personnel under this section may not be used to increase the total number of professional noninstructional personnel in the central office beyond four. Such instructional improvement plan shall be made available for distribution to the public at the office of each affected county board.
(b) Commencing with the school year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three An amount not less than the amount required to meet debt service requirements on any revenue bonds issued prior to the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and the debt service requirements on any revenue bonds issued for the purpose of refunding revenue bonds issued prior to the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, shall be paid into the school building capital improvements fund created by section six, article nine-d of this chapter, and shall be used solely for the purposes of said article. The school building capital improvements fund shall may not be utilized to meet the debt services requirement on any revenue bonds or revenue refunding bonds for which moneys contained within the school building debt service fund have been pledged for repayment pursuant to said section.