H. B. 2054
(By Delegate Hubbard)
[Introduced February 14, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to repeal section five-a, article nine-a, chapter eighteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; to amend article eight, chapter eleven
of said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
section six-h; to amend and reenact sections two, four, five
and nine, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of said code, all
relating to total state basis foundation programs for public
education; reducing automatic payments from county boards of
education to public libraries; increasing the caps on gifted
and honors and advanced placement programs; changing the
definition of professional educators to professional
personnel; increasing the number of professional personnel and increasing the number of substitutes for professional
educators; providing a one million five hundred thousand
dollar grant program for service personnel and increasing the
number of substitutes for service personnel; repealing the net
enrollment cap for professional and service personnel; and
increasing the allocation for faculty senates and establishing
an allocation for staff development councils.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five-a, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; that article eight, chapter eleven of said
code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
six-h; and that sections two, four, five and nine, article nine-a,
chapter eighteen of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 8. LEVIES.
§11-8-6h. Effect on levy contributions to local libraries or
park boards where levy rates are fixed by a special
act of the Legislature.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law or special act of the Legislature to the contrary, where the provisions of section
six-e or six-f of this article cause any contributing municipality,
county commission or county board of education to reduce its levy
rates to less than the rate allowed under provisions of section
six-b, six-c or six-d, the local levy rates set by special act for
the support of a local library or park board shall likewise be
reduced. The previous maximum rate for Class I property shall be
divided into the Class I levy rate adopted by the levying body for
the fiscal year beginning the subsequent first day of July, and the
resulting percentage shall be applied to each rate in the special
act. The resulting adjusted levy rates, when applied to the
assessed value of taxable property in each class of property as
contained on the levying body's official levy estimate document
will be the levying body's contribution amount for the fiscal year.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-2. Definitions.
For the purpose of this article:
"State board" means the West Virginia board of education.
"County board" or "board" means a county board of education.
"Professional salaries" means the state legally mandated salaries of the professional educators as provided in article four,
chapter eighteen-a of this code.
"Professional educator personnel" shall be synonymous with and
shall have the same meaning as "teacher "professional personnel" as
defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen eighteen-a
of this code.
"Professional instructional personnel" means a professional
educator personnel whose regular duty is as that of a classroom
teacher, librarian, counselor, attendance director, school
psychologist or school nurse with a bachelors degree and who is
licensed by the West Virginia board of examiners for registered
professional nurses. A Professional educator personnel having
both instructional and administrative or other duties shall be
included as professional instructional personnel for that ratio of
the school day for which he or she is assigned and serves on a
regular full-time basis in appropriate instruction, library,
counseling, attendance, psychologist or nursing duties.
"Service personnel salaries" shall mean means the state
legally mandated salaries for service personnel as provided in
section eight-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code.
"Service personnel" shall mean means all personnel as provided for in section eight, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this
code. For the purpose of computations under this article of ratios
of service personnel to adjusted enrollment, a service employee
shall be counted as that number found by dividing his or her number
of employment days in a fiscal year by two hundred: Provided, That
the computation for any such person employed for three and one-half
hours or less per day as provided in section eight-a, article four,
chapter eighteen-a of this code shall be calculated as one half an
employment day.
"Net enrollment" means the number of pupils enrolled in
special education programs, kindergarten programs and grades one to
twelve, inclusive, of the public schools of the county. Commencing
with the school year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, net enrollment further shall
include adults enrolled in regular secondary vocational programs
existing as of the effective date of this section: Provided, That
net enrollment shall include no more than one thousand such adults
counted on the basis of full-time equivalency and apportioned
annually to each county in proportion to the adults participating
in regular secondary vocational programs in the prior year counted
on the basis of full-time equivalency: Provided, however, That no tuition or special fees beyond that required of the regular
secondary vocational student is charged for such the adult
students.
"Adjusted enrollment" means the net enrollment plus twice the
number of pupils enrolled for special education. Commencing with
the school year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety, adjusted enrollment means the net enrollment
plus twice the number of pupils enrolled for special education,
including exceptional gifted, plus the number of pupils in grades
nine through twelve enrolled for honors and advanced placement
programs, plus the number of pupils enrolled on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, in the gifted program
in grades nine through twelve: Provided, That commencing with the
school year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety, no more than four five percent of net enrollment of
grades one through eight may be counted as enrolled in gifted
education and no more than six seven percent of net enrollment of
grades nine through twelve may be counted as enrolled in gifted
education, exceptional gifted education (subject to the limitation
set forth in section one, article twenty of this chapter) and
honors and advanced placement programs for the purpose of determining adjusted enrollment within a county: Provided,
however, That nothing herein shall be construed to limit the number
of students who may actually enroll in gifted, honors or advanced
placement education programs in any county: Provided further, That
until the school year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-two, the preceding percentage
limitations shall not restrict the adjusted enrollment definition
for a county to the extent that those limitations are exceeded by
students enrolled in gifted education programs on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine: And Provided
further, That no pupil may be counted more than three times for the
purpose of determining adjusted enrollment. Such The enrollment
shall be adjusted to the equivalent of the instructional term and
in accordance with such eligibility requirements and rules as
established by the state board. No pupil shall be counted more
than once by reason of transfer within the county or from another
county within the state, and no pupil shall be counted who attends
school in this state from who resides in another state.
"Levies for general current expense purposes" means ninety-
eight ninety-five percent of the levy rate for county boards of
education calculated or set by the Legislature pursuant to the provisions of section six-f, article eight, chapter eleven of this
code.
"Basic resources per pupil" for the state and the several
counties means the total of: (a) Ninety-five percent of the
property tax revenues computed at the levy rate for county boards
of education calculated or set by the Legislature pursuant to the
provisions of section six-f, article eight, chapter eleven of this
code, but excluding revenues from increased levies as provided in
section ten, article X of the constitution of West Virginia; and
(b) basic state aid as provided in sections twelve and thirteen of
this article, but excluding the foundation allowance to improve
instructional programs as provided in section ten of this article,
and excluding any funds appropriated for the purpose of achieving
salary equity among county board employees, this total divided by
the number of students in adjusted enrollment: Provided, That
beginning with the school year commencing on the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and thereafter, the
foundation allowance for transportation costs as provided in
section seven of this article shall also be excluded and the total
shall be divided by the number of students in net enrollment:
Provided, however, That any year's allocations to the counties of the eighty percent portion of the foundation allowance to improve
instructional programs, as provided in section ten of this article,
shall be determined on the basis of the immediately preceding
school year's basic resources per pupil.
§18-9A-4. Foundation allowance for professional personnel.
The basic foundation allowance to the county for professional
educators personnel shall be the sum of the following:
(a) The amount of money required to pay the state minimum
salaries, for the ensuing fiscal year 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 receive an allowance for the personnel which number is in
excess of educators fifty-three fifty-four and one-half
professional educators personnel to each one thousand students in
adjusted enrollment: Provided, however, That in the school year
beginning the first day of July, two thousand one, each county
shall receive an allowance for such personnel which number is equal
to fifty-four and one-half professional personnel to each one
thousand students in adjusted enrollment: Provided, further,
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 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 personnel 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 professional instructional
personnel per one thousand students in adjusted enrollment: And
provided further, That in the school year beginning the first day
of July, two thousand one, and in each school year thereafter, each
county board shall establish and maintain a minimum ratio of fifty-
one professional instructional personnel per one thousand students
in adjusted enrollment. Any county board which does not establish and maintain this minimum ratio shall suffer a pro rata reduction
in the allowance for professional personnel under this section:
And provided further, That no permanent substitute shall be
included in the minimum ratio for professional instructional
personnel. Permanent substitutes may be included in the
computation for professional educators personnel. 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 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 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 personnel 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 increase the number of administrative
personnel employed as either professional educators personnel 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
(b) For professional educator substitutes, three and five-tenths percent of the computed state allocation for
professional educators as determined in subsection (a) of this
section.
§18-9A-5. Foundation allowance for service personnel.
The basic foundation allowance to the county for service
personnel shall be the sum of the following:
(a) The amount of money required to pay the annual state
minimum salaries for the ensuing fiscal year in accordance with the
provisions of article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code, to
such service personnel employed: Provided, That no county shall
receive an allowance for: (1) An amount of service personnel,
excluding bus operators, in excess of thirty-four twenty-nine
service personnel per one thousand students in adjusted enrollment.
Any county which has less than twenty-nine service personnel,
excluding bus operators, per one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment as of the first day of January, two thousand two shall
receive an allowance for each of the next ten years of one tenth of
the difference between twenty-nine service personnel per one
thousand students in adjusted enrollment and the number of service
personnel, excluding bus operators, employed as of the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine; plus (2) an allowance for bus operators employed as of the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine. Provided, however,
That An allowance for additional bus operators shall be made by
the state superintendent of schools is authorized and in accordance
with rules and regulations established by the state board and upon
request of when a county superintendent to waive the maximum ratio
of thirty-four service personnel per one thousand students in
adjusted enrollment and the twenty percent per year growth cap
provided in this section, to the extent appropriations are
provided, in those cases where the state superintendent determines
demonstrates: (A) That student population density and miles of bus
route driven justify the waiver, additional bus operators; or (B)
that students spend an extraordinary amount of time in
transportation and that the additional bus operators will reduce
the transportation time for these students; or (C) that
consolidation or other transportation needs require additional bus
operators. except that no waiver shall be granted to any county
whose financial statement shows a net balance in general current
expense funds greater than three percent at the end of the previous
fiscal year: For the school year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand one, and every year thereafter, the allowance for additional bus operators shall be a minimum of one million five
hundred thousand dollars: Provided, further however, That on or
before the first day of each regular session of the Legislature,
the state board, through the state superintendent, shall make to
the Legislature a full report concerning the number of waivers
additional bus operators granted and the fiscal impact related
thereto. Every county shall utilize methods other than reduction
in force, such as attrition and early retirement, before
implementing their reductions in force policy to comply with the
limitations of this section.
For any county which has in excess of thirty-four
twenty-nine service personnel, excluding bus operators, per one
thousand students in adjusted enrollment, the allowance shall be
computed based upon the average state minimum pay scale salary of
all service personnel in the county: Provided, That for any county
having fewer than thirty-four service personnel per one thousand
students in adjusted enrollment, in any one year, the number of
service personnel used in making this computation may be increased
the succeeding years by no more than twenty percent per year of its
total potential increase under this provision, except that in no
case shall the limit be fewer than two service personnel until the county attains the maximum ratio set forth: Provided, however,
That where two or more counties join together in support of a
vocational or comprehensive high school or any other program or
service, the service personnel 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.
(b) For service personnel substitutes, three and five-tenths
percent of the computed state allowance for service personnel as
determined in subsection (a) of this section.
§18-9A-9. Foundation allowance for other current expense faculty
senates, and staff development councils.
The total allowance for other current expense and substitute
employees shall be the sum of the following: 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) (2) For academic materials, supplies and equipment for use
in instructional programs, two three 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 three 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, except that each classroom teacher shall have available one
hundred dollars annually for the purchase of materials, supplies or
equipment which in the judgment of the teacher or librarian will
assist him or her in providing instruction in his or her assigned
academic subjects: Provided, That nothing contained herein shall
prohibit the funds from being used for programs and materials that,
in the opinion of the teacher, enhance student behavior, increase
academic achievement, improve self-esteem and address the problems
of students at risk. and Funds available to faculty senates 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.
(3) Beginning the first day of July, two thousand one, and every year thereafter, the allowance for county professional staff
development councils established pursuant to section eight, article
three, chapter eighteen-a shall be one tenth of one percent of the
computed state allocation for professional personnel as determined
in section four of this article: Provided, That the money
allocated under this subsection shall be used solely by the county
professional staff development councils in accordance with section
eight, article three, chapter eighteen-a; plus
(4) Beginning the first day of July, two thousand one and
every year thereafter, the allowance for county service personnel
staff development councils shall be one tenth of one percent of the
computed state allocation for service personnel as determined in
section five of this article: Provided, That the money allocated
under this subsection shall be used solely by the county service
personnel staff development councils in accordance with section
nine, article three, chapter eighteen-a.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise the school aid
formula in order to: Proportionately reduce automatic payments
from county boards of education to public libraries when regular
levies are reduced by the Legislature; increase caps on gifted and
honors and advanced placement programs; provide a definition for
professional administrators personnel; eliminate a one year delay in reimbursing county boards of education for years of experience
incremental pay for teachers and service personnel; increase the
number of professional instructional personnel and the number of
professional educators; increase the payment to county boards of
education for professional and service personnel substitutes;
eliminate further reductions in professional and service personnel
based on net enrollment.
§11-8-6h is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.