H. B. 2044
(By Delegates Fleischauer and Williams)
[Introduced January 8, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article nine-a, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public school
support; and amending the foundation allowance for
professional educators to allow an exemption to the cap on
professional educators for counties with small population
density.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article nine-a, 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 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 which number is in excess of
educators fifty-three and one-half 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 the limit be fewer than five professionals the
state superintendent of schools is authorized in accordance with
rules established by the state board and upon request of a county
superintendent to waive the maximum ratio of fifty-three and
one-half professional educators per one thousand students in
adjusted enrollment as provided in this section in those cases
where the state superintendent determines that student population
density justifies this waiver: 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
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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the state
board of education to grant waivers to sparsely populated counties
for relief from the ratio limitations on state funding of
professional educators.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.