FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 19, 2024
Time Requested: 12:29 PM |
| Agency: |
Education, WV Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2237 |
Introduced |
HB4902 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Education (K12) |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
0317
Sources of Revenue:
Other Fund
Legislation creates:
Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
This proposed legislation, in its current form, has an estimated cumulative cost to the WVDE under the Public-School Support Program (PSSP) for salary increases for school personnel in the amount of $5,099,308.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2024
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2025
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
5,099,308 |
5,099,308 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
5,099,308 |
5,099,308 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The total estimated cost to the State under the Public-School Support Plan (PSSP) for the proposed legislation is $5,099,308. The proposed legislation provides a 5% increase to certified special education Aide V employees as well as a 10% raise to special education teachers employed in self-contained classrooms. The total estimated cost under PSSP by step is as follows:
Step 1 for professional educator salaries - $4,302,540
Step 2 for service personnel salaries - $1,400
Step 3 for fixed charges - $354,644
Step 6 for substitute costs - $107,599
Retirement - $333,125
The cost estimate is computed based on 874.50 FTE special education teachers employed in self-contained classrooms and 1 FTE Aide V employed statewide. Only those positions who’s salaries are paid from PSSP funding are included in the cost estimate. A 5% raise for Aide V’s equates to $1,400 and a 10% raise for special education teachers equates to $4,920 per employee.
Please note, county boards of education will incur additional costs for personnel employed in excess of funded, personnel employed in positions not eligible for state aid funding, personnel employed using other funding sources such as state or federal grants, and extended employment terms for professional personnel. Those additional county costs are not included in the above estimates.
The West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board (CPRB) should also be consulted to obtain information relating to the additional cost, if any, to the State due to the impact of the proposed salary increases on the unfunded retirement liability of the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).
Finally, this cost estimate does not assume the passage of other legislation that may impact the PSSP, resulting in an increased costs for the pay increases provided in this bill.
Memorandum
There are three classifications of Early Childhood Classroom Teachers defined in WVC 18A-4-8 with salary classification designations included in WVC 18A-4-8a. Further, there are temporary and permanent authorizations available to Aide V personnel. The bill sponsor should clarify which of the specific positions are being referenced in the proposed legislation.
The highest pay grade ECCAT position, ECCAT III, is already being paid at the highest pay grade Aide V position with both being paid at a pay grade F. Therefore, in the proposed legislation’s current form, the first sentence of 18A-4-5c(a) is unnecessary. Even so, it is advised that all service personnel pay grade revisions be executed in WVC 18A-4-8a rather than outside of this code section.
The WVDE requests that all proposed statutory pay raises proposed to specific personnel positions be made in the form of a years experience step increase rather than a percentage increase due to the complexity of the state aid calculations and the impact raises have on this process when provided to specific personnel. This would be similar to the three-step increase statutorily defined for math and special education teachers.
It should be noted that Aide V does not encompass all special education aides. There is currently only 1 state funded special education aide that has met the minimum requirements to be employed as an Aide V in accordance with WVC 18A-4-8(i)(12) while there are a total of 1,665 special education aides employed statewide. Please consider that one of the requirements to be employed as an Aide V is that the county board must post a vacancy as such. An employee isn’t automatically provided with the additional increase for beginning the coursework outlined in WVC 18A-4-8(i)(12).
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Uriah Cummings
Email Address: Uriah.Cummings@k12.wv.us