H. B. 2140
(By Delegate Perry)
[Introduced February 10, 2005
; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-9A-4 and §18-9A-5
of the code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to increasing
the foundation allowances for professional educators to
fifty-five and service personnel to thirty-seven for each one
thousand students.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-9A-4 and §18-9A-5
of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
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 receive an allowance for the personnel which number is in excess of
educators
fifty-three and one-half fifty-five 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:
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,
two thousand five and in each school year thereafter,
each county board shall establish and maintain a minimum ratio of
fifty fifty-five professional instructional personnel per one
thousand students in adjusted enrollment:
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. 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 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 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-5. Foundation allowance for service personnel.
The basic foundation allowance to the county for service
personnel shall be the amount of money required to pay the annual
state minimum salaries 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
an amount in excess of
thirty-four thirty-seven service personnel
per one thousand students in adjusted enrollment:
Provided,
however, That the State superintendent of schools is authorized in
accordance with rules
and regulations established by the State
board and upon request of a county superintendent to waive the maximum ratio of
thirty-four thirty-seven 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 that student population density and miles
of bus route driven or the transportation of students to a county
or a multicounty vocational-technical center justify the waiver,
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:
Provided further, 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 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 thirty-seven
service personnel 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
thirty-seven 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the foundation
allowance of professional educators per one thousand students from
the current 53½ to 55 and to also increase the foundation allowance
of service personnel per one thousand students from the current 34
to 37.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.