COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 249
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Caruth, By Request of
the Executive)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported March 4, 2009.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-45 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §18-5A-5 of said code;
to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
§18-9A-22; and to amend and reenact §18A-4-8 of said code, all
relating to the annual school calendar; eliminating the
earliest starting date and the latest ending date for the
instructional term; requiring the first half of the
instructional term to end on or before December 23; requiring
at least three of certain noninstructional days be scheduled
prior to the beginning of the instructional term; clarifying
that the seven holidays included as noninstructional days are
days that must occur during the employment term; allowing
certain instructional support and enhancement days be used to
provide regular instruction under certain conditions; changing
the earliest dates a county can use noninstructional days and accrued instructional time to make up canceled instructional
days; requiring extension of the employment term if necessary
to attain one hundred eighty days of instruction and allowing
43-week limit to be exceeded if necessitated by extension;
providing alternative for faculty senate meeting if
instructional support and enhancement day is used for regular
instruction; creating an allowance for longer employment term
to comply with instructional day requirement; and allowing the
43-week limit to be extended under certain conditions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-45 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §18-5A-5 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18-9A-22; and to amend and reenact §18A-4-8 of
said code, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-45. School calendar.
(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Instructional day" means a day within the instructional
term which meets the following criteria:
(A) Instruction is offered to students for at least the
minimum amounts of time provided by state board rule;
(B) Instructional time is used for instruction, cocurricular
activities and approved extracurricular activities and, pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (12), subsection (b), section five,
article five-a of this chapter, faculty senates; and
(C) Such other criteria as the state board determines
appropriate.
(2) "Accrued instructional time" means instructional time
accruing during the instructional term from time added to the
instructional day beyond the time required by state board rule for
an instructional day. Accrued instructional time may be
accumulated and used in larger blocks of time during the school
year for instructional or noninstructional activities as further
defined by the state board.
(3) "Extracurricular activities" are activities under the
supervision of the school such as athletics, noninstructional
assemblies, social programs, entertainment and other similar
activities as further defined by the state board.
(4) "Cocurricular activities" are activities that are closely
related to identifiable academic programs or areas of study that
serve to complement academic curricula as further defined by the
state board.
(b)
Findings. --
(1) The primary purpose of the school system is to provide
instruction for students.
(2) The school calendar, as defined in this section, is
designed to define the school term both for employees and for
instruction.
(3) The school calendar traditionally has provided for one hundred eighty actual days of instruction but numerous
circumstances have combined to cause the actual number of
instructional days to be less than one hundred eighty.
(4) The quality and amount of instruction offered during the
instructional term is affected by the extracurricular and
cocurricular activities allowed to occur during scheduled
instructional time.
(5) Within reasonable guidelines, the school calendar should
be designed at least to guarantee that one hundred eighty actual
days of instruction are possible.
(c) The county board shall provide a school term for its
schools that contains the following:
(1) An employment term for teachers of no less than two
hundred days, exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays; and
(2) Within the employment term, an instructional term for
students of no less than one hundred eighty separate instructional
days.
(d) The instructional term for students shall include one
instructional day in each of the months of October, December,
February, April and June which is an instructional support and
enhancement day scheduled by the board to include both
instructional activities for students and professional activities
for teachers to improve student instruction. Instructional support
and enhancement days are subject to the following provisions:
(1) Two hours of the instructional support and enhancement day
shall be used for instructional activities for students. The instructional activities for students are subject to the following
provisions:
(A) The instructional activities for students require the
direct supervision or involvement by teachers;
(B) The instructional activities for students shall be limited
to two hours;
(C) The instructional activities for students shall be
determined and scheduled at the local school level;
(D) The instructional activities for students may include, but
are not limited to, both in-school and outside of school activities
such as student mentoring, tutoring, counseling, student research
and other projects or activities of an instructional nature,
community service, career exploration, parent and teacher
conferences, visits to the homes of students, college and financial
aid workshops and college visits;
(E) To ensure that the students who attend are properly
supervised, the instructional activities for students shall be
arranged by appointment with the individual school through the
principal, a teacher or other professional personnel at the school;
and
(F) Each school shall establish a policy relating to the use
of the two-hour block scheduled for instructional activities for
students;
(2) The instructional support and enhancement day shall
include a two-hour block of time for professional activities for
teachers during which the faculty Senate shall have the opportunity to meet;
(3) All time remaining in the school day after meeting the
requirements of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, not
including the duty-free lunch period, shall be used for other
professional activities for teachers to improve student instruction
which may include, but are not limited to, professional staff
development, curriculum team meetings, individualized education
plan meetings and other meetings between teachers, principals,
aides and paraprofessionals to improve student instruction as
determined and scheduled at the local school level;
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or policy to
the contrary, the presence of any specific number of students in
attendance at the school for any specific period of time shall not
be required on instructional support and enhancement days and the
transportation of students to the school shall not be required;
(5) Instructional support and enhancement days are also a
scheduled work day for all service personnel and shall be used for
training or other tasks related to their job classification if
their normal duties are not required; and
(6) Nothing in this section may be construed to require that
the instructional activities for students, faculty Senate meetings
and other professional activities for teachers be scheduled in any
certain order.
(e)
The instructional term shall commence no earlier than the
twenty-sixth day of August and terminate no later than the eighth
day of June. The first half of the instructional term shall terminate on or before December 23.
(f) Noninstructional days shall total twenty and shall be
comprised of the following:
(1) Seven holidays
occurring during the minimum two hundred
day employment term, as specified in section two, article five,
chapter eighteen-a of this code;
(2) Election day as specified in section two, article five,
chapter eighteen-a of this code;
(3) Six days to be designated by the county board to be used
by the employees outside the school environment; and
(4) Six days to be designated by the county board for any of
the following purposes:
(A) Curriculum development;
(B) Preparation for opening and closing school;
(C) Professional development;
(D) Teacher-pupil-parent conferences;
(E) Professional meetings; and
(F) Making up days when instruction was scheduled but not
conducted.
(g)
At least three of the days described in subdivision (4),
subsection (f) of this section shall be scheduled prior to the
twenty sixth day of August the beginning of the instructional term
for the purposes of preparing for the opening of school and staff
development.
(h) At least one of the days described in subdivision (4),
subsection (f) of this section shall be scheduled after
the eighth day of June the last day of the instructional term for the purpose
of preparing for the closing of school.
If one hundred eighty
separate instruction days occur prior to the eighth day of June,
this day may be scheduled on or before the eighth day of June.
(i) At least four of the days described in subdivision (3),
subsection (f) of this section shall be scheduled after March 1.
(j) At least two of the days described in subdivision (4),
subsection (f) of this section will be scheduled for professional
development. The professional development conducted on these days
will be consistent with the goals established by the state board
pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-three-a, article two
of this chapter.
(k) Subject to the provisions of subsection (h) of this
section, all noninstructional days will be scheduled prior to
the
eighth day of June the last day of the instructional term.
(l) The state board may not schedule the primary statewide
assessment program prior to May 15 of the instructional year unless
the state board determines that the nature of the test mandates an
earlier testing date.
(m) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d) of this
section, if on or after February 1, a county board determines that
it is not possible to complete one hundred eighty days of
instruction, the county board may schedule regular instruction on
any day in February, April or June that was originally scheduled as
an instructional support and enhancement day.
(m) (n) If, on or after
March 1 February 1, the county board determines that it is not possible to complete one hundred eighty
separate days of instruction, the county board shall schedule
instruction on any available noninstructional day, regardless of
the purpose for which the day originally was scheduled, and the day
will be used for instruction, subject to the following:
(1) The noninstructional days scheduled for professional
development shall be the last available noninstructional days to be
rescheduled as instructional days;
(2) On or after
March 1 February 1, the county board also may
require additional minutes of instruction in the school day to make
up for lost instructional days in excess of the days available
through rescheduling, and if in its judgment it is reasonable and
necessary to improve student performance, to avoid scheduling
instruction on noninstructional days previously scheduled for
professional development; and
(3) The provisions of this subsection do not apply to:
(1) Holidays; and
(2) Election day.
(n) (o) The following applies to accrued instructional time:
(1) Except as provided in subsection
(m) (n) of this section,
accrued instructional time may not be used to avoid one hundred
eighty separate days of instruction;
(2) Accrued instructional time may not be used to lengthen the
time provided in law for faculty senates;
(3) The use of accrued instructional time for extracurricular
activities will be limited by the state board;
(4) Accrued instructional time may be used by schools and
counties to provide additional time for professional staff
development and continuing education as may be needed to improve
student performance and meet the requirements of the federal
mandates affecting elementary and secondary education. The amount
of accrued instructional time used for this purpose may not exceed
three instructional days; and
(5) Other requirements or restrictions the state board may
provide in the rule required to be promulgated by this section.
(o) (p) The following applies to cocurricular activities:
(1) The state board shall determine what activities may be
considered cocurricular;
(2) The state board shall determine the amount of
instructional time that may be consumed by cocurricular activities;
and
(3) Other requirements or restrictions the state board may
provide in the rule required to be promulgated by this section.
(p) (q) The following applies to extracurricular activities:
(1) Except as provided by subdivision (3) of this subsection,
extracurricular activities may not be scheduled during
instructional time;
(2) The use of accrued instructional time for extracurricular
activities will be limited by the state board; and
(3) The state board shall provide for the attendance by
students of certain activities sanctioned by the Secondary School
Activities Commission when those activities are related to statewide tournaments or playoffs or are programs required for
Secondary School Activities Commission approval.
(q) (r) Noninstructional interruptions to the instructional
day shall be minimized to allow the classroom teacher to teach.
(r) (s) Nothing in this section prohibits establishing year-
round schools in accordance with rules to be established by the
state board.
(s) (t) Prior to implementing the school calendar, the county
board shall secure approval of its proposed calendar from the state
board or, if so designated by the state board, from the state
superintendent.
(t) (u) The county board may contract with all or part of the
personnel for a longer term:
Provided, That if one hundred eighty
days of instruction cannot be completed within the two hundred day
employment term, the county board shall extend the employment term
by the number of days necessary to provide one hundred and eighty
days of instruction, and to the extent necessary to attain the one
hundred eighty days of instruction shall exceed the forty-three
week limit on the beginning and closing dates of the employment
term set forth in section eight, article four, chapter eighteen-a
of this code. For any days added to the two hundred day employment
term that are necessary to comply with the one hundred and eighty
days of instruction requirement, the county board shall receive an
allowance for one-half of certain salary and employee benefit costs
as calculated pursuant to section twenty-two, article nine-a of
this chapter.
(u) (v) The minimum instructional term may be decreased by
order of the state superintendent in any county declared a federal
disaster area and where the event causing the declaration is
substantially related to a reduction of instructional days.
(v) (w) Where the employment term overlaps a teacher's or
service personnel's participation in a summer institute or
institution of higher education for the purpose of advancement or
professional growth, the teacher or service personnel may
substitute, with the approval of the county superintendent, the
participation for up to five of the noninstructional days of the
employment term.
(w) (x) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance
with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this
section.
ARTICLE 5A. LOCAL SCHOOL INVOLVEMENT.
§18-5A-5. Public school faculty senates established; election of
officers; powers and duties.
(a) There is established at every public school in this state
a faculty senate which is comprised of all permanent, full-time
professional educators employed at the school who shall all be
voting members. Professional educators, as used in this section,
means professional educators as defined in chapter eighteen-a of
this code. A quorum of more than one half of the voting members of
the faculty shall be present at any meeting of the faculty senate
at which official business is conducted. Prior to the beginning of the instructional term each year, but within the employment term,
the principal shall convene a meeting of the faculty senate to
elect a chair, vice chair and secretary and discuss matters
relevant to the beginning of the school year. The vice chair shall
preside at meetings when the chair is absent. Meetings of the
faculty senate shall be held during the times provided in
accordance with subdivision (12), subsection (b) of this section as
determined by the faculty senate. Emergency meetings may be held
during noninstructional time at the call of the chair or a majority
of the voting members by petition submitted to the chair and vice
chair. An agenda of matters to be considered at a scheduled
meeting of the faculty senate shall be available to the members at
least two employment days prior to the meeting. For emergency
meetings the agenda shall be available as soon as possible prior to
the meeting. The chair of the faculty senate may appoint such
committees as may be desirable to study and submit recommendations
to the full faculty senate, but the acts of the faculty senate
shall be voted upon by the full body.
(b) In addition to any other powers and duties conferred by
law, or authorized by policies adopted by the state or county board
of education or bylaws which may be adopted by the faculty senate
not inconsistent with law, the powers and duties listed in this
subsection are specifically reserved for the faculty senate. The
intent of these provisions is neither to restrict nor to require
the activities of every faculty senate to the enumerated items
except as otherwise stated. Each faculty senate shall organize its activities as it
deems determines most effective and efficient
based on school size, departmental structure and other relevant
factors.
(1) Each faculty senate shall control funds allocated to the
school from legislative appropriations pursuant to section nine,
article nine-a of this chapter. From
such those funds, each
classroom teacher and librarian shall be allotted fifty dollars for
expenditure during the instructional year for academic 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 or shall be returned to the
faculty senate:
Provided, That nothing contained herein prohibits
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. The remainder of funds shall be expended for
academic materials, supplies or equipment in accordance with a
budget approved by the faculty senate. Notwithstanding any other
provisions of the law to the contrary, funds not expended in one
school year are available for expenditure in the next school year:
Provided, however, That the amount of county funds budgeted in a
fiscal year may not be reduced throughout the year as a result of
the faculty appropriations in the same fiscal year for such
materials, supplies and equipment. Accounts shall be maintained of
the allocations and expenditures of
such the funds for the purpose
of financial audit. Academic materials, supplies or equipment shall be interpreted broadly, but does not include materials,
supplies or equipment which will be used in or connected with
interscholastic athletic events.
(2) A faculty senate may establish a process for faculty
members to interview new prospective professional educators and
paraprofessional employees at the school and submit recommendations
regarding employment to the principal, who
also may
also make
independent recommendations, for submission to the county
superintendent:
Provided, That
such the process shall be chaired
by the school principal and must permit the timely employment of
persons to perform necessary duties.
(3) A faculty senate may nominate teachers for recognition as
outstanding teachers under state and local teacher recognition
programs and other personnel at the school, including parents, for
recognition under other appropriate recognition programs and may
establish
such appropriate recognition programs for operation at
the school.
(4) A faculty senate may submit recommendations to the
principal regarding the assignment scheduling of secretaries,
clerks, aides and paraprofessionals at the school.
(5) A faculty senate may submit recommendations to the
principal regarding establishment of the master curriculum schedule
for the next ensuing school year.
(6) A faculty senate may establish a process for the review
and comment on sabbatical leave requests submitted by employees at
the school pursuant to section eleven, article two of this chapter.
(7) Each faculty senate shall elect three faculty
representatives to the local school improvement council established
pursuant to section two of this article.
(8) Each faculty senate may nominate a member for election to
the county staff development council pursuant to section eight,
article three, chapter eighteen-a of this code.
(9) Each faculty senate shall have an opportunity to make
recommendations on the selection of faculty to serve as mentors for
beginning teachers under beginning teacher internship programs at
the school.
(10) A faculty senate may solicit, accept and expend any
grants, gifts, bequests, donations and any other funds made
available to the faculty senate:
Provided, That the faculty senate
shall select a member who has the duty of maintaining a record of
all funds received and expended by the faculty senate, which record
shall be kept in the school office and is subject to normal
auditing procedures.
(11) Any faculty senate may review the evaluation procedure as
conducted in their school to ascertain whether the evaluations were
conducted in accordance with the written system required pursuant
to section twelve, article two, chapter eighteen-a of this code and
the general intent of this Legislature regarding meaningful
performance evaluations of school personnel. If a majority of
members of the faculty senate determine that
such the evaluations
were not so conducted, they shall submit a report in writing to the
state board:
of education Provided, That nothing
herein in this subdivision creates any new right of access to or review of any
individual's evaluations.
(12) A
local county board shall provide to each faculty senate
a two-hour block of time for a faculty senate meeting on a day
scheduled for the opening of school prior to the beginning of the
instructional term, and a two-hour block of time on each
instructional support and enhancement day scheduled by the board
for instructional activities for students and professional
activities for teachers pursuant to section forty-five, article
five of this chapter:
Provided, That if a day originally scheduled
as an instructional support and enhancement day is rescheduled as
a regular day of instruction due to the county board determining
that it is not possible to complete one hundred eighty days of
instruction pursuant to section forty-five, article five of this
chapter, the county board shall provide to each faculty senate a
two-hour block of instructional time for a faculty senate meeting
within any instructional day during the month in which the
instructional support and enhancement day was originally scheduled.
A faculty senate may meet for an unlimited block of time per month
during noninstructional days to discuss and plan strategies to
improve student instruction and to conduct other faculty senate
business. A faculty senate meeting scheduled on a noninstructional
day shall be considered as part of the purpose for which the
noninstructional day is scheduled. This time may be
utilized used
and determined at the local school level and includes, but is not
limited to, faculty senate meetings.
(13) Each faculty senate shall develop a strategic plan to
manage the integration of special needs students into the regular
classroom at their respective schools and submit the strategic plan
to the superintendent of the county board
of education periodically
pursuant to guidelines developed by the state department of
education. Each faculty senate shall encourage the participation
of local school improvement councils, parents and the community at
large in developing the strategic plan for each school.
Each strategic plan developed by the faculty senate shall
include at least: (A) A mission statement; (B) goals; (C) needs;
(D) objectives and activities to implement plans relating to each
goal; (E) work in progress to implement the strategic plan; (F)
guidelines for placing additional staff into integrated classrooms
to meet the needs of exceptional needs students without diminishing
the services rendered to the other students in integrated
classrooms; (G) guidelines for implementation of collaborative
planning and instruction; and (H) training for all regular
classroom teachers who serve students with exceptional needs in
integrated classrooms.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-22. Allowance for longer employment term to comply with
instructional day requirement.
(a) The allowance for each county that is required to extend
its employment term to meet the one hundred eighty days of
instruction requirement pursuant to section forty-five, article
five of this chapter shall be calculated in accordance with the following:
(1) Determine the sum of the following for each day the
employment term must be extended:
(A) One-half of the basic allowance for the district for the
state minimum salaries of professional educators, as computed under
the provisions of section four of this article, exclusive of the
allowance for the annual salary increment for principals and
assistant principals, divided by two hundred;
(B) One-half of the basic allowance for the county for the
state minimum salaries of service personnel, as calculated pursuant
to section five of this article divided by two hundred;
(C) One-half of the basic allowance for the county for fixed
charges, as calculated pursuant to section six of this article
divided by two hundred;
(D) One-half of the basic allowance for the county for the
state minimum salaries of professional student support personnel,
as calculated pursuant to section eight of this article divided by
two hundred; and
(E) The sum of the results from the calculations set forth in
paragraphs (A), (B) and (C) of this subsection multiplied by the
average employer's contribution rate for retirement for the year,
as calculated by the State Board for all school personnel employed
by the county board; and
(2) Multiply the sum derived from subdivision (1) of this
subsection by the percentage of school personnel who are not
employed for a longer than two hundred day contract term.
(b) To provide support to the county boards that are required
to extend their employment terms to provide one hundred eighty days
of instruction, there shall be appropriated an amount to be
determined as follows: The average number of instructional days
canceled statewide for the most recent five school years that the
districts were not able to reschedule within the two hundred day
employment term multiplied by the sum of allowances for all
districts determined pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Any county board that determines it must extend its
employment term to provide one hundred eighty days of instruction
may apply to the State Superintendent for funding pursuant to this
section on or before May 1 of the year in which the employment term
must be extended. The State Superintendent shall distribute to
each county that applies for the funds by June 1 of each year the
amount computed under subsection (a) of this section, subject to
the following:
(1) The State Superintendent shall not distribute any funds
for any days he or she determines were not necessary to reach the
one hundred eighty days of instruction;
(2) If the amount of the appropriation required by subsection
(b) of this section is insufficient to pay in full for the total of
the allocations required by this subsection, each district
allocation shall be reduced to an amount which is proportionate to
the appropriation compared to the total of the several allocations
and the allocations as adjusted shall be distributed to the county
boards as provided in this section:
Provided, That the Governor shall request a supplemental appropriation at the next legislative
session for the reduced amount.
CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.
§18A-4-8. Employment term and class titles of service personnel;
definitions.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish an employment
term and class titles for service personnel. The employment term
for service personnel may not be less than ten months. A month is
defined as twenty employment days:
Provided, That the county board
may contract with all or part of these service personnel for a
longer term. The beginning and closing dates of the ten-month
employment term may not exceed forty-three weeks,
subject to the
following:
(1) If a county board is required to extend the employment
term to provide one hundred eighty days of instruction, the forty-
three week limit is extended to the extent necessary to provide one
hundred eighty days of instruction all pursuant to section forty-
five, article five, chapter eighteen of this code;
(2) If a county board schedules any non-paid, out-of-calendar
days for the purpose of extending the Christmas break in between
the first and second half of the instructional term, the forty-
three week limit is extended one day for each of the non-paid, out-
of-calendar days added;
(3) Any extension of the forty-three week limit pursuant to
subdivision (2) of this subsection is limited to seven extra days; and
(4) Any extension of the forty-three week limit pursuant to
subdivision (2) of this subsection is subject to the approval of
the State Superintendent.
(b) Service personnel employed on a yearly or twelve-month
basis may be employed by calendar months. Whenever there is a
change in job assignment during the school year, the minimum pay
scale and any county supplement are applicable.
(c) Service personnel employed in the same classification for
more than the two hundred day minimum employment term shall be paid
for additional employment at a daily rate of not less than the
daily rate paid for the two hundred day minimum employment term.
(d) A service person may not be required to report for work
more than five days per week without his or her agreement, and no
part of any working day may be accumulated by the employer for
future work assignments, unless the employee agrees thereto.
(e) If a service person whose regular work week is scheduled
from Monday through Friday agrees to perform any work assignments
on a Saturday or Sunday, the service person shall be paid for at
least one-half day of work for each day he or she reports for work.
If the service person works more than three and one-half hours on
any Saturday or Sunday, he or she shall be paid for at least a full
day of work for each day.
(f) A custodian, aide, maintenance, office and school lunch
service person required to work a daily work schedule that is
interrupted shall be paid additional compensation.
(1) A maintenance person is defined as a person who holds a
classification title other than in a custodial, aide, school lunch,
office or transportation category as provided in section one,
article one of this chapter.
(2) A service person's schedule is considered to be
interrupted if he or she does not work a continuous period in one
day. Aides are not regarded as working an interrupted schedule
when engaged exclusively in the duties of transporting students;
(3) The additional compensation provided for in this
subsection:
(A) Is equal to at least one eighth of a service person's
total salary as provided by the state minimum pay scale and any
county pay supplement; and
(B) Is payable entirely from county board funds.
(g) When there is a change in classification or when a service
person meets the requirements of an advanced classification, his or
her salary shall be made to comply with the requirements of this
article and any county salary schedule in excess of the minimum
requirements of this article, based upon the service person's
advanced classification and allowable years of employment.
(h) A service person's, contract as provided in section five,
article two of this chapter, shall state the appropriate monthly
salary the employee is to be paid, based on the class title as
provided in this article and on any county salary schedule in
excess of the minimum requirements of this article.
(i) The column heads of the state minimum pay scale and class titles, set forth in section eight-a of this article, are defined
as follows:
(1) "Pay grade" means the monthly salary applicable to class
titles of service personnel;
(2) "Years of employment" means the number of years which an
employee classified as a service person has been employed by a
county board in any position prior to or subsequent to the
effective date of this section and includes service in the armed
forces of the United States, if the employee was employed at the
time of his or her induction. For the purpose of section eight-a
of this article, years of employment is limited to the number of
years shown and allowed under the state minimum pay scale as set
forth in section eight-a of this article;
(3) "Class title" means the name of the position or job held
by a service person;
(4) "Accountant I" means a person employed to maintain payroll
records and reports and perform one or more operations relating to
a phase of the total payroll;
(5) "Accountant II" means a person employed to maintain
accounting records and to be responsible for the accounting process
associated with billing, budgets, purchasing and related
operations;
(6) "Accountant III" means a person employed in the county
board office to manage and supervise accounts payable, payroll
procedures, or both;
(7) "Accounts payable supervisor" means a person employed in the county board office who has primary responsibility for the
accounts payable function and who either has completed twelve
college hours of accounting courses from an accredited institution
of higher education or has at least eight years of experience
performing progressively difficult accounting tasks.
Responsibilities of this class title may include supervision of
other personnel;
(8) "Aide I" means a person selected and trained for a
teacher-aide classification such as monitor aide, clerical aide,
classroom aide or general aide;
(9) "Aide II" means a service person referred to in the "Aide
I" classification who has completed a training program approved by
the State Board, or who holds a high school diploma or has received
a general educational development certificate. Only a person
classified in an Aide II class title may be employed as an aide in
any special education program;
(10) "Aide III" means a service person referred to in the
"Aide I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a
general educational development certificate; and
(A) Has completed six semester hours of college credit at an
institution of higher education; or
(B) Is employed as an aide in a special education program and
has one year's experience as an aide in special education;
(11) "Aide IV" means a service person referred to in the "Aide
I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a general
educational development certificate; and
(A) Has completed eighteen hours of State Board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education, or
(B) Has completed fifteen hours of State Board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education; and has successfully completed an in-service training
program determined by the State Board to be the equivalent of three
hours of college credit;
(12) "Audiovisual technician" means a person employed to
perform minor maintenance on audiovisual equipment, films, and
supplies and who fills requests for equipment;
(13) "Auditor" means a person employed to examine and verify
accounts of individual schools and to assist schools and school
personnel in maintaining complete and accurate records of their
accounts;
(14) "Autism mentor" means a person who works with autistic
students and who meets standards and experience to be determined by
the State Board. A person who has held or holds an aide title and
becomes employed as an autism mentor shall hold a
multiclassification status that includes both aide and autism
mentor titles, in accordance with section eight-b of this article;
(15) "Braille or sign language specialist" means a person
employed to provide braille and/or sign language assistance to
students. A service person who has held or holds an aide title and
becomes employed as a braille or sign language specialist shall
hold a multiclassification status that includes both aide and braille or sign language specialist title, in accordance with
section eight-b of this article;
(16) "Bus operator" means a person employed to operate school
buses and other school transportation vehicles as provided by the
State Board;
(17) "Buyer" means a person employed to review and write
specifications, negotiate purchase bids and recommend purchase
agreements for materials and services that meet predetermined
specifications at the lowest available costs;
(18) "Cabinetmaker" means a person employed to construct
cabinets, tables, bookcases and other furniture;
(19) "Cafeteria manager" means a person employed to direct the
operation of a food services program in a school, including
assigning duties to employees, approving requisitions for supplies
and repairs, keeping inventories, inspecting areas to maintain high
standards of sanitation, preparing financial reports and keeping
records pertinent to food services of a school;
(20) "Carpenter I" means a person classified as a carpenter's
helper;
(21) "Carpenter II" means a person classified as a journeyman
carpenter;
(22) "Chief mechanic" means a person employed to be
responsible for directing activities which ensure that student
transportation or other county board-owned vehicles are properly
and safely maintained;
(23) "Clerk I" means a person employed to perform clerical tasks;
(24) "Clerk II" means a person employed to perform general
clerical tasks, prepare reports and tabulations and operate office
machines;
(25) "Computer operator" means a qualified person employed to
operate computers;
(26) "Cook I" means a person employed as a cook's helper;
(27) "Cook II" means a person employed to interpret menus and
to prepare and serve meals in a food service program of a school.
This definition includes a service person who has been employed as
a "Cook I" for a period of four years;
(28) "Cook III" means a person employed to prepare and serve
meals, make reports, prepare requisitions for supplies, order
equipment and repairs for a food service program of a school
system;
(29) "Crew leader" means a person employed to organize the
work for a crew of maintenance employees to carry out assigned
projects;
(30) "Custodian I" means a person employed to keep buildings
clean and free of refuse;
(31) "Custodian II" means a person employed as a watchman or
groundsman;
(32) "Custodian III" means a person employed to keep buildings
clean and free of refuse, to operate the heating or cooling systems
and to make minor repairs;
(33) "Custodian IV" means a person employed as head custodians. In addition to providing services as defined in
"custodian III," duties may include supervising other custodian
personnel;
(34) "Director or coordinator of services" means an employee
of a county board who is assigned to direct a department or
division.
(A) Nothing in this subdivision prohibits a professional
person or a professional educator from holding this class title;
(B) Professional personnel holding this class title may not be
defined or classified as service personnel unless the professional
person held a service personnel title under this section prior to
holding the class title of "director or coordinator of services."
(C) The director or coordinator of services shall be
classified either as a professional person or a service person for
state aid formula funding purposes; and
(D) Funding for the position of director or coordinator of
services is based upon the employment status of the director or
coordinator either as a professional person or a service person;
(35) "Draftsman" means a person employed to plan, design and
produce detailed architectural/engineering drawings;
(36) "Electrician I" means a person employed as an apprentice
electrician helper or one who holds an electrician helper license
issued by the state fire marshal;
(37) "Electrician II" means a person employed as an
electrician journeyman or one who holds a journeyman electrician
license issued by the state fire marshal;
(38) "Electronic technician I" means a person employed at the
apprentice level to repair and maintain electronic equipment;
(39) "Electronic technician II" means a person employed at the
journeyman level to repair and maintain electronic equipment;
(40) "Executive secretary" means a person employed as
secretary to the county school superintendent or as a secretary who
is assigned to a position characterized by significant
administrative duties;
(41) "Food services supervisor" means a qualified person who
is not a professional person or professional educator as defined in
section one, article one of this chapter. The food services
supervisor is employed to manage and supervise a county school
system's food service program. The duties include preparing
in-service training programs for cooks and food service employees,
instructing personnel in the areas of quantity cooking with economy
and efficiency and keeping aggregate records and reports;
(42) "Foreman" means a skilled person employed to supervise
personnel who work in the areas of repair and maintenance of school
property and equipment;
(43) "General maintenance" means a person employed as a helper
to skilled maintenance employees and to perform minor repairs to
equipment and buildings of a county school system;
(44) "Glazier" means a person employed to replace glass or
other materials in windows and doors and to do minor carpentry
tasks;
(45) "Graphic artist" means a person employed to prepare graphic illustrations;
(46) "Groundsman" means a person employed to perform duties
that relate to the appearance, repair and general care of school
grounds in a county school system. Additional assignments may
include the operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties in buildings;
(47) "Handyman" means a person employed to perform routine
manual tasks in any operation of the county school system;
(48) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic I" means a person
employed at the apprentice level to install, repair and maintain
heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical
equipment;
(49) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic II" means a person
employed at the journeyman level to install, repair and maintain
heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical
equipment;
(50) "Heavy equipment operator" means a person employed to
operate heavy equipment;
(51) "Inventory supervisor" means a person employed to
supervise or maintain operations in the receipt, storage, inventory
and issuance of materials and supplies;
(52) "Key punch operator" means a qualified person employed to
operate key punch machines or verifying machines;
(53) "Licensed practical nurse" means a nurse, licensed by the
West Virginia Board of Examiners for Licensed Practical Nurses,
employed to work in a public school under the supervision of a school nurse;
(54) "Locksmith" means a person employed to repair and
maintain locks and safes;
(55) "Lubrication man" means a person employed to lubricate
and service gasoline or diesel-powered equipment of a county school
system;
(56) "Machinist" means a person employed to perform machinist
tasks which include the ability to operate a lathe, planer, shaper,
threading machine and wheel press. A person holding this class
title also should have the ability to work from blueprints and
drawings;
(57) "Mail clerk" means a person employed to receive, sort,
dispatch, deliver or otherwise handle letters, parcels and other
mail;
(58) "Maintenance clerk" means a person employed to maintain
and control a stocking facility to keep adequate tools and supplies
on hand for daily withdrawal for all school maintenance crafts;
(59) "Mason" means a person employed to perform tasks
connected with brick and block laying and carpentry tasks related
to these activities;
(60) "Mechanic" means a person employed to perform skilled
duties independently in the maintenance and repair of automobiles,
school buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment to use in a
county school system;
(61) "Mechanic assistant" means a person employed as a
mechanic apprentice and helper;
(62) "Multiclassification" means a person employed to perform
tasks that involve the combination of two or more class titles in
this section. In these instances the minimum salary scale shall be
the higher pay grade of the class titles involved;
(63) "Office equipment repairman I" means a person employed as
an office equipment repairman apprentice or helper;
(64) "Office equipment repairman II" means a person
responsible for servicing and repairing all office machines and
equipment. A person holding this class title is responsible for
the purchase of parts necessary for the proper operation of a
program of continuous maintenance and repair;
(65) "Painter" means a person employed to perform duties
painting, finishing and decorating wood, metal and concrete
surfaces of buildings, other structures, equipment, machinery and
furnishings of a county school system;
(66) "Paraprofessional" means a person certified pursuant to
section two-a, article three of this chapter to perform duties in
a support capacity including, but not limited to, facilitating in
the instruction and direct or indirect supervision of students
under the direction of a principal, a teacher or another designated
professional educator.
(A) A person employed on the effective date of this section in
the position of an aide may not be subject to a reduction in force
or transferred to create a vacancy for the employment of a
paraprofessional;
(B) A person who has held or holds an aide title and becomes employed as a paraprofessional shall hold a multiclassification
status that includes both aide and paraprofessional titles in
accordance with section eight-b of this article; and
(C) When a service person who holds an aide title becomes
certified as a paraprofessional and is required to perform duties
that may not be performed by an aide without paraprofessional
certification, he or she shall receive the paraprofessional title
pay grade;
(67) "Payroll supervisor" means a person employed in the
county board office who has primary responsibility for the payroll
function and who either has completed twelve college hours of
accounting from an accredited institution of higher education or
has at least eight years of experience performing progressively
difficult accounting tasks. Responsibilities of this class title
may include supervision of other personnel;
(68) "Plumber I" means a person employed as an apprentice
plumber and helper;
(69) "Plumber II" means a person employed as a journeyman
plumber;
(70) "Printing operator" means a person employed to operate
duplication equipment, and to cut, collate, staple, bind and shelve
materials as required;
(71) "Printing supervisor" means a person employed to
supervise the operation of a print shop;
(72) "Programmer" means a person employed to design and
prepare programs for computer operation;
(73) "Roofing/sheet metal mechanic" means a person employed to
install, repair, fabricate and maintain roofs, gutters, flashing
and duct work for heating and ventilation;
(74) "Sanitation plant operator" means a person employed to
operate and maintain a water or sewage treatment plant to ensure
the safety of the plant's effluent for human consumption or
environmental protection;
(75) "School bus supervisor" means a qualified person employed
to assist in selecting school bus operators and routing and
scheduling school buses, operate a bus when needed, relay
instructions to bus operators, plan emergency routing of buses and
promote good relationships with parents, students, bus operators
and other employees;
(76) "Secretary I" means a person employed to transcribe from
notes or mechanical equipment, receive callers, perform clerical
tasks, prepare reports and operate office machines;
(77) "Secretary II" means a person employed in any elementary,
secondary, kindergarten, nursery, special education, vocational or
any other school as a secretary. The duties may include performing
general clerical tasks; transcribing from notes, stenotype,
mechanical equipment or a sound-producing machine; preparing
reports; receiving callers and referring them to proper persons;
operating office machines; keeping records and handling routine
correspondence. Nothing in this subdivision prevents a service
person from holding or being elevated to a higher classification;
(78) "Secretary III" means a person assigned to the county board office administrators in charge of various instructional,
maintenance, transportation, food services, operations and health
departments, federal programs or departments with particular
responsibilities in purchasing and financial control or any person
who has served for eight years in a position which meets the
definition of "secretary II" or "secretary III";;
(79) "Supervisor of maintenance" means a skilled person who is
not a professional person or professional educator as defined in
section one, article one of this chapter. The responsibilities
include directing the upkeep of buildings and shops, and issuing
instructions to subordinates relating to cleaning, repairs and
maintenance of all structures and mechanical and electrical
equipment of a county board;
(80) "Supervisor of transportation" means a qualified person
employed to direct school transportation activities properly and
safely, and to supervise the maintenance and repair of vehicles,
buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment used by the county
school system;
(81) "Switchboard operator-receptionist" means a person
employed to refer incoming calls, to assume contact with the
public, to direct and to give instructions as necessary, to operate
switchboard equipment and to provide clerical assistance;
(82) "Truck driver" means a person employed to operate light
or heavy duty gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles;
(83) "Warehouse clerk" means a person employed to be
responsible for receiving, storing, packing and shipping goods;
(84) "Watchman" means a person employed to protect school
property against damage or theft. Additional assignments may
include operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties;
(85) "Welder" means a person employed to provide acetylene or
electric welding services for a school system; and
(86) "WVEIS data entry and administrative clerk" means a
person employed to work under the direction of a school principal
to assist the school counselor or counselors in the performance of
administrative duties, to perform data entry tasks on the West
Virginia Education Information System, and to perform other
administrative duties assigned by the principal.
(j) Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the
contrary, and in addition to the compensation provided for service
personnel in section eight-a of this article, each service person
is, entitled to all service personnel employee rights, privileges
and benefits provided under this or any other chapter of this code
without regard to the employee's hours of employment or the methods
or sources of compensation.
(k) A service person whose years of employment exceeds the
number of years shown and provided for under the state minimum pay
scale set forth in section eight-a of this article may not be paid
less than the amount shown for the maximum years of employment
shown and provided for in the classification in which he or she is
employed.
(l) Each county board shall review each service person's job classification annually and shall reclassify all service persons as
required by the job classifications. The state superintendent may
withhold state funds appropriated pursuant to this article for
salaries for service personnel who are improperly classified by the
county boards. Further, the state superintendent shall order a
county board to correct immediately any improper classification
matter and, with the assistance of the attorney general, shall take
any legal action necessary against any county board to enforce the
order.
(m) Without his or her written consent, a service person may
not be:
(1) Reclassified by class title; or
(2) Relegated to any condition of employment which would
result in a reduction of his or her salary, rate of pay,
compensation or benefits earned during the current fiscal year; or
for which he or she would qualify by continuing in the same job
position and classification held during that fiscal year and
subsequent years.
(n) Any county board failing to comply with the provisions of
this article may be compelled to do so by mandamus and is liable to
any party prevailing against the board for court costs and the
prevailing party's reasonable attorney fee, as determined and
established by the court.
(o) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, a service person who holds a continuing contract in a
specific job classification and who is physically unable to perform the job's duties as confirmed by a physician chosen by the
employee, shall be given priority status over any employee not
holding a continuing contract in filling other service personnel
job vacancies if the service person is qualified as provided in
section eight-e of this article.
(p) Any person employed in an aide position on the effective
date of this section may not be transferred or subject to a
reduction in force for the purpose of creating a vacancy for the
employment of a licensed practical nurse.
(q) Without the written consent of the service person, a
county board may not establish the beginning work station for a bus
operator or transportation aide at any site other than a county
board-owned facility with available parking. The workday of the
bus operator or transportation aide commences at the bus at the
designated beginning work station and ends when the employee is
able to leave the bus at the designated beginning work station,
unless he or she agrees otherwise in writing. The application or
acceptance of a posted position may not be construed as the written
consent referred to in this subsection.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
