After a disappointing legislative session ended at midnight on March 13th, we await the soon-to-be scheduled special session to address many education issues left unresolved or untouched during the regular session. For example, we expect charter schools, retirement and health care benefits for current employees and retirees as well as the Governor’s education agenda to be among the items addressed. We are not surprised given the absence of any education bills introduced at the request of the Governor (except the school calendar bill) and his comments during the State of the State address that a special session would be called if we failed to receive Race to the Top funds (which would amount to only 1% of our education budget and is one-time money). In addition, his recent comments to the State Board of Education leave no doubt he plans an aggressive education agenda. So, although the regular session ended Saturday, our work continues and many challenges and opportunities await us once the special session begins.
Thanks to the tremendous support during the session from the House of Delegates and, in particular, the House leadership, several bills and proposals opposed by AFT-WV did not gain traction. We particularly want to thank Speaker Rick Thompson, Speaker Pro Tempore Ron Fragale, Majority Leader Brent Boggs, Majority Whip Mike Caputo, House Education Chair Mary Poling and Vice-Chair, Brady Paxton.
The legislative session was not without a few victories for education employees. For starters, the pressure you generated on behalf of our Reform PEIA Now campaign moved the Senate off their original position to the point where their draft proposal for the special session reinstates the retiree subsidy (after a vesting period) and shifts the OPEB liability from the counties to the state thereby saving thousands of education jobs. Let us emphasize that these proposals are the starting point for negotiations and that any bill that is introduced during the special session will need additional changes before AFT-WV can support it. To be clear, your work on the Reform PEIA Now campaign resulted in the Senate deciding not to run their OPEB bill this session. Many thanks for your postcards, phone calls and emails.
We also were successful in defeating Senator Wells’ charter school bill, SB 686. Although AFT-WV supports and has been a leader in education reform, SB 686 was a thinly veiled attempt by Senator Wells to gut employment rights for education employees. His bill was nothing short of union busting. But, as noted, we expect to see the bill resurrected during the special session.
In another victory, pension reform legislation, SB 553, was passed. The bill will reopen the “buy-back” window and allow certain employees the opportunity to pay the amount to purchase the 25% additional service time in the TRS under certain conditions. Those employees who completed a verification of cost request and failed to meet the deadline, or those who did not fill out the verification of cost request and failed to make the deadline (and received a letter from CPRB that the deadline was missed), will qualify for another opportunity to make up the 25% additional service. Employees choosing to make the purchase may request the CPRB on or before April 15, 2010, to recalculate the contribution for 2010. To receive full credit, the member shall pay into TRS the recalculated purchase amount by June 30, 2010, or no later than sixty days after the postmarked date on a contribution recalculation from the board, whichever is later. The recalculated contribution shall be the buy-back amount as of June 30, 2009, plus interest at the rate of 7.5%. Both Senator Foster and Delegate Spencer, the Chairs of the Senate and House Pensions and Retirement Committees respectively, deserve our thanks.
At the request of AFT-WV, the House of Delegates passed House Concurrent Resolution 78. The resolution requires committee meetings over the course of the next year to conduct a study on providing adequate time for teacher planning and preparation. AFT-WV will be calling upon teachers to testify throughout the process as we work with the committee to find a permanent solution.
A major higher education bill passed that includes the following:
-The current classified staff salary schedule is now referred to as “Temporary” until all organizations have achieved full funding;
-Full funding is defined as providing 100% of the funds needed to meet the salary funding target calculated by the HEPC and CTC on October, 2009;
-Requires organizations that have not reached full funding to apply all funds for classified employees salary increases toward funding the schedule;
-Absent full funding or significant progress towards meeting funding, discretionary raises may not be distributed;
-Once the temporary schedule is funded, the legislation calls for the establishment of a plan known as FACTS for Higher Education that is Fair, Accountable, Credible, Transparent, and Systematic. The chief purpose is to meet objectives including providing reliable information to policymakers, attracting, motivating, and retaining well-qualified employees; compensating employees equitably and competitively; improving process of job evaluations; and analyzing market data against benchmarked jobs and comparing average salaries of each employee class to the others and peers;
-An institutional salary schedule that reflects market conditions (caps are removed) will replace the temporary schedule;
-Makes the HEPC and CTC responsible for reviewing market salary data and when to update minimum salary schedules.
-Strongly encourages organizations to dedicate a portion of future tuition increases to funding current classified salary schedule and, after full funding is achieved, to meeting salary goals for all employees;
-Clarifies that governing boards shall establish faculty salary policy by rule;
-Clarifies that the authority of the HEPC and CTC over statewide personnel system includes compensation as well as classification;
-A job classification Committee will be formed with representation from constituencies who have interest in the operation of the classification system (e.g., classified staff).
-Establishes Compensation Planning and Review Committee to manage all aspects of compensation planning including a market salary structure;
-All institutions except WVU, Marshall, and WVSOM may implement tuition and fee increase of 3% without HEPC or CTC approval, WVU, Marshall and WVSOM may implement a 5% increase without approval.
-Authorizes MU & WVU to increase percent of nonclassified from 20% to 25% with formal approval of their governing boards and with prior approval of the Commission.
School Calendar Committee - HB 4652 –The bill codifies school calendar committees and requires 3 calendar options to be presented to the full staff of the county. The committee will be comprised of school service personnel, teachers and administrators and one parent. The chair of the committee will be selected by the Superintendent as will the number of committee members.
Other legislation that passed includes:
HB 4040 - The school calendar bill does not change the number of total instructional days, ISE days, CE days and holidays, and employees will continue to be paid for snow days. All but one of the non-instructional days must be held prior to the last day of the instructional term. Teachers will not be required to work outside their 200-day contract. The bill simply seeks to provide counties with the flexibility to start school earlier than August 26th and complete the first semester prior to the holiday recess, within the required 43 week period, if they so choose.
HB 4211 –The bill provides supplemental funding in order to provide alternative programs for limited English proficient students.
HB 4436 –The bill allows curriculum teams of those schools that make AYP eligible to obtain a waiver from the WVDE from assessments and instructional strategies, as well as county BOE policies, that are not mandated by the state. Schools will not be penalized for not using those instruments. The WVDE will be required to list all optional testing instruments.
HB 4593 –The bill but increases the per student appropriation for Alternative Education from $12 to $18 over the next 3-years, mandates up to 5 drug courts across the state, allows those students taking the GED to remain in a career and technical program and requires Boards of Education to develop plans to improve student retention and increase high school graduation rates. Effective with the freshman class of 2011-2102, the compulsory age of attendance will be changed from 16 to17.
HB 4669 – The bill exempts those schools awarded innovation zone grants the waiver they need from state code or policy to proceed.
SB 229 –The bill clarifies that the cap on the sale of bonds is based on the state’s total obligation at the time the bonds are sold and not since the inception of the SBA.
SB 391 - The amended bill allows employees of BOEs to run for the BOE but will still have to resign their position in order to serve.
SB 449 –This bill specifies that preexisting medical conditions are covered by PEIA insurance.
SB 631 - The bill updates the process for the adoption of textbooks and other instructional material and technologies, and provides more flexibility to county boards in adopting updated print and electronic instructional resources. The bill replaces the terms "textbooks," "instructional materials" and "learning technologies" with "instructional resources."