Last week, we began the 2011 Legislative Session with more questions than answers. And here we are, just one week later, with the answer to one very big question that creates yet another round of unanswered questions.
Let’s begin with the very important answer. On Tuesday, the WV Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that an election for governor must be held before the next regular election cycle. In the ruling, the Court specified that the state of West Virginia will hold a special election for governor by October 15, 2011. The Supreme Court said a new statewide election "shall be held as soon as practicable' whenever a vacancy in the governor's office occurs before the first three years of the term have expired. Additionally, the Court stated that the party candidates would be selected by county conventions; however, gave the Legislature the authority to pass legislation during this session that would call for a primary election.
The talk of this ruling -and the additional questions it now poses- dominated the halls of the Capitol this week. What will this special election look like? Will there be a primary or will party candidates be selected at a convention? These questions must be decided and many sources believe that the decision will end up back in the hands of the Legislature and the WV Supreme Court.
Additionally, there is chaos in the Senate resulting from the constitutional issues resulting from the Earl Ray Tomblin’s move from Senate President to Acting Governor. At this point, we do not know the impact this may have on legislation as it progresses through the session.
All political drama aside, AFT-WV continues to work toward our goal of expanding the one-time bonus proposed by Governor Tomblin into a meaningful and sustained salary increase for teacher, service personnel and higher education employees. Another issue in the forefront is AFT-WV’s proposal to stop the infringement upon a teacher’s planning period time for meetings or duties. To help us illustrate what a huge problem this is for our educators, AFT-WV wants to hear from you. We are seeking teachers to give testimonials to the legislature about the depth of this problem, how it negatively affects the quality of instruction for our students and how frequently it occurs in our schools. If you have faced the problem of habitually losing your planning period and would be willing to speak about it, please contact our office at 1-800-222-9838. We need real stories from teachers across the state to reinforce to legislators that this is a huge problem in our schools.
AFT-WV continues to pursue our legislative priorities (view our Legislative Agenda at www.aftwv.org) and will keep you informed of everything happening under the gold dome.