WEST virginia legislature

2023 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 3105

By Delegates Cooper, Toney, Heckert, and Sheedy

[Introduced January 27, 2023; Referred to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-2-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring candidates for employment as director of transportation for a county school district to have a minimum of two years' experience as a bus operator.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.

§18A-2-5. Employment of service personnel; limitation.

The board is authorized to may employ such service personnel, including substitutes, as is deemed necessary for meeting the needs of the county school system: Provided, That the board may not employ a number of such personnel whose minimum monthly salary under §18A-4-8a of this code is specified as pay grade "H", which number exceeds the number employed by the board on March 1, 1988: Provided, however, That in order to qualify for employment as director of transportation for a county school district, the candidate shall have a minimum of two years' experience as a bus operator.

Effective July 1, 1988, a county board shall not employ for the first time any person who has not obtained a high school diploma or general educational development certificate (GED) or who is not enrolled in an approved adult education course by the date of employment in preparation for obtaining a GED: Provided, That such employment is contingent upon continued enrollment or successful completion of the GED program.

Before entering upon their duties service personnel shall execute with the board a written contract which shall be in the following form:

"COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

SERVICE PERSONNEL CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

THIS (Probationary or Continuing) CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT, made and entered into this _________ day of _____________, 20____, by and between THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE COUNTY OF _______________, a corporation, hereinafter called the 'Board,' and (Name and Social Security Number of Employee), of (Mailing Address), hereinafter called the 'Employee.'

WITNESSETH, that whereas, at a lawful meeting of the Board of Education of the County of ___________ held at the offices of said Board, in the City of _____________________, ________________ County, West Virginia, on the ______ day of ___________________, 20____, the Employee was duly hired and appointed for employment as a (Job Classification) at (Place of Assignment) for the school year commencing __________ for the employment term and at the salary and upon the terms hereinafter set out.

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to said employment, Board and Employee mutually agree as follows:

(1) The Employee is employed by the Board as a (Job Classification) at (Place of Assignment) for the school year or remaining part thereof commencing _____________, 20_____. The period of employment is _______ days at an annual salary of $_______ at the rate of $________ per month.

(2) The Board hereby certifies that the Employee’s employment has been duly approved by the Board and will be a matter of the Board’s minute records.

(3) The services to be performed by the Employee shall be such services as are prescribed for the job classification set out above in paragraph (1) and as defined in §18A-4-8 of the Code of West Virginia, as amended.

(4) The Employee may be dismissed at any time for immorality, incompetency, cruelty, insubordination, intemperance or willful neglect of duty pursuant to the provisions of §18A-2-8 of the Code of West Virginia, as amended.

(5) The Superintendent of the ____________ County Board of Education, subject to the approval of the Board, may transfer and assign the Employee in the manner provided by §18A-2-7 of the Code of West Virginia, as amended.

(6) This contract shall at all times be subject to any and all existing laws, or such laws as may hereafter be lawfully enacted, and such laws shall be a part of this contract.

(7) This contract may be terminated or modified at any time by the mutual consent of the Board and the Employee.

(8) This contract shall be automatically terminated if the Employee is convicted under §61-8D-3 or §61-8D-5 of this code or comparable statute in any other state, of any criminal offense that requires the Employee to register as a sex offender, or of any criminal offense which has as an element delivery or distribution of a controlled substance: Provided, That should the conviction resulting in automatic revocation pursuant to this section be overturned by any Court of this state or the United States, the Employee’s contract shall be reinstated unless otherwise prohibited by law.

 (9) This contract must be signed and returned to the Board at its address of __________________________________ within thirty days after being received by the Employee.

(10)  By signing this contract the Employee accepts employment upon the terms herein set out.

WITNESS the following signatures as of the day, month and year first above written:

_____________, (President, ______ County Board of Education) _____________, (Secretary, ______ County Board of Education) _____________, (Employee)"

The use of this form shall not be interpreted to authorize boards to discontinue any employee’s contract status with the board or rescind any rights, privileges or benefits held under contract or otherwise by any employee prior to the effective date of this section.

Each contract of employment shall be designated as a probationary or continuing contract. The employment of service personnel shall be made a matter of minute record. The employee shall return the contract of employment to the county board of education within 30 days after receipt or otherwise he or she shall forfeit his or her right to employment.

Under such regulation and policy as may be established by the county board, service personnel selected and trained for teacher-aide classifications, such as monitor aide, clerical aide, classroom aide and general aide, shall work under the direction of the principal and teachers to whom assigned.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require candidates for employment as director of transportation for a county school district to have a minimum of two years’ experience as a bus operator.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.