HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 89

(By Delegates Cooper, Dean, Toney, J. Kelly, Paynter, Hott, Rohrbach, Campbell, Pack, R. Thompson, Lavender-Blue and Rowan)

[Introduced March 2, 2019]

Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the feasibility of designating teachers and school superintendents to identify issues confronting the school system of the state and potential solutions to solving these issues.

Whereas, The school system of West Virginia has had unsolved problems for decades that include, among other issues, pay and insurance. The current session of the Legislature has attempted to deal with a variety of these problems with an “omnibus education bill” that, rather than provide solutions to problems, has led to dissention among the many stakeholders and persons affected by the legislation; and

Whereas, An alternative addressing the many issues and problems may be the designation of “focus” groups consisting of classroom teachers in one group and county superintendents and the state school superintendent in another group brain-storming ideas to identify the five most important problems or issues facing the education system in this state; and

Whereas, This might be accomplished by having one designated focus group consisting of currently employed teachers who are active in the class room, who will hold meetings in five separate areas or zones of the state to identify and discuss the five greatest problems or issues facing the education system and to propose solutions to these problems.  At the same time, designate, separate from the teachers' meetings, that county superintendents and the state superintendent meet to discuss the five greatest problems and issues and develop solutions. Then, the five teachers' groups would meet with the superintendents to compare their five problems or issues that need to be solved and their answers to these problems; striving to arrive at solutions to the five most important issues. These are to be presented to the Legislature, in the hope that workable legislation will devolve; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the problems and issues within the state’s school system and using some or all of the suggestions contained in this resolution; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2020, on its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.