H. B. 2552
(By Delegates Haskins, Hubbard, Everson and Yeager)
[Introduced February 17, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections four and five-a, article
nine-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating
to the ratios of professionals and service workers to net
enrollment.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections four and five-a, article nine-a, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-4. Foundation allowance for professional educators.
The basic foundation allowance to the county for
professional educators shall be the amount of money required to
pay the state minimum salaries, in accordance with provisions of
article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code, to the personnel
employed: Provided, That in making this computation no county
shall receive an allowance for the personnel which number is in
excess of educators fifty-three and one-half fifty-four
professional educators to per each one thousand students in
adjusted enrollment: Provided, however, That any county not
qualifying under the provision of section fourteen of this
article is eligible for a growth rate in professional personnel
in any one year not to exceed twenty percent of its total
potential increase under this provision, except that in no case
shall the limit be fewer than five professionals: Provided
further, That the number of and the allowance for personnel paid
in part by state and county funds shall be prorated: And
provided further, That where two or more counties join together
in support of a vocational or comprehensive high school or any
other program or service, the professional educators for the school or program may be prorated among the participating
counties on the basis of each one's enrollment therein and that
the personnel shall be considered within the above-stated limit:
And provided further, That in the school year beginning the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, and in each
school year thereafter, each county board shall establish and
maintain a minimum ratio of fifty professional instructional
personnel per one thousand students in adjusted enrollment: And
provided further, That no permanent substitute shall be included
in the minimum ratio for professional instructional personnel.
Permanent substitutes may be included in the computation for
professional educators. For the purposes of this section,
permanent substitute means a full-time employee who performs the
duties of a day-to-day substitute: And provided further, That no
county shall have less than a total of five principals and
central office administrators. Any county board which does not
establish and maintain this minimum ratio shall suffer a pro rata
reduction in the allowance for professional educators under this
section: And provided further, That no county shall be penalized
if it has increases in enrollment during that school year: And provided further, That any county board which does not establish
and maintain this minimum ratio shall utilize any and all
allocations to it by provision of section fourteen of this
article solely to employ professional instructional personnel
until the minimum ratio is attained. Every county shall utilize
methods other than reductions in force, such as attrition and
early retirement, before implementing their reductions in force
policy to comply with the limitations of this section. It is the
intent of the Legislature that in planning reductions in force to
comply with reduced ratios of professional educators to students
in adjusted enrollment, county boards shall consider positions
for elimination in the following order: (1) Central office
administrators, (2) assistant principals, and (3) principals.
No county shall increase the number of administrative
personnel employed as either professional educators or pay grade
"H" service personnel above the number which were employed, or
for which positions were posted, on the thirtieth day of June,
one thousand nine hundred ninety, and, therefore, county boards
shall whenever possible utilize classroom teachers for curriculum
administrative positions through the use of modified or extended contracts: Provided, That the governor shall submit a
recommendation to the Legislature at the beginning of the regular
session thereof in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one,
which proposes a method for establishing a responsible level of
administrative support for each county school system and a pay
scale differentiation on a daily rate between classroom positions
and administrative positions when all other factors are equal.
§18-9A-5a. Ratio of foundation allowances for professional
educators and service personnel to net enrollment.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish maximum
ratios between the numbers of professional educators and service
personnel in the counties which are funded through the public
school support plan and the net enrollment in the counties, such
ratios are in addition to the ratios provided for in sections
four and five of this article. It is the intent of the
Legislature to adjust these ratios pursuant to legislative act as
may be appropriate when additional personnel are needed to
perform additional duties.
(b) Commencing with the school year one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine--ninety ninety-five, and each year thereafter, in computing the basic foundation allowance to a
county for professional educators and the basic foundation
allowance to a county for service personnel under sections four
and five of this article, a county shall not receive an allowance
for such personnel which number per one thousand students in net
enrollment is in excess of seventy-four and one half the number
of professional educators and forty-six and one half the number
of service personnel per one thousand students in net enrollment.
in the county computed as follows:
Maximum professionalMaximum service
For theeducators per 1000personnel per 1000
school yearnet enrollment thenet enrollment the
preceding yearpreceding year
1989-9076.545.5
1990-9176.045.0
1991-9275.544.5
1992-9375.044.0
1993-9474.543.75
1994-95 and74.043.5
thereafter
(c) Every county shall utilize methods other than reductions
in force, such as attrition and early retirement, before implementing their reductions in force policy to comply with the
limitations of this section.
(d) For the school years one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine--ninety and one thousand nine hundred
ninety--ninety-one only, if a school district loses more than six
percent of the number chargeable for the previous school year for
professional educator positions or service personnel positions,
due to the maximum ratios established in subsection (b) of this
section, it may apply to the state board for a waiver of said
ratios to the extent that the loss exceeds either six percent of
its professional educators or service personnel: Provided, That
the county board of education establishes and maintains the
minimum ratio of professional instructional personnel per one
thousand students in adjusted enrollment as required in section
four of this article. Waivers shall be determined on a case by
case basis according to rules adopted by the state board and
granted to the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature
for this purpose. Prior to the adoption of such rules, the state
board shall conduct a thorough review of the staffing patterns in
each county. Any personnel positions funded as a result of a waiver granted under the provisions of this subsection shall not
be included in the computations set forth in sections four and
five of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the ratios of
foundation allowances for educators.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.