COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2828

(By Delegates Prezioso, Proudfoot, Anderson, Haskins,

Williams
and Yeager)

(Originating in the House Committee on Finance)

[March 2, 1995]



A BILL to repeal section three-b, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections four, seven and eight-a of said article, all relating to repealing expired language pertaining to the total state basic foundation program and foundation allowance for regional educational service agencies; increasing the allowance for professional educators from fifty-three and one-half to fifty-three and three-fourths; eliminating language pertaining to additional buses for net enrollment increases; increasing the allowance for regional educational service agencies to sixty one-hundredths percent from the previous year for the fiscal year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five only.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-b, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; and that sections four, seven and eight- a of said article be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows: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 three-fourths professional educators to 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-7. Foundation allowance for transportation cost.

The allowance in the foundation school program for each county for transportation shall be the sum of the following computations:
(1) Eighty percent of the transportation cost within each county for maintenance, operation and related costs, exclusive of all salaries: Provided, That for the school year beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and thereafter, in the event a county uses an alternative fuel such as compressed natural gas or other acceptable alternative fuel for the operation of all or any portion of its school bus system, then the allowance in the foundation school program for each such county for that portion of its school bus system shall be ninety percent of the transportation cost for maintenance, operation and related costs, exclusive of all salaries, incurred by the use of the alternatively fueled school buses: Provided, however, That any county using an alternative fuel and qualifying for the additional allowance shall submit a plan regarding the intended future use of alternatively fueled school buses: Provided further, That the state board shall distribute the additional allowance to qualifying counties only until such time as the state board has distributed in the then current fiscal year one hundred thousand dollars of transportation allowance, in the statewide aggregate, above the eighty percent to qualifying counties, after which the additional ten percent shall no longer be available to any county;
(2) The total cost, within each county, of insurance premiums on buses, buildings and equipment used in transportation: Provided, That such premiums were procured through competitive bidding;
(3) For the school year beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, and thereafter, an amount equal to ten percent of the current replacement value of the bus fleet within each county as determined by the state board, such amount to be used only for the replacement of buses. In addition, in any school year in which its net enrollment increases when compared to the net enrollment the year immediately preceding, a school district may apply to the state superintendent for funding for an additional bus. Furthermore, large, sparsely populated counties may also apply to the state superintendent for funding for additional mini-buses. The state superintendent shall make a decision regarding each application based upon an analysis of the individual school district's net enrollment history and transportation needs or, in the case of a large, sparsely populated county, the population of the county: Provided, That the superintendent shall not consider any application which fails to document that the county has applied for federal funding for additional buses. If the state superintendent finds that a need exists, a request for funding shall be included in the budget request submitted by the state board for the upcoming fiscal year;
(4) Eighty percent of the cost of contracted transportation services and public utility transportation with each county;
(5) Aid in lieu of transportation equal to the state average amount per pupil for each pupil receiving such aid within each county; and
(6) Ninety percent of the total cost of transportation operations and related expenses, excluding salaries and maintenance for transporting students to and from classes at a multicounty vocational center.
The total state share for this purpose shall be the sum of the county shares and shall be distributed in accordance with rules to be promulgated by the state board: Provided, That no county shall receive an allowance which is greater than one third above the computed state average allowance per mile multiplied by the total mileage in the county.
§18-9A-8a. Foundation allowance for regional educational service agencies.

For the fiscal year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the foundation allowance for regional educational service agencies shall be equal to sixty-three one-hundredths percent of the allocation for professional educators as determined in section four of this article: Provided, That for the fiscal year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four ninety-five only, the foundation allowance for regional educational service agencies shall be at least equal to fifty-five sixty one-hundredths percent of the allocation for professional educators as determined in section four of this article. The allowance shall be distributed to the regional educational service agencies in accordance with rules adopted by the state board. The allowance for regional educational service agencies shall be excluded from the computation of total basic state aid as provided for in section twelve of this article.