Senate Bill No. 255

(By Senator White)

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[Introduced March 6, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections eight and nine, article three, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to carry-over of funds for staff development councils.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections eight and nine, article three, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

§18A-3-8. County professional staff development councils.

The Legislature finds the professional expertise and insight of the classroom teacher to be an invaluable ingredient in the development and delivery of staff development programs which meet the needs of classroom teachers.
Therefore, a professional staff development council comprised of proportional representation from the major school levels and from vocational, special education and other specialties in proportion to their employment numbers in said the county shall be established in each school district in the state in accordance with rules adopted by the state board of education. Nominations of instructional personnel to serve on the county staff development council may be submitted by the faculty senates of the district to the county superintendent who shall prepare and distribute ballots and tabulate the votes of the counties instructional personnel voting on the persons nominated. Each county staff development council shall consist of between nine and fifteen members at the discretion of the county superintendent based on the size of the county. Such The councils shall have final authority to propose staff development programs for their peers based upon rules established by statute and the council on professional education.
The county superintendent or a designee shall enjoy has an advisory, nonvoting role on said the council. The county board shall make available an amount equal to one tenth of one percent of the amounts provided in accordance with section four, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of this code and credit such the funds to an account to be used by the council to fulfill its objectives. The local board will have has final approval of all proposed disbursements.
Any funds credited to the council during a fiscal year, but not used by the council, shall be carried over in the council account for use in the next fiscal year. These funds are separate and apart from, and in addition to, those funds to be credited to the council pursuant to this section. At the end of each fiscal year, the council shall report to each faculty senate chairperson the amount of funds carried over into the next fiscal year.
The professional staff development project of the center for professional development shall assist in the development and delivery of staff development programs by the county staff development councils and shall coordinate staff development efforts statewide.
§18A-3-9. County service personnel staff development councils.

The Legislature finds the professional expertise and insight of service personnel to be an invaluable ingredient in the development and delivery of staff development programs which meet the needs of service personnel.
Therefore, a service personnel staff development council comprised of representation from the various categories of service personnel employment shall be established in each school district in the state in accordance with rules adopted by the state board of education. Nominations of service personnel to serve on the county service personnel staff development council may be submitted by the six groups, as defined in subsection (e), section one, article one of this chapter, of the district to the county superintendent who shall prepare and distribute ballots and tabulate the votes of the counties service personnel voting on the persons nominated. Each county staff service personnel development council shall consist of two employees from each category of employment. Such The councils shall have final authority to propose staff development programs for their peers based upon rules established by statute and the council on service personnel education. The county superintendent or a designee shall enjoy has an advisory, nonvoting role on said the council. The county board shall make available an amount equal to one tenth of one percent of the amounts provided in accordance with section five, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of this code and credit such the funds to an account to be used by the council to fulfill its objectives. The local board will have has the final approval of all proposed disbursements. Any funds credited to the council during a fiscal year, but not used by the council, shall be carried over in the council account for use in the next fiscal year. Any carried-over funds shall be separate and apart from, and in addition to, the funds to be credited to the council pursuant to this section.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the carry- over of funds allocated to staff development councils from one fiscal year to the next. Carry-over funds would be separate and apart from, and in addition to, funds credited for the current fiscal year.

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