CHARLESTON, W.Va. – House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, today issued the following statement on developing education proposals in the Legislature.

“From the beginning of this session, House leadership has made clear that improving the compensation and benefits for our state’s teachers and school service personnel is a top priority for this legislative session, and our commitment to that goal remains unwavering,” Speaker Hanshaw said. “We fully anticipate passing bills to improve compensation for teachers, service personnel and state employees as we move forward with our Fiscal Year 2020 budget process.

“We too have been following developments in the state Senate, and will deliberately review any legislation they send our way,” Speaker Hanshaw said. “Meanwhile, we continue to have discussions with our members and other interested parties about how best to improve our state’s education system. We have and will continue to accept input from all sides – including teachers, parents, administrators, and teacher and service employee unions.

“We will carefully review all options and work diligently to build a consensus on how to provide our children with the highest-quality educational experience possible,” Speaker Hanshaw said. “We know this is a sensitive topic, and passions are heightened on all sides of these issues. It is my hope that we can move forward in a rational and deliberate manner to improve our education system for students, teachers and all involved.”