Senate Bill No. 314
(By Senator Love)
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[Introduced January 23, 2008; referred to the Committee on
Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-4-10 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring the county
superintendent to notify the public of any school cancellation
or delay by seven a.m. or five a.m. respectively.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-4-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
§18-4-10. Duties of county superintendent.
The county superintendent shall:
(1) Act as the chief executive officer of the county board as
may be delineated in his or her contract or other written agreement
with the county board, and, under the direction of the state board,
execute all its education policies;
(2) Nominate all personnel to be employed; in case the county board refuses to employ any or all of the persons nominated, the
county superintendent shall nominate others and submit the same to
the county board at a time the county board may direct. No person
or persons shall be employed except on the nomination of the county
superintendent;
(3) Assign, transfer, suspend or promote teachers and all
other school employees of the district, subject only to the
approval of the county board, and to recommend to the county board
their dismissal pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;
(4) Report promptly to the county board in such manner as it
directs whenever any school in the district appears to be failing
to meet the standards for improving education established pursuant
to section five, article two-e of this chapter;
(5) Close a school temporarily when conditions are detrimental
to the health, safety or welfare of the pupils;
(A) School districts must notify the public of any school
delay by five a.m. on the day of the delay.
(B) School districts must notify the public of any school
closure by seven a.m. on the day of closure.
(6) Certify all expenditures and monthly payrolls of teachers
and employees;
(7) Serve as the secretary of the county board and attend all
meetings of the county board or its committees, except when the
tenure, salary or administration of the county superintendent is under consideration;
(8) Administer oaths and examine witnesses under oath in any
proceedings pertaining to the schools of the district, and have the
testimony reduced to writing;
(9) Keep the county board apprised continuously of any issues
that affect the county board or its schools, programs and
initiatives. The county superintendent shall report to the county
board on these issues using any appropriate means agreeable to both
parties. When practicable, the reports shall be fashioned to
include a broad array of data and information that the county board
may consult to aid in making decisions;
(10) Exercise all other authority granted by this chapter or
required by the county board or state board; and
(11) In case of emergency, act as the best interests of the
school demand. An emergency, as contemplated in this section, is
limited to an unforeseeable, catastrophic event including natural
disaster or act of war and nothing in this section may be construed
as granting the county superintendent authority to override any
statutory or Constitutional provision in the exercise of his or her
emergency power except where such authority is specifically granted
in the particular code section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to notify the public at a
set time of school cancellation and delays to allow working parents
sufficient time to make arrangements for child care.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.