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Introduced Version House Bill 4465 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

WEST virginia Legislature

2016 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 4465

By Delegates Duke, Espinosa, Westfall, kelly and Rohrbach

[Introduced February 9, 2016; Referred
to the Committee on Education then Finance.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-4-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to salary equity among school systems; removing definition of salary equity; making legislative findings; and requiring state board recommendation upon determination equity not being met.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:


That §18A-4-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.


§18A-4-5. Salary equity among the counties; state salary supplement.

(a) For the purposes of this section, salary equity among the counties means that the salary potential of school employees employed by the various districts throughout the state does not differ by greater than ten percent between those offering the highest salaries and those offering the lowest salaries. In the case of professional educators, the difference shall be calculated using the average of the professional educator salary schedules, degree classifications B. A. through doctorate and the years of experience provided in the most recent state minimum salary schedule for teachers, in effect in the ten counties offering the highest salary schedules compared to the lowest salary schedule in effect among the fifty-five counties. In the case of school service personnel, the difference shall be calculated utilizing the average of the school service personnel salary schedules, pay grades A through H and the years of experience provided in the most recent state minimum pay scale pay grade for service personnel, in effect in the ten counties offering the highest salary schedules compared to the lowest salary schedule in effect among the fifty-five counties.

(a) The Legislature finds that the quality of educational opportunities accessible to students throughout the state depends largely upon the ability of the schools and school systems to attract, employ and maintain the employment of high quality personnel.  The Legislature further finds that a variety of factors affect the ability of schools and school systems to attract, employ and maintain the employment of high quality personnel including, but not limited to, the availability of local property tax revenue to increase the salary potential of school employees above the state minimums, competition for employees or classes of employees from neighboring school systems within the state and in neighboring states, the availability of affordable quality housing, and cost of living differentials.  These factors vary among school systems and county boards should, and do, employ a variety of local salary, wage, benefit and other strategies to address their varying needs.  The purpose of this section is to establish an objective of salary equity that maintains, through a state paid supplement when necessary, a reasonable range of the potential salaries available to school personnel among the counties without limiting the ability of or discouraging the efforts of county boards to use the local means needed to attract, employ and maintain the employment of high quality personnel in their school systems.

(b) To meet the objective of salary equity among the counties, as defined in subsection (a) of this section, on and after July 1, 1984, subject to available state appropriations and the conditions set forth herein, each teacher and school service personnel shall receive an equity supplement amount as specified in sections two and eight-a, respectively, of this article in addition to the amount from the state minimum salary schedules provided in those sections.

(c) State funds for this purpose shall be paid within the West Virginia public school support plan in accordance with article nine-a, chapter eighteen of this code. The amount allocated for salary equity shall be apportioned between teachers and school service personnel in direct proportion to that amount necessary to support the professional salaries and service personnel salaries statewide under sections four, five and eight, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of this code. In the event the Department of Education state board determines that the objective of salary equity among the counties has not been is not being met, it shall recommend to the Governor and the Legislature any legislation or method necessary to achieve it and shall include in its budget request for the public school support plan for the next school year a request for funding sufficient to meet the objective of salary equity through an across-the-board increase in the equity supplement amount of the affected class of employees.

(d) Pursuant to this section, each teacher and service person shall receive from state funds the equity supplement amount indicated in subsection (c), section two and subsection (f), section eight-a of this article, as applicable, reduced by any amount provided by the county as a salary supplement for teachers and school service personnel on January 1, 1984.

(e) The amount received pursuant to this section shall not be decreased as a result of any county supplement increase instituted after January 1, 1984: Provided, That any amount received pursuant to this section may be reduced proportionately based upon the amount of funds appropriated for this purpose. No county may reduce any salary supplement that was in effect on January 1, 1984, except as permitted by sections five-a and five-b of this article.

 

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the mathematical definition of salary equity and require the state board, when it determines equity is not being met, to recommend to the Governor and Legislature any legislation or method necessary to achieve it and include sufficient funding in its budget request.

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

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