Introduced Version
Senate Bill 471 History
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Senate Bill No. 471
(By Senator Stollings)
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[Introduced March 7, 2013; referred to the Committee on Pensions;
and then to the Committee on Finance .]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-4-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to clarifying the definition of
"years of employment" for retirement purposes from a county
board of education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-4-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-4-8. Employment term and class titles of service personnel;
definitions.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish an employment
term and class titles for service personnel. The employment term
for service personnel may not be less than ten months. A month is defined as twenty employment days. The county board may contract
with all or part of these service personnel for a longer term. The
beginning and closing dates of the ten-month employment term may
not exceed forty-three weeks.
(b) Service personnel employed on a yearly or twelve-month
basis may be employed by calendar months. Whenever there is a
change in job assignment during the school year, the minimum pay
scale and any county supplement are applicable.
(c) Service personnel employed in the same classification for
more than the two hundred-day minimum employment term shall be paid
for additional employment at a daily rate of not less than the
daily rate paid for the two hundred-day minimum employment term.
(d) A service person may not be required to report for work
more than five days per week without his or her agreement, and no
part of any working day may be accumulated by the employer for
future work assignments, unless the employee agrees thereto.
(e) If a service person whose regular work week is scheduled
from Monday through Friday agrees to perform any work assignments
on a Saturday or Sunday, the service person shall be paid for at
least one-half day of work for each day he or she reports for work.
If the service person works more than three and one-half hours on
any Saturday or Sunday, he or she shall be paid for at least a full
day of work for each day.
(f) A custodian, aide, maintenance, office and school lunch
service person required to work a daily work schedule that is
interrupted shall be paid additional compensation in accordance
with this subsection.
(1) A maintenance person means a person who holds a
classification title other than in a custodial, aide, school lunch,
office or transportation category as provided in section one,
article one of this chapter.
(2) A service person's schedule is considered to be
interrupted if he or she does not work a continuous period in one
day. Aides are not regarded as working an interrupted schedule
when engaged exclusively in the duties of transporting students;
(3) The additional compensation provided for in this
subsection:
(A) Is equal to at least one-eighth of a service person's
total salary as provided by the state minimum pay scale and any
county pay supplement; and
(B) Is payable entirely from county board funds.
(g) When there is a change in classification or when a service
person meets the requirements of an advanced classification, his or
her salary shall be made to comply with the requirements of this
article and any county salary schedule in excess of the minimum
requirements of this article, based upon the service person's advanced classification and allowable years of employment.
(h) A service person's contract, as provided in section five,
article two of this chapter, shall state the appropriate monthly
salary the employee is to be paid, based on the class title as
provided in this article and on any county salary schedule in
excess of the minimum requirements of this article.
(i) The column heads of the state minimum pay scale and class
titles, set forth in section eight-a of this article, are defined
as follows:
(1) "Pay grade" means the monthly salary applicable to class
titles of service personnel;
(2) "Years of employment" means the number of years which an
employee classified as a service person or a person who has served
as a member of the board of education has been employed by a county
board in any position, including serving as a member of the board
of education, prior to or subsequent to the effective date of this
section and includes service in the Armed Forces of the United
States, if the employee was employed at the time of his or her
induction. For the purpose of section eight-a of this article,
years of employment is limited to the number of years shown and
allowed under the state minimum pay scale as set forth in section
eight-a of this article;
(3) "Class title" means the name of the position or job held by a service person;
(4) "Accountant I" means a person employed to maintain payroll
records and reports and perform one or more operations relating to
a phase of the total payroll;
(5) "Accountant II" means a person employed to maintain
accounting records and to be responsible for the accounting process
associated with billing, budgets, purchasing and related
operations;
(6) "Accountant III" means a person employed in the county
board office to manage and supervise accounts payable, payroll
procedures, or both;
(7) "Accounts payable supervisor" means a person employed in
the county board office who has primary responsibility for the
accounts payable function and who either has completed twelve
college hours of accounting courses from an accredited institution
of higher education or has at least eight years of experience
performing progressively difficult accounting tasks.
Responsibilities of this class title may include supervision of
other personnel;
(8) "Aide I" means a person selected and trained for a
teacher-aide classification such as monitor aide, clerical aide,
classroom aide or general aide;
(9) "Aide II" means a service person referred to in the "Aide I" classification who has completed a training program approved by
the state board, or who holds a high school diploma or has received
a general educational development certificate. Only a person
classified in an Aide II class title may be employed as an aide in
any special education program;
(10) "Aide III" means a service person referred to in the
"Aide I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a
general educational development certificate; and
(A) Has completed six semester hours of college credit at an
institution of higher education; or
(B) Is employed as an aide in a special education program and
has one year's experience as an aide in special education;
(11) "Aide IV" means a service person referred to in the "Aide
I" classification who holds a high school diploma or a general
educational development certificate; and
(A) Has completed eighteen hours of state board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education, or
(B) Has completed fifteen hours of state board-approved
college credit at a regionally accredited institution of higher
education; and has successfully completed an in-service training
program determined by the state board to be the equivalent of three
hours of college credit;
(12) "Audiovisual technician" means a person employed to
perform minor maintenance on audiovisual equipment, films, and
supplies and who fills requests for equipment;
(13) "Auditor" means a person employed to examine and verify
accounts of individual schools and to assist schools and school
personnel in maintaining complete and accurate records of their
accounts;
(14) "Autism mentor" means a person who works with autistic
students and who meets standards and experience to be determined by
the state board. A person who has held or holds an aide title and
becomes employed as an autism mentor shall hold a
multiclassification status that includes both aide and autism
mentor titles, in accordance with section eight-b of this article;
(15) "Braille or sign language specialist" means a person
employed to provide braille and/or sign language assistance to
students. A service person who has held or holds an aide title and
becomes employed as a braille or sign language specialist shall
hold a multiclassification status that includes both aide and
braille or sign language specialist title, in accordance with
section eight-b of this article;
(16) "Bus operator" means a person employed to operate school
buses and other school transportation vehicles as provided by the
state board;
(17) "Buyer" means a person employed to review and write
specifications, negotiate purchase bids and recommend purchase
agreements for materials and services that meet predetermined
specifications at the lowest available costs;
(18) "Cabinetmaker" means a person employed to construct
cabinets, tables, bookcases and other furniture;
(19) "Cafeteria manager" means a person employed to direct the
operation of a food services program in a school, including
assigning duties to employees, approving requisitions for supplies
and repairs, keeping inventories, inspecting areas to maintain high
standards of sanitation, preparing financial reports and keeping
records pertinent to food services of a school;
(20) "Carpenter I" means a person classified as a carpenter's
helper;
(21) "Carpenter II" means a person classified as a journeyman
carpenter;
(22) "Chief mechanic" means a person employed to be
responsible for directing activities which ensure that student
transportation or other county board-owned vehicles are properly
and safely maintained;
(23) "Clerk I" means a person employed to perform clerical
tasks;
(24) "Clerk II" means a person employed to perform general clerical tasks, prepare reports and tabulations and operate office
machines;
(25) "Computer operator" means a qualified person employed to
operate computers;
(26) "Cook I" means a person employed as a cook's helper;
(27) "Cook II" means a person employed to interpret menus and
to prepare and serve meals in a food service program of a school.
This definition includes a service person who has been employed as
a "Cook I" for a period of four years;
(28) "Cook III" means a person employed to prepare and serve
meals, make reports, prepare requisitions for supplies, order
equipment and repairs for a food service program of a school
system;
(29) "Crew leader" means a person employed to organize the
work for a crew of maintenance employees to carry out assigned
projects;
(30) "Custodian I" means a person employed to keep buildings
clean and free of refuse;
(31) "Custodian II" means a person employed as a watchman or
groundsman;
(32) "Custodian III" means a person employed to keep buildings
clean and free of refuse, to operate the heating or cooling systems
and to make minor repairs;
(33) "Custodian IV" means a person employed as head
custodians. In addition to providing services as defined in
"custodian III," duties may include supervising other custodian
personnel;
(34) "Director or coordinator of services" means an employee
of a county board who is assigned to direct a department or
division.
(A) Nothing in this subdivision prohibits a professional
person or a professional educator from holding this class title;
(B) Professional personnel holding this class title may not be
defined or classified as service personnel unless the professional
person held a service personnel title under this section prior to
holding the class title of "director or coordinator of services."
(C) The director or coordinator of services shall be
classified either as a professional person or a service person for
state aid formula funding purposes;
(D) Funding for the position of director or coordinator of
services is based upon the employment status of the director or
coordinator either as a professional person or a service person;
and
(E) A person employed under the class title "director or
coordinator of services" may not be exclusively assigned to perform
the duties ascribed to any other class title as defined in this subsection: Provided, That nothing in this paragraph prohibits a
person in this position from being multiclassified;
(35) "Draftsman" means a person employed to plan, design and
produce detailed architectural/engineering drawings;
(36) "Electrician I" means a person employed as an apprentice
electrician helper or one who holds an electrician helper license
issued by the State Fire Marshal;
(37) "Electrician II" means a person employed as an
electrician journeyman or one who holds a journeyman electrician
license issued by the State Fire Marshal;
(38) "Electronic technician I" means a person employed at the
apprentice level to repair and maintain electronic equipment;
(39) "Electronic technician II" means a person employed at the
journeyman level to repair and maintain electronic equipment;
(40) "Executive secretary" means a person employed as
secretary to the county school superintendent or as a secretary who
is assigned to a position characterized by significant
administrative duties;
(41) "Food services supervisor" means a qualified person who
is not a professional person or professional educator as defined in
section one, article one of this chapter. The food services
supervisor is employed to manage and supervise a county school
system's food service program. The duties include preparing in-service training programs for cooks and food service employees,
instructing personnel in the areas of quantity cooking with economy
and efficiency and keeping aggregate records and reports;
(42) "Foreman" means a skilled person employed to supervise
personnel who work in the areas of repair and maintenance of school
property and equipment;
(43) "General maintenance" means a person employed as a helper
to skilled maintenance employees and to perform minor repairs to
equipment and buildings of a county school system;
(44) "Glazier" means a person employed to replace glass or
other materials in windows and doors and to do minor carpentry
tasks;
(45) "Graphic artist" means a person employed to prepare
graphic illustrations;
(46) "Groundsman" means a person employed to perform duties
that relate to the appearance, repair and general care of school
grounds in a county school system. Additional assignments may
include the operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties in buildings;
(47) "Handyman" means a person employed to perform routine
manual tasks in any operation of the county school system;
(48) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic I" means a person
employed at the apprentice level to install, repair and maintain heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical
equipment;
(49) "Heating and air conditioning mechanic II" means a person
employed at the journeyman level to install, repair and maintain
heating and air conditioning plants and related electrical
equipment;
(50) "Heavy equipment operator" means a person employed to
operate heavy equipment;
(51) "Inventory supervisor" means a person employed to
supervise or maintain operations in the receipt, storage, inventory
and issuance of materials and supplies;
(52) "Key punch operator" means a qualified person employed to
operate key punch machines or verifying machines;
(53) "Licensed practical nurse" means a nurse, licensed by the
West Virginia Board of Examiners for Licensed Practical Nurses,
employed to work in a public school under the supervision of a
school nurse;
(54) "Locksmith" means a person employed to repair and
maintain locks and safes;
(55) "Lubrication man" means a person employed to lubricate
and service gasoline or diesel-powered equipment of a county school
system;
(56) "Machinist" means a person employed to perform machinist tasks which include the ability to operate a lathe, planer, shaper,
threading machine and wheel press. A person holding this class
title also should have the ability to work from blueprints and
drawings;
(57) "Mail clerk" means a person employed to receive, sort,
dispatch, deliver or otherwise handle letters, parcels and other
mail;
(58) "Maintenance clerk" means a person employed to maintain
and control a stocking facility to keep adequate tools and supplies
on hand for daily withdrawal for all school maintenance crafts;
(59) "Mason" means a person employed to perform tasks
connected with brick and block laying and carpentry tasks related
to these activities;
(60) "Mechanic" means a person employed to perform skilled
duties independently in the maintenance and repair of automobiles,
school buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment to use in a
county school system;
(61) "Mechanic assistant" means a person employed as a
mechanic apprentice and helper;
(62) "Member of a Board of Education" means a person who has
been elected and served on a county board of education pursuant to
the provisions of article five, chapter eighteen of this code;
(62) (63) "Multiclassification" means a person employed to perform tasks that involve the combination of two or more class
titles in this section. In these instances the minimum salary
scale shall be the higher pay grade of the class titles involved;
(63) (64) "Office equipment repairman I" means a person
employed as an office equipment repairman apprentice or helper;
(64) (65) "Office equipment repairman II" means a person
responsible for servicing and repairing all office machines and
equipment. A person holding this class title is responsible for
the purchase of parts necessary for the proper operation of a
program of continuous maintenance and repair;
(65) (66) "Painter" means a person employed to perform duties
painting, finishing and decorating wood, metal and concrete
surfaces of buildings, other structures, equipment, machinery and
furnishings of a county school system;
(66) (67) "Paraprofessional" means a person certified pursuant
to section two-a, article three of this chapter to perform duties
in a support capacity including, but not limited to, facilitating
in the instruction and direct or indirect supervision of students
under the direction of a principal, a teacher or another designated
professional educator.
(A) A person employed on the effective date of this section in
the position of an aide may not be subject to a reduction in force
or transferred to create a vacancy for the employment of a paraprofessional;
(B) A person who has held or holds an aide title and becomes
employed as a paraprofessional shall hold a multiclassification
status that includes both aide and paraprofessional titles in
accordance with section eight-b of this article; and
(C) When a service person who holds an aide title becomes
certified as a paraprofessional and is required to perform duties
that may not be performed by an aide without paraprofessional
certification, he or she shall receive the paraprofessional title
pay grade;
(67) (68) "Payroll supervisor" means a person employed in the
county board office who has primary responsibility for the payroll
function and who either has completed twelve college hours of
accounting from an accredited institution of higher education or
has at least eight years of experience performing progressively
difficult accounting tasks. Responsibilities of this class title
may include supervision of other personnel;
(68) (69) "Plumber I" means a person employed as an apprentice
plumber and helper;
(69) (70) "Plumber II" means a person employed as a journeyman
plumber;
(70) (71) "Printing operator" means a person employed to
operate duplication equipment, and to cut, collate, staple, bind and shelve materials as required;
(71) (72) "Printing supervisor" means a person employed to
supervise the operation of a print shop;
(72) (73) "Programmer" means a person employed to design and
prepare programs for computer operation;
(73) (74) "Roofing/sheet metal mechanic" means a person
employed to install, repair, fabricate and maintain roofs, gutters,
flashing and duct work for heating and ventilation;
(74) (75) "Sanitation plant operator" means a person employed
to operate and maintain a water or sewage treatment plant to ensure
the safety of the plant's effluent for human consumption or
environmental protection;
(75) (76) "School bus supervisor" means a qualified person:
(A) Employed to assist in selecting school bus operators and
routing and scheduling school buses, operate a bus when needed,
relay instructions to bus operators, plan emergency routing of
buses and promote good relationships with parents, students, bus
operators and other employees; and
(B) Certified to operate a bus or previously certified to
operate a bus;
(76) (77) "Secretary I" means a person employed to transcribe
from notes or mechanical equipment, receive callers, perform
clerical tasks, prepare reports and operate office machines;
(77) (78) "Secretary II" means a person employed in any
elementary, secondary, kindergarten, nursery, special education,
vocational or any other school as a secretary. The duties may
include performing general clerical tasks; transcribing from notes,
stenotype, mechanical equipment or a sound-producing machine;
preparing reports; receiving callers and referring them to proper
persons; operating office machines; keeping records and handling
routine correspondence. Nothing in this subdivision prevents a
service person from holding or being elevated to a higher
classification;
(78) (79) "Secretary III" means a person assigned to the
county board office administrators in charge of various
instructional, maintenance, transportation, food services,
operations and health departments, federal programs or departments
with particular responsibilities in purchasing and financial
control or any person who has served for eight years in a position
which meets the definition of "secretary II" or "secretary III";
(79) (80) "Supervisor of maintenance" means a skilled person
who is not a professional person or professional educator as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter. The
responsibilities include directing the upkeep of buildings and
shops, and issuing instructions to subordinates relating to
cleaning, repairs and maintenance of all structures and mechanical and electrical equipment of a county board;
(80) (81) "Supervisor of transportation" means a qualified
person employed to direct school transportation activities properly
and safely, and to supervise the maintenance and repair of
vehicles, buses and other mechanical and mobile equipment used by
the county school system. After July 1, 2010, all persons employed
for the first time in a position with this classification title or
in a multi-classification position that includes this title shall
have five years of experience working in the transportation
department of a county board. Experience working in the
transportation department shall consist of serving as a bus
operator, bus aide, assistant mechanic, mechanic, chief mechanic or
in a clerical position within the transportation department;
(81) (82) "Switchboard operator-receptionist" means a person
employed to refer incoming calls, to assume contact with the
public, to direct and to give instructions as necessary, to operate
switchboard equipment and to provide clerical assistance;
(82) (83) "Truck driver" means a person employed to operate
light or heavy duty gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles;
(83) (84) "Warehouse clerk" means a person employed to be
responsible for receiving, storing, packing and shipping goods;
(84) (85) "Watchman" means a person employed to protect school
property against damage or theft. Additional assignments may include operation of a small heating plant and routine cleaning
duties;
(85) (86) "Welder" means a person employed to provide
acetylene or electric welding services for a school system; and
(86) (87) "WVEIS data entry and administrative clerk" means a
person employed to work under the direction of a school principal
to assist the school counselor or counselors in the performance of
administrative duties, to perform data entry tasks on the West
Virginia Education Information System, and to perform other
administrative duties assigned by the principal.
(j) Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the
contrary, and in addition to the compensation provided for service
personnel in section eight-a of this article, each service person
is entitled to all service personnel employee rights, privileges
and benefits provided under this or any other chapter of this code
without regard to the employee's hours of employment or the methods
or sources of compensation.
(k) A service person whose years of employment exceeds the
number of years shown and provided for under the state minimum pay
scale set forth in section eight-a of this article may not be paid
less than the amount shown for the maximum years of employment
shown and provided for in the classification in which he or she is
employed.
(l) Each county board shall review each service person's job
classification annually and shall reclassify all service persons as
required by the job classifications. The state superintendent may
withhold state funds appropriated pursuant to this article for
salaries for service personnel who are improperly classified by the
county boards. Further, the state superintendent shall order a
county board to correct immediately any improper classification
matter and, with the assistance of the Attorney General, shall take
any legal action necessary against any county board to enforce the
order.
(m) Without his or her written consent, a service person may
not be:
(1) Reclassified by class title; or
(2) Relegated to any condition of employment which would
result in a reduction of his or her salary, rate of pay,
compensation or benefits earned during the current fiscal year; or
for which he or she would qualify by continuing in the same job
position and classification held during that fiscal year and
subsequent years.
(n) Any county board failing to comply with the provisions of
this article may be compelled to do so by mandamus and is liable to
any party prevailing against the board for court costs and the
prevailing party's reasonable attorney fee, as determined and established by the court.
(o) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, a service person who holds a continuing contract in a
specific job classification and who is physically unable to perform
the job's duties as confirmed by a physician chosen by the
employee, shall be given priority status over any employee not
holding a continuing contract in filling other service personnel
job vacancies if the service person is qualified as provided in
section eight-e of this article.
(p) Any person employed in an aide position on the effective
date of this section may not be transferred or subject to a
reduction in force for the purpose of creating a vacancy for the
employment of a licensed practical nurse.
(q) Without the written consent of the service person, a
county board may not establish the beginning work station for a bus
operator or transportation aide at any site other than a county
board-owned facility with available parking. The workday of the
bus operator or transportation aide commences at the bus at the
designated beginning work station and ends when the employee is
able to leave the bus at the designated beginning work station,
unless he or she agrees otherwise in writing. The application or
acceptance of a posted position may not be construed as the written
consent referred to in this subsection.
(r) Itinerant status means a service person who does not have
a fixed work site and may be involuntarily reassigned to another
work site. A service person is considered to hold itinerant status
if he or she has bid upon a position posted as itinerant or has
agreed to accept this status. A county board may establish
positions with itinerant status only within the aide and autism
mentor classification categories and only when the job duties
involve exceptional students. A service person with itinerant
status may be assigned to a different work site upon written notice
ten days prior to the reassignment without the consent of the
employee and without posting the vacancy. A service person with
itinerant status may be involuntarily reassigned no more than twice
during the school year. At the conclusion of each school year, the
county board shall post and fill, pursuant to section eight-b of
this article, all positions that have been filled without posting
by a service person with itinerant status. A service person who is
assigned to a beginning and ending work site and travels at the
expense of the county board to other work sites during the daily
schedule, shall not be considered to hold itinerant status.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that service on
a county board of education while contributing to the state
retirement system would count in the calculation of years of
service for retirement purposes.
Strike-throughs indicate language to be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be
added.