H. B. 2828
(Delegates Prezioso, Proudfoot, Anderson, Haskins,
Williams and Yeager)
(Originating in the House Committee on Education)
[February 28, 1995]
A BILL to repeal section three-b, article nine-a, chapter eighteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-
one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections four, five-
a, seven and eight-a of said article, all relating to repealing
expired language pertaining to the total state basic foundation
program and foundation allowance for regional educational
service agencies; increasing the allowance for professional
educators from fifty-three and one-half to fifty-three and
three-fourths; maintaining the maximum professional educators
and maximum service personnel per one thousand net enrollment
at the nineteen ninety-three--ninety-four levels; eliminating
language pertaining to additional buses for net enrollment
increases; increasing the allowance for regional educational service agencies to sixty one-hundredths percent from the
previous year for the fiscal year beginning on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five only.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-b, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; and that sections four, five-a, seven and
eight-a of said article be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-4. Foundation allowance for professional educators.
The basic foundation allowance to the county for professional
educators shall be the amount of money required to pay the state
minimum salaries, in accordance with provisions of article four,
chapter eighteen-a of this code, to the personnel employed:
Provided, That in making this computation no county shall receive
an allowance for the personnel which number is in excess of
educators fifty-three and
one-half three-fourths professional
educators to each one thousand students in adjusted enrollment:
Provided, however, That any county not qualifying under the
provision of section fourteen of this article is eligible for a
growth rate in professional personnel in any one year not to exceed twenty percent of its total potential increase under this
provision, except that in no case shall the limit be fewer than
five professionals:
Provided further, That the number of and the
allowance for personnel paid in part by state and county funds
shall be prorated:
And provided further, That where two or more
counties join together in support of a vocational or comprehensive
high school or any other program or service, the professional
educators for the school or program may be prorated among the
participating counties on the basis of each one's enrollment
therein and that the personnel shall be considered within the
above-stated limit:
And provided further, That in the school year
beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-
eight, and in each school year thereafter, each county board shall
establish and maintain a minimum ratio of fifty professional
instructional personnel per one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment:
And provided further, That no permanent substitute
shall be included in the minimum ratio for professional
instructional personnel. Permanent substitutes may be included in
the computation for professional educators. For the purposes of
this section, permanent substitute means a full-time employee who
performs the duties of a day-to-day substitute:
And provided
further, That no county shall have less than a total of five principals and central office administrators. Any county board
which does not establish and maintain this minimum ratio shall
suffer a pro rata reduction in the allowance for professional
educators under this section:
And provided further, That no county
shall be penalized if it has increases in enrollment during that
school year:
And provided further, That any county board which
does not establish and maintain this minimum ratio shall utilize
any and all allocations to it by provision of section fourteen of
this article solely to employ professional instructional personnel
until the minimum ratio is attained. Every county shall utilize
methods other than reductions in force, such as attrition and early
retirement, before implementing their reductions in force policy to
comply with the limitations of this section. It is the intent of
the Legislature that in planning reductions in force to comply with
reduced ratios of professional educators to students in adjusted
enrollment, county boards shall consider positions for elimination
in the following order: (1) Central office administrators, (2)
assistant principals, and (3) principals.
No county shall increase the number of administrative
personnel employed as either professional educators or pay grade
"H" service personnel above the number which were employed, or for
which positions were posted, on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety, and, therefore, county boards shall
whenever possible utilize classroom teachers for curriculum
administrative positions through the use of modified or extended
contracts:
Provided, That the governor shall submit a
recommendation to the Legislature at the beginning of the regular
session thereof in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one,
which proposes a method for establishing a responsible level of
administrative support for each county school system and a pay
scale differentiation on a daily rate between classroom positions
and administrative positions when all other factors are equal.
§18-9A-5a. Ratio of foundation allowances for professional
educators and service personnel to net enrollment.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish maximum ratios
between the numbers of professional educators and service personnel
in the counties which are funded through the public school support
plan and the net enrollment in the counties, such ratios are in
addition to the ratios provided for in sections four and five of
this article. It is the intent of the Legislature to adjust these
ratios pursuant to legislative act as may be appropriate when
additional personnel are needed to perform additional duties.
(b) Commencing with the school year one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine--ninety, and each year thereafter, in computing the basic foundation allowance to a county for professional educators
and the basic foundation allowance to a county for service
personnel under sections four and five of this article, a county
shall not receive an allowance for such personnel which number per
one thousand students in net enrollment is in excess of the number
of professional educators and the number of service personnel in
the county computed as follows:
Maximum professionalMaximum service
For theeducators per 1000personnel per 1000
school yearnet enrollment thenet enrollment the
preceding yearpreceding year
1989-9076.545.5
1990-9176.045.0
1991-9275.544.5
1992-9375.044.0
1993-94
and74.543.75
1994-95 and74.043.5
thereafter
(c) Every county shall utilize methods other than reductions
in force, such as attrition and early retirement, before
implementing their reductions in force policy to comply with the
limitations of this section.
(d) For the school years one thousand nine hundred eighty-
nine--ninety and one thousand nine hundred ninety--ninety-one only,
if a school district loses more than six percent of the number
chargeable for the previous school year for professional educator
positions or service personnel positions, due to the maximum ratios
established in subsection (b) of this section, it may apply to the
state board for a waiver of said ratios to the extent that the loss
exceeds either six percent of its professional educators or service
personnel: Provided, That the county board of education
establishes and maintains the minimum ratio of professional
instructional personnel per one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment as required in section four of this article. Waivers
shall be determined on a case by case basis according to rules
adopted by the state board and granted to the extent funds are
appropriated by the Legislature for this purpose. Prior to the
adoption of such rules, the state board shall conduct a thorough
review of the staffing patterns in each county. Any personnel
positions funded as a result of a waiver granted under the
provisions of this subsection shall not be included in the
computations set forth in sections four and five of this article.
§18-9A-7. Foundation allowance for transportation cost.
The allowance in the foundation school program for each county for transportation shall be the sum of the following computations:
(1) Eighty percent of the transportation cost within each
county for maintenance, operation and related costs, exclusive of
all salaries:
Provided, That for the school year beginning the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and
thereafter, in the event a county uses an alternative fuel such as
compressed natural gas or other acceptable alternative fuel for the
operation of all or any portion of its school bus system, then the
allowance in the foundation school program for each such county for
that portion of its school bus system shall be ninety percent of
the transportation cost for maintenance, operation and related
costs, exclusive of all salaries, incurred by the use of the
alternatively fueled school buses:
Provided, however, That any
county using an alternative fuel and qualifying for the additional
allowance shall submit a plan regarding the intended future use of
alternatively fueled school buses:
Provided further, That the
state board shall distribute the additional allowance to qualifying
counties only until such time as the state board has distributed in
the then current fiscal year one hundred thousand dollars of
transportation allowance, in the statewide aggregate, above the
eighty percent to qualifying counties, after which the additional
ten percent shall no longer be available to any county;
(2) The total cost, within each county, of insurance premiums
on buses, buildings and equipment used in transportation:
Provided, That such premiums were procured through competitive
bidding;
(3) For the school year beginning the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, and thereafter, an amount equal
to ten percent of the current replacement value of the bus fleet
within each county as determined by the state board, such amount to
be used only for the replacement of buses.
In addition, in any
school year in which its net enrollment increases when compared to
the net enrollment the year immediately preceding, a school
district may apply to the state superintendent for funding for an
additional bus. Furthermore, large, sparsely populated counties
may also apply to the state superintendent for funding for
additional mini-buses. The state superintendent shall make a
decision regarding each application based upon an analysis of the
individual school district's net enrollment history and
transportation needs or, in the case of a large, sparsely populated
county, the population of the county: Provided, That the
superintendent shall not consider any application which fails to
document that the county has applied for federal funding for
additional buses. If the state superintendent finds that a need exists, a request for funding shall be included in the budget
request submitted by the state board for the upcoming fiscal year;
(4) Eighty percent of the cost of contracted transportation
services and public utility transportation with each county;
(5) Aid in lieu of transportation equal to the state average
amount per pupil for each pupil receiving such aid within each
county; and
(6) Ninety percent of the total cost of transportation
operations and related expenses, excluding salaries and maintenance
for transporting students to and from classes at a multicounty
vocational center.
The total state share for this purpose shall be the sum of the
county shares and shall be distributed in accordance with rules to
be promulgated by the state board:
Provided, That no county shall
receive an allowance which is greater than one third above the
computed state average allowance per mile multiplied by the total
mileage in the county.
§18-9A-8a. Foundation allowance for regional educational service
agencies.
For the fiscal year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and for each fiscal year
thereafter, the foundation allowance for regional educational service agencies shall be equal to sixty-three one-hundredths
percent of the allocation for professional educators as determined
in section four of this article:
Provided, That for the fiscal
year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four ninety-five only, the foundation allowance for regional
educational service agencies shall be at least equal to
fifty-five
sixty one-hundredths percent of the allocation for professional
educators as determined in section four of this article. The
allowance shall be distributed to the regional educational service
agencies in accordance with rules adopted by the state board. The
allowance for regional educational service agencies shall be
excluded from the computation of total basic state aid as provided
for in section twelve of this article.