W.Va. Association of School Administrators

2009 Legislative Priorities

WVASA's membership committee has finalized the following priorities for the W.Va. Legislature's 2009 regular session:

Expansion of Broadband and Support for the Use of Technology in West Virginia Classrooms
Governor Manchin established a Broadband committee in 2008 to address the expansion of appropriate levels of broadband and the use of education technologies in all classrooms in the state. WVASA supports the recommendations of this committee to the governor. In addition, we support provision of on-line training for teachers and other stakeholders to facilitate the appropriate use of these technologies.

Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB)
GASB Statement 45 requires all state and local governments to report OPEB expenditures and liabilities in their annual financial reports. WV SL §5-16D-6 contains contradictory language regarding what constitutes the current year’s contractual obligation for state and local governments, causing each entity to be billed for the full liability connected to this benefit. The impact appears to be that every board of education will consequently be required to report a deficit fund balance within three years.

WVASA supports one of two possible “fixes” to this problem:

• Recognize the state’s responsibility for funding the OPEB liability for all county board employees hired in accordance with the funding formula limits. The state has granted retiring employees this benefit and should assume responsibility for its future costs.

• Amend WV §5-16D-6 to clearly state that the “annual contractual obligation” is minimum annual employer premium payment, and that the remaining actuarial liability is to be reflected as a long-term liability.

Revisions to the Public School Support Program
The Public School Support Program was extensively modified during the 2008 legislative session, with implementation to occur over a five-year phase in period.

A few issues should be resolved:

• Rather than limiting the number of personnel funded to the number actually employed, they should be funded at the limit during the phase-in five years.
  
• The waiver for PI (professional instructional ratio) should be waived during the phase-in.
  
• Nurses and counselors should be included in the definition of classroom teacher.
  
• The changes made in the 2008 legislation are definitely positive in nature and the law needs to be fully implemented early, if possible, but definitely over the five year phase-in period.

RESA Funding Cap of $4.2 Million Removed
RESAs provide a valuable resource and support to all county school systems that choose to take advantage of their services. One of the most valuable resources is computer support, repair, and maintenance. The costs have risen to provide all the services, and capping the RESA funding level for many years has diminished the level of support. Lower level of funding for RESAs requires an increased level of funding from counties, which they cannot afford.

Support the Revisions to Personnel Law Proposed by the West Virginia School Personnel Association.

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