Gov. Joe Manchin said Tuesday he was “very disappointed” that the Legislature failed to pass any substantial public school reform legislation during the recently completed seven-day special session.

“We stepped forward as hard as we could … and we still got nothing,” he said of the seven-bill agenda for education reform.

Ultimately, only three of the bills passed the Legislature, and those were reduced to pilot projects or studies.

“I’m very disappointed we didn’t get more accomplished,” Manchin said. “I’m disappointed the Education Committees didn’t take it more seriously to make change.”

Several of the bills were killed or watered-down in the House Education Committee, where a majority of members are current or retired teachers or school service personnel. Committee Chairwoman Mary Poling, D-Barbour, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Manchin said it is clear that the current public school system is not adequately preparing students for higher education and for jobs in the 21st-century workplace.

“The results don’t lie. They are what they are,” he said. “The education system is the way it is, perhaps, because change hasn’t happened.”

Manchin stopped short of blaming teachers union lobbyists for blocking reform.

“They’re doing what they feel is best. It’s just not getting the results we need,” he said.

Judy Hale, president of the West Virginia Federation of Teachers, said Tuesday she does not believe the special session, or the efforts of a workgroup studying education reform in the months prior, was time wasted.

“There was, I thought, some excellent discussion on these issues,” said Hale, who expects the Legislature to continue to work on the measures in the 2011 regular session.

She said extended debate over the legislation outlining the 2010 special elections to fill the late Robert C. Byrd’s unexpired term in the Senate simply dominated the special session.

“That became the top priority, and education had to take a backseat,” she said. “I don’t think either house was inclined to get into further controversy at the time.”

Also Tuesday, Manchin said it would be premature to call a special session to address inconsistencies in the state’s gubernatorial succession law.

Under current law and the state constitution, if Manchin wins election to the unexpired term in the U.S. Senate in November, Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, will become the acting governor, while remaining as head of the Senate.

The law calls for a special election to select a new governor, but does not set any timeframe for the election. Tomblin told the Gazette it would be his intent to have the special election coincide with the 2012 primary and general election.

“They’ll have to cross that bridge sooner or later, and I’m sure they will,” Manchin said of legislation to clarify the succession law. “I’m sure common sense will prevail. If not, I’m sure the courts will intervene.”

Reach Phil Kabler at ph…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1220.

West Virginia ranks near the bottom of US states in student performance, while spending among the largest amount of money on education per capita in the country.

They have failed to pass big-ticket recommendations, including new charter school legislation, called “Charter Innovation Zones 2.0.”

They have failed to pass alternative certification programs for non-teachers or any kind of teacher performance monitoring system based on student performance and other factors.

Following the teachers union position, there is apparently no movement on annual evaluations for teachers, essentially holding to an entrenched tenured system.

There was no movement on incentive-based pay for teachers or changes that would allow the state board to remove ineffective principals in a timely fashion.

Legislators are wary of the influence of the state’s teachers unions, and that teachers and school personnel likely represent the biggest voter block in the state.

There are some proposals to bring teacher pay up to standards maintained by neighboring states.

A bill reads, “West Virginia’s unadjusted average teacher salary is less than those of the contiguous states which puts West Virginia at a competitive disadvantage for employing the best teachers.”

It states pay increases would “assist in attracting the best and the brightest students to the teaching profession.”

by Alice Coleman

Democracy that embodies the will of the people does not apply in Fayette County.

During the last eight years, Fayette County citizens have overwhelmingly voted against two bond issues for consolidation of our schools. In 2001, 88 percent of our citizens voted against the bond issue. In 2009, 78 percent voted against the bond issue.

Today, less than a year later, our citizens are facing the fact that their steadfast vote against consolidation and the fundamental principles and rights that are guaranteed in our Constitution hold very little significance to nonelected officials in charge.

The nonelected officials in the State Board of Education have already stripped the power from the five elected members of the Fayette County Board of Education. To add insult to injury, they continue to shove their will down the throats of our citizens.

A 10-year educational facilities plan has been retrieved from the Fayette County Board of Education, and an appointed committee has been working on revisions to the plan for restructuring of our Fayette County schools. This appointed committee met on July 12 with a group of about 150 Fayette County citizens supposedly to give our citizens the opportunity to review the plan and the opportunity for input.

Our citizens interpreted the plan for exactly what it is: another attempt to consolidate schools. To put it mildly, the citizens’ unswerving opposition to the plan was quite apparent.

The good citizens of Fayette County voted for and are supporting a levy that now finances their schools to the tune of approximately $8 million a year. Nonetheless, these same citizens have reached their limits in negotiating with the bureaucracy of the nonelected.

If the nonelected state officials want to control and finance the restructuring of the Fayette County school system, our fine citizens will oblige them with a “no vote” on any and all future levy bond issues for consolidation of our schools.

Alice Coleman is a resident of Glen Jean in Fayette County.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Until a U.S. Senate vacancy opened up, this week was supposed to be all about Gov. Joe Manchin’s education reform agenda.
Yet in between the frantic rush to hold an election, lawmakers have been quietly scaling back the governor’s already pared down education reform plans.

Over the weekend, Manchin sent seven education bills to the Legislature.

Four appear on track for passage, two appear dead in the House and one has been heavily amended. But that’s after the bills were vetted by a 10-member House and Senate task force. That’s the group Manchin assembled when a legislative special session on education grinded to a halt in May following a week of failed attempts to agree on the governor’s plans.

In the past weeks, the committee has met and scaled back Manchin’s plan.

But the deepest cut to the governor’s reform plans was apparently self-inflicted. After more than a year of debate over allowing charter schools in West Virginia, Manchin didn’t put a charter school bill before the Legislature.

That decision was seemingly part political calculation, part practical matter.

Manchin met late last week in his office with Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin and House Speaker Rick Thompson.

Coming into the meeting, Manchin appeared ready to submit the charter school bill to lawmkers, Tomblin said.

But, by the meeting’s end, the bill was off the table.

“We counted the votes and didn’t think we had enough to move it,” Manchin said.

Charter school proponents say the bill was already watered down.

Charter school critic Judy Hale, the president of the state chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, said she wasn’t sure either the House or the Senate wanted to deal with the controversial bill, which teachers unions don’t like.

“I don’t think either house wanted to deal with it in a special session,” Hale said.

Part of the reason may be the strong backlash from unions that the three men might face just as each is planning a run for office. Manchin is expected to seek the open U.S. Senate seat and Tomblin and Thompson have both set their sights on the governor’s office. Thompson is also running for reelection in the House.

Manchin said union’s campaign was never brought up.

“I’m fighting for everything I can,” he said.

Ahead of this year’s May primary, unions funded a negative campaign against Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, a top proponent of charter schools and critic of the teachers unions.

Tomblin said he and the governor were inclined to go ahead with the bill.

“Obviously the Senate preferred to have the charter bill,” Tomblin said.

He said he thought it was “probable” that Manchin also wanted it to be taken up now by the Legislature.

But they did not push the bill.

“No sense in putting something on if it was doomed for failure,” Tomblin said.

He said he was not going “stand up then and beat my chest” to get the controversial bill on the governor’s legislative agenda. House lawmakers have not been receptive to charter schools.

It is not clear House leader Thompson’s role in the meeting. Thompson declined through a spokeswoman to talk about the meeting, saying he considers discussions with the governor and the president to be confidential.

Manchin’s legislative director, Jim Pitrolo, said “there was no consensus” for the charter school bill.

“It wasn’t just one or two people,” he said.

Other bills the work group also considered were held back by Manchin, although it is not clear at whose request.

After the meeting with the speaker and president, members of the Senate went to have Manchin pull a bill that would have guaranteed teachers a planning period, Tomblin said. Unions complain teachers are having the period taken from them by school administrators.

“I guess it was one of those touchy issues,” Tomblin said. “It was touchy on the Senate side, whereas charter schools were touchy on the House.”

Manchin said the charter school bill and the planning period bill would be moved together in the future.

Besides the planning period bill, the governor also did not introduce legislation to reduce class size and to give teachers a pay raise, though each idea was discussed by the task force.

The governor’s decision to pull the planning period bill appears to have significantly weakened union support for the other items on his agenda, which include a bill to improve low-performing schools and a bill that allows would-be teachers to get certified in different ways.

Union support is seen as a key factor in getting bills through the House Education Committee, which a number of educators serve on.

On Monday, the committee killed the bill that was meant to improve low performing schools.

Hale said she was leaving it up to others to fight for Manchin’s agenda because the planning period bill was canned.

“They came out against our planning period bill,” Hale said. “It’s the state department’s job to fight for its own legislation.”

The Senate is well on its way to passing all of Manchin’s agenda.

The House is also moving part of the governor’s agenda, including legislation meant to make sure schoolchildren have health screenings; a bill that creates a pilot program to keep troubled elementary- and middle-school students from disrupting class but also keep them in school; and a bill that would begin the process of more extensively evaluating teachers.

But members of the task force, including House Education Committee Chairwoman Mary Poling, are likely to face criticism for recommending to the governor legislation they have now amended or have helped killed or bog down.

Poling said it was never the deal that recommendations from the task force guaranteed passage.

She said people should not have had the impression that the task force’s work meant that the recommendations “would pass or even that work group members would vote for it.” In a work group meeting in early June she voted against the charter school bill. Poling said she was voting against it on principle because members of her committee had not been given time to consider the issue.

Unions, too, could face criticism. Following the busted May education reform session they asked for a seat at the table. They had one, literally sitting at the same table with lawmakers during the work group’s meetings. They were able to suggest amendments, though they had to find a lawmaker who agreed with them to actually amend the bill. But that wasn’t enough, they said.

“We were sitting at the table but we didn’t have a vote,” Hale said.

Dale Lee, the president of the West Virginia Education Association, had a similar response.

“We had a seat at the table but we didn’t have a vote,” Lee said.

Manchin, who announced recently he would devote his term as chairman of the National Governors Association to education, said he would never stop fighting for education reform.

“We’re never giving up on any of those things,” Manchin said.

Contact writer Ry Rivard at ry.riv…@dailymail.com or 304-348-1796.

By 2014, officials with the West Virginia Center for Professional Development want at least 15 percent of the graduating class to score a 3 or higher on one AP exam by 2014.

To be that successful, twice as many students in West Virginia would need to score a 3 or better when compared to the graduating class of 2009. Last year, about 15 out of every 200 graduating students scored a 3 or better, according to the College Board.

State education officials also want to increase participation in Advanced Placement. More than 17 percent of seniors in 2009 took at least one AP exam while in high school, up from 2008’s 15 percent, according to the College Board.

Dixie Billheimer, executive director of the West Virginia Center for Professional Development, presented a strategic plan for Advanced Placement to members of the state Board of Education at a meeting in Charleston on Tuesday.

She proposed changes that would require AP courses for students in the 10th grade and make students take an AP exam in order to receive a weighted grade in their class.

Teachers would need to attend a training session within the first year of teaching an AP course, and then get additional training once every three years thereafter, Billheimer said.

Also, high schools could receive incentives for each AP exam score of 3 or higher.

State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine said he believes the changes will increase involvement in the AP program.

Paine said he wants to work with state Board of Education members to resolve finance issues and make necessary policy changes. Board member Lowell Johnson was concerned that some of the proposals probably would cost money, and said the state board doesn’t always “have the money to do what we want to do.”

Reach Davin White at davinwh…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1254.

Fayette County school officials placed a microphone in front of citizens, giving them the chance to voice their opinions on a proposed 10-year school plan.

That microphone was practically used just as — if not more than — often as one in a concert Monday night.

Parents, grandparents, teachers, alumni, advocacy group leaders and the students any plan would ultimately impact filled a large part of Fayetteville High School’s auditorium Monday night. Proposed school consolidations — particularly those that could cut the number of county high schools in half — drew the most ire from those opposing it.

The Fayette County Board of Education’s special meeting was to allow concerned citizens to speak in favor of or against a proposed 10-year Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan (CEFP). The plan’s primary purpose, school officials say, is establishing a framework for how to provide educational facilities that will allow students to receive the best possible 21st Century education.

Fayette County Schools Superintendent Dwight Dials emphasized nothing in the plan is set in stone. He said actions within it are ones school officials would consider if resources are available.

Wheeling-based McKinley and Associates and Charleston-based ZMM architectural and engineering firms, facilitated meetings with a broad-based school and community committee, according to both Dials and a Fayette County Schools executive summary. This led to the plan.

Proposed items call for the possible combination of student bodies from Fayette County’s six high schools into three buildings. According to plan documents, these include constructing a new, “state of the art,” high school to serve ninth through 12th grade enrollments of the current Fayetteville, Meadow Bridge and Midland Trail high schools. That proposal does not include a possible school location.

Another calls for combining Mount Hope 9-12 students within the existing Oak Hill High School. The facility would be “significantly upgraded.” Valley High School’s 6-8 and 9-12 grade students would be separated as much as possible, and a multipurpose/gym facility would be constructed for the 6-8 graders.

This made very few speakers happy, particularly ones from the Meadow Bridge area. They believed the students would face extremely long bus rides that would be downright dangerous during winter weather. The county, they said, would risk decreased enrollment because some parents would send their children to closer schools in Summers and Greenbrier counties.

Misty Richmond said she would be one of those Meadow Bridge parents.

“I will choose Summers County or western Greenbrier County,” she said. “Do I wish I had to send them to Summers County or western Greenbrier? It’s not want I want, but I would have no choice.”

Because she lives within one mile of the Meadow Bridge schools, one of her three sons, a 4.0 student, can play multiple sports and be in the marching band, Richmond said. Having children attend school closer to home also makes keeping tabs on them easier for parents.

“It helps keep them on the right path,” she said.

Two Meadow Bridge High School students spoke out against the proposed consolidation, too.

Jennings Berry, a 10th grader, said students and teachers at smaller schools get to know one another better. In turn, the teachers learn what has to be done to help an individual student succeed.

Berry also questioned any cost benefits consolidation would have. The large number of students would mean the larger schools would have to have enough teachers, cooks and other personnel for them.

Fellow Meadow Bridge High School student Paul Cooper believed having more teacher attention was important, as well. Schools with a large number of students, he said, could also lead to more student distraction. Winter commutes are already “scary” even though he is only within a 10-minute drive.

Once the young men spoke, Valley High School teacher John Guerini rose from his seat. If two students were brave enough to stand up and speak, he said, he would do the same.

Individual attention, according to Guerini, is critical. He said he was blessed to work in a smaller school. Elsewhere, he could have as many as 30 students in a classroom at one time. Teachers have to meet federal No Child Left Behind mandates and identify any special needs individual students may have.

“I need time,” he said. “When they get it, and that lightbulb goes off, there’s no greater feeling. I’m not going to be able to do that in a room with 30 kids.”

A retired Fayetteville High School teacher voiced her support for the plan. Freda Akers said more students could take advanced classes from the relatively few instructors qualified to teach them. Furthermore, several students already have friends at different schools thanks to attending the vocational school and various functions together.

— - —

Earlier this year, the state took over Fayette County Schools. Locals’ comments will be taken under consideration — but state, not county, officials will ultimately approve or disapprove the plan, according to Dials.

Plan documents plus comments recorded during Monday’s meeting will be sent to Dr. Steven Paine, state school superintendent, Dials said. From there, the plan may or may not be presented to the state board for possible approval. If the state did not have control, the county school board would have the final vote.

“It’s more of a state decision than a local issue,” he said regarding that situation.

Dials emphasized that major changes like school closings and consolidation — if they happen — would require more hearings and even more work from school officials.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com

By Greg Prudich

Ah, the myth of yet another magic bullet to save education – the charter school.

Envisioned years ago as an alternative to “failing” urban schools, the idea is for a group to operate free of the many rules and regulations that govern traditional public schools. The “charter” establishing such a school is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The idea is to provide freedom from rules, in exchange for accountability. In this way, we are told, innovation can thrive and students can excel.

Those who tout charter schools in West Virginia and nationally, including President Obama, suggest freedom to teach will drive the process.

Accountability will protect our children.

Sounds great so far, huh?

My question is this: If freedom to innovate in public schools is such a great idea and rules are so bad, then why do Washington and Charleston dump rule upon rule and regulation upon regulation in every aspect of public school administration and the classroom?

Ever check the number of statutes involving public education? How about the state Department of Education’s policies? Ever check out the federal regulations? If freedom in the classroom is driving charter schools, how about giving public educators a little freedom to innovate?

Are charter schools real or a mirage? The data are all over the place. Like public schools, charter schools range in quality from really great to pretty bad. National data indicate only 17 percent of charter schools outperform comparable public schools, and 37 percent under-perform. Does this make charter schools inherently bad? No. What I do suspect is, like all schools, success rests with the teacher-student-parent triangle. Where each side is doing its best, success will be achieved. It is much harder when one of the sides is loafing.

Many who have strongly supported the charter school movement, including education scholar Diane Ravitch, Albert Shanker and New York state Sen. Bill Perkins, no longer support the movement. They have become disaffected because in most instances, charter schools are simply another version of the same thing. They rise or fall on the quality of the teachers.

As a member of the Mercer County Board of Education, I can tell you that the sheer volume of statutes, rules, policies and regulations governing schools from the federal and state governments are daunting and prevent innovation and stifle best practices. Teachers in public schools find themselves constrained. Then, when things don’t work, they are blamed. They aren’t permitted to cook the meal, but they are blamed when the steak is burnt and the potato is raw.

If innovation is so important, then why not let all schools innovate? Why have just a few schools in each county educating maybe 3 percent of students innovate? Instead, how about an approach that lets all schools discuss, prepare and implement innovation that will serve that particular school? Why not free the professional educators and staff throughout this great state from the shackles of the many “policies” and rules handed down from the top.

Let every school be a charter school.

Too radical? Who do you think really knows the best way to teach an individual child? The teachers of that child. They know what works for their students. Maybe a different kind of school day, or a different delivery method, or a different curriculum. The educator is in the very best position to know.

Too hard to implement? Well, we are either serious about this or not. Hard should have nothing to do with it.

Last year, Mercer County proposed an innovation zone for its Tec-ed school.

The idea is to integrate and imbed core subjects in the technical education program. A technical high school is being born. Hopefully, in a few years, students in Mercer County will go to this new technical high school all day, with the core subjects being taught in a relevant manner related to chosen careers. Is it hard? Yes. Is it scary? Yes. Is it taking lots of work? Yes.

But I have every faith it will succeed. Why? Because the educators see the opportunity to provide a new way for students. A better way. It will succeed because those who teach are the driving force behind it. It is true innovation, and given a chance, it will succeed.

Why, then, can’t we let all schools in every county change they way they provide public education? Not every change need be radical. Not every change need be substantial. Some may choose year-round programs. Some may change the times for school. Some may change the delivery method, or the use of technology, or the use of core teachers in elementary subjects. Then, we would be giving every child the best of what charter schools are supposed to offer.

This can be done, working with teachers. They are not the enemy. They are the solution. We must stop the public recriminations and the attack dogs must be called off. Folks, they are our best hope.

Greg Prudich is president of the Mercer County Board of Education. This opinion piece was published first in the Sunday Gazette-Mail on June 27, 2010.

MASON COUNTY, W.Va. — The Mason County Board of Education passed a resolution Tuesday asking member Teresa Warner, 51 of Point Pleasant, to leave office immediately.

Warner, an adult education teacher working at the Lakin Correctional Center in West Columbia, was arrested in Mason County on July 1 on one felony count of “fraudulent schemes.” She posted a $20,000 bond the same day in Magistrate Court.

After convening a 45-minute executive session, the board returned with a resolution requesting Warner’s immediate resignation “for the integrity and welfare of our entire school district.”

Members Michael Cottrill, Randy Searls, Dale Shobe and Tom Nunnery then indicated their support for the resolution.

Warner told board members that resigning would be a premature move since the investigation is still in its early stages.

According to a criminal complaint, Warner accepted money in exchange for passing grades on General Education Development tests from 2002 until this year, causing the Department of Education to issue fraudulent GED diplomas.

Warner was authorized to administer GED tests and teach GED classes during that time.

The complaint also alleges that Warner made arrangements with fellow test examiner Ray Boggs to fix students’ grades by having Boggs fill out their answer sheets.

West Virginia State Police Cpl. K.M. Gilley said there was “possibly some misconduct” on Boggs’ part but he doesn’t face prosecution yet.

“At this point, there’s been no criminal charges brought against him,” he said.

Gilley said he started working on the case about a month ago when a friend of a friend said they tried to buy a passing GED grade from Warner.

He said others may be involved in Warner and Boggs’ GED scheme, but can’t confirm that yet. State police are still investigating that matter, he said.

The State Police corporal said he’s hesitant to release any more information about the case since Warner hasn’t had her preliminary hearing yet.

“I don’t want to put that out there until the courts make me,” he said.

Since Warner posted bond immediately after she was arrested, her preliminary hearing must occur within 20 days of her arrest.

Warner refused to comment on the allegations, deferring all comments to her lawyers Mike Shaw and James Casey. Calls to Casey and Shaw were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Though Warner works at Lakin, she is employed by the West Virginia Department of Education, which allows her to serve on Mason County’s school board.

West Virginia Department of Education spokeswoman Lisa Cordeiro said declined to comment on Warner’s employment status, citing a personnel issue. Craig Roberts, Lakin’s associate warden of programs, said he can’t confirm if Warner still works at the prison.

Contact writer Zack Harold at 304-348-7939 or zack.har…@dailymail.com.

The $200 vouchers must be used at participating stores by Oct. 31.

While families that receive WV Works cash assistance and children in foster care get vouchers automatically, DHHR says others must apply by July 31.

Applications can be submitted to the agency’s Division of Family Assistance. Applications can be obtained by contacting the DHHR at 1-877-716-1212 or at https://www.wvinroads.org

To qualify, a family must meet income guidelines.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are “eligible students.”

• Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student’s education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

• Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

• Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student’s education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

School officials with legitimate educational interest; Other schools to which a student is transferring; Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes; Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student; Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school; Accrediting organizations; To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena; Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, “directory” information such as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them.