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West Virginia Officials Agree That Teacher Salaries Should Increase

West Virginia Press Association Photo Moderator John Dahlia, NVWV business editor, standing, and, from left, Christine Campbell, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Delegate Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha; Delegate Joe Statler, R-Monongalia; and Delegate Robert Thompson, D-Wayne, discuss possible legislation that would impact education in West Virginia during the West Virginia Press Association’s Legislative Lookahead Friday in Charleston.

CHARLESTON — Teacher salaries and accountability, the opioid crisis and school funding took the forefront as top education issues facing the state during the 2018 Legislative Lookahead Friday in Charleston.

The day-long event, hosted by the West Virginia Press Association, featured panels tackling statewide issues.

Panel members on education included Delegate Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, vice chair of the Education Committee; Delegate Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, a member of the ouse Education Committee; Christine Campbell, American Federation of Teachers; and Delegate Robert Thompson, D-Wayne.

Panel members were in agreement that teacher salaries in West Virginia need to increase in order to retain and recruit quality professionals, but had different ideas about how to tackle the issue.

“We can’t cut our way into prosperity,” Campbell said. “We can’t cut education and think we’re going to see improvements.”

Campbell noted the state is currently facing a teacher shortage.

“We have 725 vacancies,” she said, adding that the state is “whittling away at qualifications” when it comes to hiring teachers. “What are we doing to keep teachers and service personnel in our schools?” she asked.

One problem causing the shortage, Campbell said, is competition from other states.

“States around us pay $5,000 to $20,000 more,” she said.

Statler said more than half of the state’s budget is in the education sector. He said the state should look at efficiency in order to free up funds that could be put toward increasing teacher salaries.

“Look within the budget you already have,” he said, adding that schools need more autonomy.

“Travel across the state, they will tell you where there’s cost savings,” he said. “Here’s what you have to work with. Develop the system that’s best.”

One issue that came up during several of Friday’s sessions was elimination of the personal property tax and the potential impact on education.

During the upcoming legislative session, lawmakers expect Gov. Jim Justice to submit a resolution for a vote on a constitutional amendment to eliminate the personal property tax, or inventory tax. This is tax on equipment and machinery as well as inventory. The proposal would eliminate about $130 million in revenue, lawmakers said.

Legislators called the tax a “job killer” that makes the state uncompetitive when it comes to attracting and retaining business. The problem, however, is counties, cities and schools would lose money if it were eliminated.

House of Delegates Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, said the current plan is to eliminate a portion of the tax over a period of seven years — about $20 million a year. This would be absorbed through government efficiencies and economic growth.

Panelists also spoke out about the opioid crisis facing the state and its impact on education, youth and the workforce.

Statler said the state needs an educated, drug-free workforce. Businesses throughout the state are expressing difficulty in finding qualified applicants that are drug free, he said.

“At the local level, we’re looking at allowing principals to have greater autonomy in running schools,” he said. “They are the ones who know these problems.”

Statler noted the need for counselors, which he said must have the training and resources needed to deal with the problem.

“I can’t imagine some of things they have to deal with,” he said.

Thompson, who is a Wayne County high school teacher, said schools are already fighting this. He said he has had students who have overdosed and he has had students who have lost parents.

“Some of them are my better students,” Thompson said. “Because unfortunately they have learned by example.”

Thompson said opportunity is important. He said students who participate in extracurricular activities are less likely to do drugs.

He also said it’s important to bring in community leaders, court officials and counselors, who can explain the consequences.

Ultimately, he said, one of the most effective ways to fight it is “having top quality people in the classrooms.”

For some, he said, the only role model they have in their lives is their teacher.

“That’s the biggest responsibility (teachers) have,” he said.

Accountability also dominated conversation Friday.

Statler said there will be legislation introduced that will look at accountability. He said principals, as leaders of schools, must be trained to do evaluations.

“They have to know what they’re looking for,” he said. “They have to know where they want their teachers.”

He said a standard should be set, so that all teachers, regardless of district, are looked at with the same “objective eyes.”

Rowe said teachers are professionals who are expected to perform.

“Evaluations make sense,” he said, adding they make sense for principals, too. “I think it’s important for faculty to be able to get together and talk about what’s going on.”

He also said it’s important to look at test scores and to make services available to schools that are having trouble.

Campbell said there is an evaluation system currently in place.

She said 80 percent of the evaluation is based on performance in the classroom. She also noted that teachers are put on a probationary period for the first three years of their careers.

“The evaluation system that we have, if it were utilized the way it was intended, we would see people who are learning and improving,” she said. “Everyone deserves to have due process.”

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