Call recess on education until 2020 session: Special session’s success on education reform looks iffy

There  was  no consensus about a teacher’s pay raise or public education  in the regular legislative session.
So why call for a special session without consensus on a teacher’s pay raise and education reform?
Apparently, a majority in the state Senate are still nursing a grudge with teacher’s unions over a failed attempt at education reform.
That effort, embodied in SB 451, which included a raise, was flunked by the House of Delegates on Feb. 19, amidst a two-day teachers’ strike.
In what looked to be an October surprise in the lead up to last year’s election, Gov. Jim Justice promised a 5 percent pay raise for teachers this year,  with no strings attached.
Yet, shortly after this year’s regular session opened, Senate Republicans linked that pay raise to about 130 pages of changes to public education.
Those changes included charter schools, education savings accounts, changes to the role of seniority in layoffs and a number of other provisions scorned by teachers.
Two days after the House indefinitely postponed SB 451, delegates passed a standalone bill to give teachers, school service personnel and State Police that  raise.
Since Feb. 22, that “clean” bill has hung in limbo in the Senate. The regular session ended last night.
Now, the governor has called for a special session on public education. The session  began immediately after the regular session, but  will go into recess until later this year.
Lawmakers are expected to go on a listening  tour in that interim. Unfortunately,  many appear unwilling to listen to anything they don’t want to hear.
As a rule, there needs to be a built-in framework of consensus before a special session gets under way. Bringing education reform to a special session  with any chance of success this year looks slim, at best. A  waste of time and money, at worst.
This prolonged and divisive effort to pass this bill dominated the regular session with never a groundswell of support. Even it’s initial passage in the Senate was by the thinnest of  margins — 18-16. A tie would have killed the bill then.
Meanwhile, the House vote — 53-45 — for tabling this bill divided  Republicans and united Democrats.
Judging by recent statements from leaders of the Senate and  teachers’ unions, there is an enormous level of mistrust  separating them.
We recommend a cooling-off period in this “crisis” that despite the recent furor, doesn’t require an immediate remedy. Instead, a reset of everyone’s position before the 2020  session should be in time enough to settle this issue then, or not.
Still, there may never be any general agreement on education reform. But the best lesson we have  learned  about attempting it  is this is going to take time and trust. Mostly trust.