KINGWOOD — The Preston County Board of Education passed a resolution Monday night, opposing Senate Bill 451, the omnibus education bill.
The vote was 4-0, with Board President Jack Keim not at the meeting.
Similar resolutions have been passed by school boards in Kanawha, Greenbrier and other counties. The resolution also urges the legislature to pass Gov. Jim Justice’s pay raise bill, “and engage West Virginia’s education stakeholders in developing meaningful education reforms necessary to improve educational outcomes for all children,” in public schools.
The resolution says that all of West Virginia’s public education system is under funded and county boards of education are, “severely strained.” It notes that in October, the governor and legislative leaders promised a 5 percent pay raise for school employees and a fix for PEIA.
But SB 451 ties school raises to school reform, the resolution notes.
“Whereas: Certain provisions of the proposed omnibus bill are detrimental to public schools and the ability of the Preston County Board of Education to provide a thorough and efficient system for all students in Preston County.”
Superintendent Steve Wotring said he was at the West Virginia House of Delegates at 6:30 a.m. Monday to observe the House Finance Committee’s first public hearing on the bill.
At the hearing he attended, 95 people were each given 70 seconds to speak, he said. Of those, 93 of the comments were about charter schools, Wotring said, “and the comments were overwhelmingly negative about the charter schools.”
He gave board members a run down of the House bill as it existed Monday night in comparison to SB 451. The House bill has since changed.
Wotring said he doesn’t expect the final legislation to have everything he supports but said there seems to be a rush to get the bill through.
“I’m praying beyond everything,” Wotring said, “that this doesn’t lead to another walkout, because our public absolutely will not support us, and I think we all know that at this time, and it will just defeat everything we have worked so hard to build.”
He encouraged board members to contact area legislators and said he will be returning to Charleston as well.
Monday was the first meeting since the school levy was passed by voters, and Rowlesburg businessman Tim Carrico Weaver took the opportunity to thank Wotring and his staff, the levy committee and voters for their work on the levy.
Also at the meeting, a Bruceton Mills area couple gave the board the reasons why they want their child to be allowed to attend University High instead of Preston High. The board has been denying these transfers recently and took no action Monday.
