Wasting money sending teachers and administrators to workshops and conferences?

by: JAWVMM

Sun Oct 18, 2009 at 20:49:28 PM EDT

Thanks for the statehouse news link, Clem.  This caught my eye:

While $2.14 million is a drop in the bucket for a department with a $1.9 billion operating budget, couldn't that money be better spent in the classroom?

Meanwhile, I talked to Logan County school board member Moss Burgess, who concurs that the department is wasting money sending teachers and administrators to hotels for professional training.

He said he was at the Charleston Marriott last month attending one of the department's in-service sessions, when it occurred to him that every meeting he attended could have just as easily been streamed on the Internet.

This is the kind of thinking that often gets us into trouble in government.  Business more often stops and thinks about the bottom line and the bang for the buck; government tends to think that not spending money saves money. But it doesn't, always.  Not changing your oil, for example, doesn't save a thing - it just shifts it into repair bills later on.

I think it is a truism that a good bit of what is learned at workshops, trainings, and conferences is from sharing with other attendees in the hallway, at meals and after hours.  It was certainly true for me in my career(s) in several different fields. Once computer-based training, webinars, etc., were available, we used them.  But in my experience, on-line doesn't compare to a face-to-face training for anything the least bit more than basic.

There are about 19,000 public school teachers in West Virginia.  Divide that into $2.14 million, and it's about $112 a year each.  If you include administrators and school board members, even less.  Maybe we could cycle that money back to the state by using the state park meeting rooms and other facilities instead of Marriott, but I think getting teachers out once in a while to talk with people they might not otherwise meet is worth it.

And if you put that money into the teacher, you are putting it into the classroom. (Not so much school board members - but they need to get out too ;-)

Gov. Joe Manchin to deliver State of State address

by: Clem Guttata

Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 08:21:40 AM EST

Tonight Gov. Joe Manchin kicks off the new legislative term with his fifth State of the State address (at 7pm).

WBOY-TV provides a preview:

Manchin's speech is expected to focus on jobs, the economy and health care in the Mountain State.

State lawmakers are already planning to take action on a health care reform bill, with a special emphasis on finding ways to improve access to heath care for all West Virginians.

[snip]

The legislature is also expected to consider tougher penalties against those who harm social workers working on contract for the state.

On Tuesday, Republican members of the House of Delegates outlined their agenda for the session.

They're calling it a a "pro-job, pro-family" agenda, that includes the elimination of the state business franchise tax and a reduction in the corporate net income tax.

GOP lawmakers are also proposing an unbiased court system, including the non-partisan election of judges.

In addition, Republicans will support a plan to put a Constitutional Amendment before state voters that would define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

Jack Stump covers the perennial issue in statehouse politics, W.Va. teacher unions want more. With W.Va. running a surplus and neighboring states deficits, will this be the year we finally lift our average teacher pay above at least one of our five neighboring states?

The union leaders say they are appreciative but don't think the state can afford to let up.

"We don't think it's time to disinvest in education," Hale said. "We're just not competitive with any of our border states."

Based on a 2007 AFT survey, West Virginia is ranked 45th in average teacher salary. That year, the average West Virginia salary was $40,534.

Maryland had the highest of West Virginia's neighboring states at $54,333; followed by Pennsylvania, $54,043; Ohio, $50,772; Virginia, $49,130; and Kentucky, $43,787.

"What we need to do is not go backward," Hale said. "This may be an opportunity for West Virginia to catch up with other states that are running deficits."

Hale applauded Manchin for his efforts thus far. She said she expected another pay raise for teachers would be approved this session, but couldn't guess how much it would be.

Notably absent from the pre-speech highlights is any mention of the new renewable energy initiatives Gov. Manchin promised during his re-election bid.

Update: Hoppy adds more on teacher pay issues.

Teacher's rally for pay raise

by: Clem Guttata

Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 08:25:51 AM EST

(Emphasis mine.)

Governor Says He's Offering Teachers More Than 3 Percent

A few hundred teachers, members of the West Virginia Education Association, rallied at the state capitol Monday. Part of their cry was against the governor's three percent pay increase for teachers; they say it's not enough.

The governor reacted in a news release saying the pay hike is really 5.5 percent.

"I'm not convinced the public or even most teachers understand that our budget includes additional classroom teacher pay increases of approximately 5.5 percent," Manchin said.

[snip]

Manchin says that package would result in "a fair and substantial increase in their base pay. This is a well-deserved increase for our teachers and an amount that's fiscally responsible and fair to all taxpayers."

5 1/2 percent raise too small to lift teachers from 48th, WVEA says

By Davin White - Staff writer  

Your proposal is not enough.

Members of the West Virginia Education Association sent that message to Gov. Joe Manchin Monday.

Union officials, teachers and other educators said Manchin's proposed salary increase doesn't make it any easier to work in West Virginia.

"We will remain at '48' based on the amount proposed," said Charlie Delauder, WVEA president, referring to a recent National Education Association report that shows West Virginia ranks 48th in average teacher pay.

[snip]

"We feel that the governor's put out a responsible and practical package," she said.

Delauder said the state should be able to promise new teachers the money to support a spouse, family and buy a home.

Sheila Haid, a teacher at Petersburg Elementary in Grant County and a single parent, said she adds small jobs to help support two sons in college.

"I have to do other things to keep teaching," she said.

She tutors, mows lawns and works at athletic events.

Last summer, she worked for the Division of Highways and flagged motorists in construction zones. That job paid more per hour than her teaching job, she said.

"I really don't need a degree ... if I can tell one side says 'stop,' one says 'slow,'" she said.

[snip]

Last year, teachers received a 3.5 percent salary increase that many said was too low. That raised the minimum salary for starting teachers to $25,832, up from $25,019.

Delauder wants teacher salaries to start at $35,000. The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia has asked for a similar amount, a $10,000 raise over the next three years.

WVEA member Thomas Fletcher, who teaches in Berkeley County, regularly sees colleagues leave home for better-paying jobs in Virginia and Maryland.

"I'm a teacher and I realize education is the No. 1 priority in the state," he said. "If we say it, then we've got to live it, and we're not living it right now."

[snip]

Also Monday, Delauder and others pushed to allow teachers in a newer retirement system the one-time option of jumping into the older, defined-benefit plan.

Delauder and Adkins said in years past, school employees were given misinformation and encouraged to enroll in the defined-contribution plan. Fletcher said the older system is more secure. Yet for state lawmakers, it's become an unfunded liability that demands tens of millions of dollars each year.

Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court of Appeals declined to consider, by a 3-2 vote, a case regarding the state's bid to merge the two pension programs. Now, the AFT, WVEA and state service personnel association want the Legislature to act.

[snip]

She expects Manchin to work with union representatives and consider the best way to tackle the problem without turning the state's finances "upside-down."

Continued below.