Advocates are calling for a pay raise for the state’s teachers, and a middle school in Barbour County gets a state review.
Advocates are calling for a pay raise for the state’s teachers.
Gov. Jim Justice and legislative leaders have already indicated they will pursue a pay raise for teachers and other state employees during the 2024 legislative session to help cover the increased cost of insurance. But at the state Board of Education meeting Wednesday morning, union representatives said the proposal isn’t enough.
Fred Albert, president of the American Federation of Teachers – West Virginia, stressed that low pay is contributing to the state’s teacher shortage, and requires a more aggressive approach.
“AFT supports increasing teacher and support staff funding and asked the West Virginia Legislature to provide appropriate funding for a three-year salary increase package, a $7,000 raise across the board for teachers, service personnel and public employees, and an automatic cost of living increase,” he said.
Albert stated that many educators are leaving the profession, frustrated by working conditions that don’t contribute to their success, leading to chronic staffing shortages.
Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, compared the legislative response to the school funding situation to similar staffing issues in corrections and medicine.
“When they had a problem with corrections, they gave the corrections officers a $10,000 raise,” he said. “When there’s a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas, what do we do? We increase the reimbursement from PEIA from 35 percent of Medicare to 110 percent of Medicare. It’s time to address the issue with educators too.”
Lee highlighted the flipside of the staffing issue, noting that enrollment in educational programs across the state continues to drop.
David Gladkosky, executive director of West Virginia Professional Educators, also addressed teacher pay in his remarks outlining his organization’s legislative goals. He also touched upon issues of pay for retirees, as well as further legislative corrections to address discipline.
“What we’re hearing from our teachers out in the counties is that they’re not seeing consistent steps taken to address discipline problems, even though this bill (HB2890) from last year did try to do that,” Gladkosky said. “But we’re still, we’re not seeing enough consistency and enough support in dealing with discipline problems. So I do understand that this is going to be looked at again. And so we support that highly.”
Special Circumstances Review
Later in the meeting, the board approved the Special Circumstance Review of Philippi Middle School in Barbour County and recommended corrective actions. The review was initiated in November 2023 by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) as a result of student safety concerns and a lack of adequate progress in the school improvement process.
The county superintendent and school principal have been in their current positions since July 2023, and most of the issues precede them. Barbour County Schools Superintendent Eddie Vincent told the board he came into the position knowing there was work to do.
“We’ve asked for help, I actually asked for the special circumstance review to assist us along the way and knowing that this is a process that we owe Barbour County and to our kids,” he said.
Board President Paul Hadesty thanked and complimented Vincent for reaching out.
“It is not our primary objective to be punitive in nature,” he said. “We’re here as a support mechanism, but we can’t support people and help them unless we know there’s a problem.”
The review resulted in 22 areas of non-compliance and five findings. These range from student achievement, well-being and safety to discipline and administrative protocols. The recommendations outlined include the immediate hiring of a certified school counselor; the implementation of a disciplinary matrix and improvements to the school’s Special Education practices.
On this West Virginia Morning, foster kids often don’t have anywhere to go when they turn 18, but a new program in Philippi, Barbour County is working to help provide housing and work for some of them.
On this West Virginia Morning, foster kids often don’t have anywhere to go when they turn 18, but a new program in Philippi, Barbour County is working to help provide housing and work for some of them. Caroline MacGregor reports.
Also, in this show, we have a new story from The Allegheny Front. Their latest story explores the new rules for lead water service lines.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Eric Douglas produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Recent federal legislation has brought billions of dollars to communities nationwide to address their water and wastewater needs.
Four West Virginia communities are getting nearly $12 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission for water and wastewater projects.
The city of Williamson in Mingo County is the biggest recipient, with $4.2 million for water system improvements for 222 commercial and 1,520 residential customers.
In Lincoln County, $3.3 million will go to the Hamlin Public Service District to upgrade sewers for 101 businesses and 586 households.
In Webster County, the Cowen Public Service District will get $3 million to extend nearly 11 miles of water line to 58 homes and two businesses.
In Barbour County, the town of Junior will receive about $1.5 million to replace water infrastructure serving 395 households and bringing the water system back into compliance with state regulations.
Recent federal legislation has brought billions of dollars to communities nationwide to address their water and wastewater needs.
Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito are members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Manchin’s wife, Gayle, is federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Located within the rugged Chestnut Ridge community of Philippi, their headquarters is known as the “Epicenter.” Created with sustainability in mind, over the years New Vision evolved into an international organization helping people living without electricity.
West Virginia-produced hand-held solar kits with the ability to charge cell phones are bringing light and hope to families in war-torn Ukraine.
New Vision Renewable Energy in Barbour County started out as a Christian Community Development organization, providing job training for young adults and at-risk youth.
“We believe that a single action can make a difference in the community, and that collective action can greatly impact the world, ” said President and CEO of New Vision Renewable Energy, Ruston Seaman. When you do community development work, it’s like good gardening. You spend a lot of time making the soil of a community better.”
New Vision Renewable Energy’s job training program includes people from the local community.
Credit: Caroline MacGregor/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Located within the rugged Chestnut Ridge community of Philippi, their headquarters is known as the “Epicenter.”Created with sustainability in mind, over the years, New Vision evolved into an international organization helping people living without electricity.
History Of New Vision Renewable Energy
Co-founded by John Prusa, who was born in former Czechoslovakia, the nonprofit promotes solar and renewable energy. Since 2011, it has sent its Ray of Life portable solar units into the developing world.
Prusa’s friendship with president and CEO of New Vision, Ruston Seaman, extends way back. The two met in Philippi, where Seaman serves a dual role as pastor of the People’s Chapel Church.
Shortly before Prusa’s death earlier this year, he turned his attention to Ukraine, where rockets and missile strikes rain down daily, destroying the electric grid. The barrage has left millions of displaced families to survive in basements without power, light or heat.
The Mariupol Chaplains Battalion delivers supplies and Ray of Life solar units to people taking refuge in a basement in Gulyaipole, Ukraine. Video courtesy of Vadim. S.
Ukraine was an immediate connection for Prusa, whose family had suffered under the onslaught of Russian aggression during the Prague spring of 1968.
“He became a refugee and came to America and lived in Philippi. His whole journey was connected to the Russians and the overthrowing of his own country,” Seaman said. “His dad was a Baptist pastor when the Russians overthrew Czechoslovakia.”
An electrical engineer by profession, early on, Prusa mastered the art of making do with little.
“John’s dad got thrown in prison, and as a boy he became desperately poor, but also he would take broken things and fix them,” Seaman said.
Prusa was the owner of several European patents. An inventor, for years he fueled his vehicles with cooking oil, refusing to pay for gas.
It was this energy independence that guided Prusa’s design of the Ray of Life solar unit — a four pound, self-contained kit equipped with a phone charger.
The John and Kathy Prusa Science and Technology Center was funded by the Peoples Chapel Church and is where the first solar unit was built.
Lauren Edge and Shelby Luff holding a solar panel that will be installed into the Ray of Life units.
Credit: Caroline MacGregor/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
”So this is our multipurpose center where we have a lot of our operations,” Seaman said. “We’re going down around the corner to where we’re making lights. We make about 40 percent of all of our electricity at our community center.”
Inside, light components and Ukrainian flag stickers line a long wooden workbench waiting to be assembled.
“So we’re entering in, this is a brand new workshop that we have actually built for this particular needed product, and it’s dedicated to John and Kathy Prusa,” Seaman said. “They’re the renewable scientists that have helped us.”
About midway through the workshop, Seaman points to a picture on the wall, nostalgia written on his face as he speaks of his former friend and mentor.
New Vision Renewable Energy Co-Founder John Prusa was born in the former Czechoslovakia.
Credit: Ruston Seaman, New Vision Renewable Energy
“So this is John Prusa, he’s the person who kind of gave us our initial training, and so these four lights that we’re going to make today will go on the next trip to Ukraine,” Seaman said. “Each one of our staff members will be able to assign something that they learned how to make.”
Ray Of Life Solar Units
The Ray of Life unit has four basic components: a solar panel, lithium ion batteries, three LED light strips and the housing. The international company 3M, known for tape among other things, helped advise on the reflective paper the LED strands affix to as part of the panel’s design.
“I think Ukraine is similar to West Virginia,” Seaman said. “We’re not the best solar state in the world but we designed our light to where it would have a minimum of five hours of light every night. If it’s a cloudy week you become a little more conservative about how much light you use every day.”
New Vision’s job training program offers employment to local people helping to assemble the Ray of Life solar units.
Credit: Caroline MacGregor/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
“We made some changes but the original design was done by John and we wanted to carry on his work,” said Chuck Coleman, an electronics specialist who oversees the assembly of the solar units.
Through extensive research and testing, Coleman, who teaches adult and afterschool classes, was able to extend the life of the rechargeable batteries.
“We’re using a lithium ion battery,” Coleman said. “It’s an extremely good battery in the aspect it holds energy for a long period of time and that energy could last up to 10 hours.”
During their assembly, the batteries are incorporated into the solar unit as part of a job training program that provides income to local residents like 55-year-old Rita Dalton.
Rita Dalton is in charge of soldering the Ray of Life solar units at New Vision Renewable Energy.
Credit: Shelby Luff/New Vision Renewable Energy
Dalton has a special knack for soldering the lights which requires good dexterity.
“The soldering part on the lights you have to cut ‘em so long and put like the ends and you have a soldering kit and you have to solder each little piece to make the lights work,” she said.
As she works, Dalton’s thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. She knows firsthand what it’s like to live without power.
“Before I learned how to do this here, I lived probably three years with my children without electricity. I would have loved to have one of them back them,” Dalton said. “When I’m making them, I think about that and the people in the war hiding and what it means to be able to see.”
The solar units are constructed with the harsh living conditions of Ukraine in mind. Seaman said each unit is thoroughly inspected to ensure that it holds up.
Components for the Ray of Life solar units line a workbench inside the John and Kathy Prusa Technology Center.
Credit: Caroline MacGregor/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
“We know when it goes to the war front, if it falls apart nobody is going to benefit,” Seaman said. “So we work extra hard to make sure we have a quality product to send.”
Making Connections
Before COVID-19, the Ray of Life units were sent to countries without electricity, usually with church mission teams traveling to developing parts of the world.
“As you know, COVID happened, it changed the world of supply chains and everything,” Seaman said. “Our organization, pre-COVID, has produced about 4,000 of these lights, and they’re in 39 countries.”
During the pandemic, production stalled and remained dormant until a call from Seaman’s longtime friend Dave Nonnemacher, who heads up New Horizons Foundation-USA, serving primarily Romania and Moldova.
He’d visited Ukraine shortly after the war broke out.
The Mariupol Chaplain’s Battalion walking outside a bombed building in Dobropol, Ukraine. Video courtesy of Vadim. S.
“They had no power, period,” Nonnemacher said. “You know, one of the things we’ve landed on is light brings hope, and hope keeps people alive. To be able to read to your kids, to cook a meal with some light, it’s a really powerful metaphor.”
In eastern Europe, Nonnemacher worked with Joel Burkum, the director of For God’s Children International (FGIC). The two joined forces to deliver supplies to refugees crossing Ukraine’s southwestern border into neighboring Moldova.
Back in America, Nonnemacher lay awake at night wondering what he could do to help the people of Ukraine.
Dave Nonnemacher is the director of New Horizons Foundation-USA, MN. Here he is seen delivering supplies to Ukraine.
Credit: Vadim S.
“I was doing my morning swim, and the thought popped into my mind, ‘I wonder if Ruston is still making lights?’” Nonnemacher said. “So I called him and pretty quickly we had plane tickets to go back. Ruston got 10 complete lights for me and I took them over there in March, we were able to get back into Ukraine. The people in Odesa got them to people who don’t have access to electricity.”
Nonnemacher was introduced to Vlad — an FGCI staff member who travels 750 miles each week transporting Ukrainians across the Moldovan border into places like Chisinau. And Vadim — a pastor who was in Kyiv when the war started.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting is withholding both men’s last names for their safety.
Journey Into Ukraine With The Mariupol Chaplains Battalion
Vadim helped Nonnemacher by arranging several forays into areas of Ukraine. The two traveled alongside the Mariupol Chaplains Battalion, volunteers who risk their lives daily to support the military, evacuate citizens and bring supplies and comfort to those in need.
One of those includes a woman with a shock of red hair who lives 5 kilometers from the front. A huge smile lighting up her face, she excitedly expresses her gratitude for the gift of a Ray of Life solar unit.
Video taken by Vadim S.
(Translated) “Thank you very much for these lamps,” she said. “We will now be able to charge our cell phones and from now on we will have light. They are very useful lamps. Thank you very much.”
Vadim and Nonnemacher plan their trips based on the number of solar units, provisions, cash and vehicles.
“Like what vehicle we’ll need, so we’re going to have a van,” Nonnemacher said. “The other question, how much do I have so he knows what he can buy and how far we can go and the areas in Ukraine he knows people need supplies.”
Ray Of Life Sponsors
The sponsors of the Ray of Life units complete the final assembly. Each solar unit costs $125 to build. For another $25, a separate VF-100 lightweight portable water filter is included with each kit.
Sponsors of the units vary and include churches, service clubs like Rotary International, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
“It’s always been a partnership, our light is designed so that people actually peel and stick and put it together as part of the process,” Seaman said. “They sponsor the cost of the light, and then we help them assemble the light to have some skin in the game. The hardest part is getting them from some location across the border to another country.”
Ruston Seamon (standing) oversees assembly of Ray of Life units at United Church of Two Harbors, MN.
Credit: Dave Nonnemacher/New Horizons Foundation-USA
Victoria Karssen with the American Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa, and Pastor Ryan Donahoe with First Presbyterian Church in Petoskey, Michigan are among those helping to assemble the lights.
Pastor Donahue said his church rallied to build as many lights as possible. They started out with 19 and raised extra money to include water filters.
“Dave ended up sending me all the light kits there were at that point for our youth to put together, and I said, ‘Hey we still have all this money, how many water filters can you buy with this?’” Donahoe said. “So every light kit that will be going over to Ukraine will also have a water filter with it. So, they’ll get both light, power to charge their cell phones, but also a water filter they can use.”
The final touch to each unit includes a blue and yellow adhesive Ukrainian flag that is sealed across the top of the kit and signed by the person who puts it together.
“People are longing for ways to come together and for ways to see the connections. When I say this light kit is going to go to an individual or family in Ukraine, we had the kids sign their names on it,” Donahoe said. “They know this came from a person, it didn’t just get shipped from a business. You put this together with your hands. For people in Ukraine, it’s a way of saying, ‘we know you exist and we’re connected with you.’”
Ukraine refugees building lights at First Reformed Church, Orange City, IA
Credit: Dave Nonnemacher/New Horizons Foundation-USA
Karssen said her Iowa church embraced the idea of helping people in Ukraine.
“One of the families, they have a Ukrainian student in their class and this little gal who’s in grade school was so excited to be building for Ukraine, that she had a connection and then she got to do something,” Karsen said. “It was kind of tricky figuring out what we were doing as a group, but then it kind of all came together.”
Prusa’s Legacy Lives On
Both Seaman and Nonnemacher said it is affirming to know that what is being done in America is helping to support the people of Ukraine.
“Bless these efforts God, may your love and light shine through,” Nonnemacher said in prayer. “John Prusa and his legacy, it continues to have an impact, and will for a long time.”
To sponsor a Ray of Life solar unit for Ukraine, call Ruston Seaman at New Vision Renewable Energy at: 304-669-2191. Or, visit their website at www.nvre.org.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia-produced hand-held Ray of Life solar kits with the ability to charge cell phones are bringing light to families in war-torn Ukraine. Assistant News Director Caroline MacGregor visited New Vision Renewable Energy in Barbour County to see firsthand how the units are made, and how ambassadors of light are sending a message of hope across the miles.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia-produced hand-held Ray of Life solar kits with the ability to charge cell phones are bringing light to families in war-torn Ukraine. Assistant News Director Caroline MacGregor visited New Vision Renewable Energy in Barbour County to see firsthand how the units are made, and how ambassadors of light are sending a message of hope across the miles.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.
Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.
Teresa Wills is our host.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
The foundation will handle 72.5 percent of the state’s settlement funds, while 24.5 percent will go to local governments. The remaining three percent will be held by the state in escrow to cover any outstanding attorney’s fees.
Through settlements from various lawsuits with opioid manufacturers and distributors, West Virginia stands to gain about $1 billion over the next 10 to 15 years.
The money should be used for recovery and prevention programs. To make sure it is spent correctly, the West Virginia Legislature created the West Virginia First Foundation to distribute those settlement funds in the 2023 regular session. Senate Bill 674 legally recognizes the creation of the foundation. It was signed into law on March 11.
The board includes 11 members, six selected by the counties and five appointed by the governor. All six regions elected their representatives this week via a quorum of elected officials from the towns, cities and counties of each region.
The foundation will handle 72.5 percent of the state’s settlement funds, while 24.5 percent will go to local governments. The remaining three percent will be held by the state in escrow to cover any outstanding attorney’s fees.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey addressed the vital need for fiscal responsibility in distributing these funds, noting the time it could take to receive all abatement funding.
“Some of our settlements, we negotiated upfront one-year flat fee, but many others were two years, five years, 10, 15 years, and it goes out over a period of time,” Morrisey said. “That’s why it’s really important that financial management is part of this process as well, so that the money doesn’t get squandered, and that there’s a lot of planning for the future.”
The board members will make decisions about how the funds will be distributed. An “expert panel” will be formed after the board is seated to advise in these funding decisions.
Dr. Michael “Tony” Kelly of Raleigh County was the first board member selected on July 5 to represent Region 6. Kelly was joined July 12 by Berkeley County Community Corrections Director Timothy Czaja and Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce, selected to represent Region 2 and Region 3 respectively.
Per the memorandum of understanding that frames the settlement distribution, board members will serve staggered terms of three years. An Executive Director will be appointed by the Attorney General and approved by the board.
At the Region 5 West Virginia First Foundation Regional Selection Meeting, Dr. Matthew Christiansen was elected to represent Cabell, Clay, Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam, Mason, Mingo and Wayne Counties.
Christiansen is also West Virginia’s State Medical Director and the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau of Public Health.
“These dollars in the foundation are state dollars, but my appointment on this board is through Region Five. If there is a potential conflict of interest there, I could recuse myself from those votes,” Christiansen said. “But I think the importance here is transparency and accountability around where the money is going so that everyone can see that that there are no nefarious issues that are happening that that would account for that. But as it currently stands, I don’t see any necessary areas of overlap where that might be an issue.”
At the meeting members of the Kanawha County Commission also voted to require board meetings of the foundation be conducted in compliance with the West Virginia Open Meetings Act.
While Morrisey highlighted the need for transparency, he also said many questions won’t be answered until the board is seated.
“I think that as time goes forward, once that board gets constituted, I think they will be setting up a lot of the rules of the road in terms of how there’ll be interactions and I encourage, strongly encourage public processes where people get to participate,” Morrisey said. “So, I think that’s important. I think the goal of this was to have an open, transparent process, but also be able to bring experts together and to allow for some expertise and deliberation as well.”
Region 4 elected Marion County businessman Jonathan Board to represent them on the board Thursday. The region covers 13 counties including Monongalia, Marion, Preston, Taylor, Doddridge, Harrison, Barbour, Tucker, Gilmer, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur and Randolph.
Board says West Virginia has a unique opportunity to address the issues opioids have caused and stop the destruction.
“The question is what happens to the next generation, we are teetering on complete catastrophe,” Board said. “That’s why this is a beautiful thing where we can step in and say, we’re going to stem the tide. We’re going to fill the gap. And we’re going to find solutions. But we have to do it now.”
He acknowledged that although every community represented by the board is facing the same issue, each community will require a different approach to a solution.
“I think that’s what’s so special about this opportunity,” Board said. “Our needs in Elkins and in Fairmont, and in Morgantown and in Harrison County, they’re all different. We’re dealing with the same challenge. But it needs different solutions. And that’s why this is really valuable.”
Board also said there will need to be a robust vetting process to ensure the money is spent correctly and with communities’ best interests in mind.
This is not the first time the state has received a large amount of money to address chronic issues. At Thursday’s meeting David Street, a member of the Barbour County Commission and director of an hospital emergency department, brought up the issue of trying to administer federal broadband money appropriately.
“I live in this world every day, and every night at the commission meetings,” Street said. “My observation is this: in both worlds, I’m seeing 501(C)3s and groups pop up like a plague. It disgusts me.”
Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom, who led the Region 4 meeting, thanked Street for his comment.
“First it was broadband, now its opioid funding,” Bloom said. “All county commissions are dealing with that. I think that’s a concern that you brought up and I’m sure, you can look at several of the other commissioners shaking their heads. ”
After the meeting, Bloom echoed Morrisey and said electing the board is only the first step.
“There’s an expertise committee, and another regional committee, which we have no idea how to set that up yet or what we’re doing,” Bloom said. “I am just glad that this is over.”
On the agenda for Thursday’s meeting was also a discussion regarding best practices for the board. As in Region Five the previous day, the elected officials voted unanimously to require that the by-laws of the West Virginia First Foundation require all board meetings be conducted in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
“We made it very clear that Region Five, Region Four are adamant, unanimously that these meetings need to be open, so everyone understands how the process is, where the money’s going, and how it’s going to be spent,” Bloom said. “We’re very worried. We don’t want to see a continuance of what happened with the tobacco, we don’t want to continue to what’s going on with broadband.”
Bloom says the region will submit the names of the other candidates to Gov. Jim Justice to be considered for his five appointments to the board.
No selections have been made by the executive office, according to the latest report from Justice’s office. It is not clear what will happen if Justice’s selections are not made clear by the Monday, July 17 deadline. The governor’s selections are subject to confirmation by the Senate.
According to Morrisey’s Press Secretary, John Mangalonzo, the regional selections still have to be certified.
“Keep in mind that an accounting firm has seven days from the date of the election to certify the votes and submit the certified results to the AG’s and governor’s offices,” Mangalonzo said in an email.
Region 1: Steven Corder
Region 2: Tim Czaja
Region 3: Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce
Region 4: Jonathan Board
Region 5: Dr. Matthew Christiansen
Region 6: Dr. Tony Kelly
Justice’s office did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing.
