Fred Albert Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Board Of Education Discusses Effects Of Recent Legislation

Education leaders are taking stock of what the state legislature did and didn’t do for schools in the regular session.

Fred Albert, president of American Federation of Teachers-WV, expressed his concern over the passage of House Bill 5105 to the West Virginia Board of Education Wednesday morning. The bill removes private, parochial and virtual schools from state vaccine requirements.

“I’m all for people having freedom and choice, that’s the American way of life, but when someone’s freedom then infringes upon the safety of others, I think we have a real concern,” he said. “Why would we want to go back to the days of measles and mumps and rubella? Chickenpox, polio?”

Albert said he is signing a public letter to Gov. Jim Justice urging him to veto the bill, and asked board members and listeners to contact the governor in opposition as well.

“I have a colleague that told me in Florida in one elementary classroom, they’ve had six cases of measles in one elementary classroom,” he said. “In Ohio, there are outbreaks of measles. Why would we want to go there? I just don’t understand it.”

Albert also expressed regret that Senate Bill 614, which would have allowed elementary teachers to remove disruptive students from their classroom, did not pass and told the board school discipline issues must be addressed.

“It was not a perfect deal. It had things in there that I didn’t like, but I think it was a start,” he said. “We’ve talked about the cry of our educators needing help with discipline in the classroom. So while that bill wasn’t perfect, it maybe was a beginning. But this looks like we educators have just been shut out, they’re not being heard.”

Policy Changes

The WVBE also approved withdrawing Policy 2322 from public comment. The policy was originally amended to clarify language related to the identification of school districts in need of support for student academic achievement and success and the required actions of the districts based on the level of support needed. In addition, the responsibilities of county board members and the requirements for each level of support were clarified.

Two bills passed during the regular session of the state legislature that ended Saturday make changes to the code the policy refers to, and are currently awaiting Gov. Jim Justice’s signature. Senate Bill 172 revises requirements of local school improvement councils, while House Bill 5514 enhances training requirements for county boards of education members. This requires the policy be withdrawn, revised and presented for placement on public comment at a future board meeting, inclusive of legislative amendments.

Meeting Date Change

The next regularly scheduled WVBE meeting was changed. It will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 9 a.m.

Education Unions Announce Planned Merger

Two of the state’s largest education unions are planning to merge.

The West Virginia Education Association (WVEA) and the American Federation of Teachers – West Virginia (AFT-WV) announced Wednesday that they have unanimously approved a values statement for a new, unified organization

Dale Lee, president of the WVEA, said the merger will help ensure educators’ voices are heard and strengthened together.

“We saw in 2018-2019 that united and standing together, we were a stronger voice,” he said. “And with that, we’ve also seen a target on our backs in the legislature the last few years. So this gives us an opportunity to expand on the strength that we saw in 2018, 2019. And to really build something that members want and are going to be proud of.”

Lee said the proposal has received significant feedback from members of both organizations via special delegate assembly and a special convention to approve the value statement.

“We’ve gone to several counties across the state talking about this and answering questions so our members really know what’s going on,” he said.

Lee said the governing bodies of both organizations must approve the merger, but the goal is to have everything in place and have a new organization in place by September 2025.

In a press release, Fred Albert, AFT-WV president said, “one merged unified voice for education employees is an exciting vision for the future of education in WV.”

“By definition, a union is a merging of people coming together to use their collective talents and knowledge to improve the working conditions and circumstances for the whole,” he said. “While there is much work still to be done, I look forward to continuing to work with Dale and the leadership of both organizations to make this vision a reality.”

Understanding Proposed Changes To PEIA

On this episode of The Legislature Today, Chris Schulz speaks with Fred Albert, president of AFT-WV, and Del. Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, the deputy speaker of the House, about proposed changes to PEIA.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, the Senate passed a bill over the weekend making changes to the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA). Like health insurance everywhere, expenses keep increasing, but the state program hasn’t kept up, causing some state hospitals to declare that they would no longer accept the program.

The bill that has headed to the House of Delegates includes premium increases, which Gov. Jim Justice has previously said he would not accept. Reporter Chris Schulz speaks with Fred Albert, president of AFT-WV, and Del. Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, the deputy speaker of the House, to understand the bill.

Also, a public hearing in the House chamber Tuesday morning focused on a bill that would enhance oversight of the West Virginia Fusion Center.

A bill that changes how candidates for office across the state announce their intent drew close to an hour of discussion on the Senate floor. Chris Schulz has more.

The House of Delegates approved House Bill 3270, which would amend the deliberate intent statute to limit non-economic damages to $500,000 in these kinds of cases.

There was also spirited debate in the House chamber on House Bill 2953, a locality pay study bill meant to retain in-state employees now crossing the borders – but it failed by vote of 42 to 56.

Finally, Tuesday was E Day, or Environmental Day, at the state legislature. Various statewide and local organizations came to lobby lawmakers on a variety of issues. Some came as individuals representing concerns specific to communities. A few lawmakers stood with them. Energy and Environment Reporter Curtis Tate brings us this story.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

A Breakdown In COVID-19 Relief Funding For W.Va. Schools

When Congress passed the CARES Act earlier this summer to help Americans navigate the toll from the coronavirus pandemic, West Virginia received more than $1 billion.

Of that figure, $86.6 million was put into a fund called the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSERF). That fund was spent two ways: $78 million was dispersed to all 55 county school districts, divvied up based on the number of low-income students in each district. And $8.6 million was withheld by the West Virginia Department of Education to be used for emergencies related to COVID-19.

In the weeks leading up to schools reopening, the West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers and other groups have criticized state officials’ handling of school reopening and voiced concerns that schools across the state have not received enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and other resources to combat the virus.

This week, the West Virginia Board of Education held its first meeting since schools in the state reopened for the 2020-2021 school year. Fred Albert, president of the AFT-WV, again addressed these concerns.

“I know it’s not been easy,” Albert said. “We’re still getting calls every day from concerned parents and concerned teachers, concerned service personnel that they don’t feel quite equipped.”

Albert brought up technology and connectivity issues, teacher vacancies and concerns about the safety of some of the cleaning products being used at schools.

Melanie Perkey, executive director of the Office of Federal Programs under the WVDE, addressed some of his concerns, sharing with board members a breakdown about some additional re-entry dollars for West Virginia’s school districts.

The WVDE took the withheld $8.6 million from the CARES Act and combined it with state funds from school-related activities that were canceled due to the coronavirus – totaling an additional $12.5 million that was awarded to 48 county school districts across the state.

“We conducted a competitive grant process where counties could apply for special projects that they wanted to do related to their COVID-19 response,” Perkey told board members. “And they had to apply in three areas of priority.”

Those areas included social and emotional needs, technology, and achievement gaps.

“More than half of the funding was spent on technology for remote learning,” Perkey said, speaking to the original ESSERF appropriation. “[Schools] purchased devices. They purchased software for learning management systems, and that type of thing. [The funding] could be used for sanitation, cleaning, training of staff, food preparation.”

Now, with the additional $12.5 million, Perkey said they are seeing the majority of counties use this funding on technology needs again.

The seven counties that did not receive additional funding through the competitive grant either did not apply for it or applied but still had funding available from a previous fiscal year, she said.

“We had three counties [Gilmer, Lincoln and Roane counties] that applied but did not receive funding,” Perkey said. “With the extension that the CARES Act allowed on fiscal year 2019 money, it doesn’t expire in September, they have another year.”

She explained that those three counties still had unused funds available from fiscal year 2019 and 2020 because of the federal extension, so her staff didn’t think those counties needed the extra money from the competitive grant.

Perkey said school districts will have until 2022 to use all funds.

In total, school districts in West Virginia are receiving more than $90 million in COVID-19 relief from both the CARES Act and from the WVDE’s competitive grant combined.

The WVDE’s website features a graph that breaks down what percentage of the ESSERF funds were used for things like technology or sanitation products as well as the amount of funding each county received.

The department’s website also features a document breaking down how much and which counties received funding from the competitive grant allocation.

Also, in this board meeting, members approved a waiver request from counties seeking to fill teacher vacancies with substitute teachers in critical areas of need.

Those counties include Boone, Hampshire, Lincoln, Logan, Monongalia, Morgan, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Ritchie, Wetzel, and Wyoming County Schools, and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

Union Leaders Allege Schools Not Safe To Reopen As State Defends Response

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Salango and union leaders in West Virginia education say Gov. Jim Justice and state officials are not doing enough for a safe reopening of schools next week.

The West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers and gubernatorial candidate Salango held a press conference Wednesday in Charleston citing concerns that several schools across the state are not yet safe enough to open next week.

Fred Albert, president of AFT-West Virginia, said over a Facebook Live broadcast that the greatest concern is aging school buildings in West Virginia that do not have proper ventilation, which Albert said is “vital to mitigating the virus.”

“Our teachers and service personnel miss their students,” Albert said. “We want to return to teaching and to learning, but it must be safe. Our elected leaders have only a few days left to put the proper safety measures and resources in place.”

Albert argued that many teachers have reached out to him and AFT-West Virginia claiming they still do not have personal protective equipment available.

In a https://youtu.be/BELroCe8hY8″>virtual press briefing Wednesday with Justice and other state leaders, the governor said there is money available through the CARES Act for any resources still needed at West Virginia’s more than 600 public schools.

West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch echoed the governor and said he and his staff are “triple checking” to make sure schools have what they need. He said he communicates frequently with county superintendents.

“The governor’s assured us that at no point in time should I be shy coming to him to ask for any dollars that I need,” Burch said in the press briefing. “I’ve got Gen. Hoyer, Secretary Crouch completely backing us up. We’ve got over 2 million face coverings stockpiled, ready to be used.”

Burch did not directly mention the AFT press conference that occurred Wednesday morning, but he did mention Albert and said he feels frustrated “when we continue to hear folks go on and publicly continue to say that our teachers and our schools aren’t ready, and that happened [Wednesday].”

“My door has been open, since day one, March 13, I’ve never closed my door,” Burch said. “My door has been open to anybody who wants to discuss return to school, and I’ve appreciated all the voices who have assisted. Whether you’re a parent advocacy group, whether you are folks representing special needs, whether you’re folks representing foster children, or whether you’re one of our teachers’ unions, or service personnel, my door has been continuously open.”

Still, Albert argued during the AFT press conference for more leadership from the governor with clear, consistent procedures on “how staff, parents and students will be notified of potential cases or exposure in schools.”

Salango said in the Facebook Live broadcast there should be more coronavirus testing and more nurses staffed at schools. Salango also claimed that with $6 million, every school in the state could be equipped with temperature scanners.

“We don’t have thermal scanners, temperature scanners, hands free devices in all of our schools,” Salango argued. “That’s something that’s easy to do, easily installed, easily executed.”

Albert is also asking Justice to allow more time for families to sort out childcare needs should a county change color on the re-entry map. He said being notified on a Saturday night does not give families enough time to prepare.

“If we stay in the orange or move to red by Saturday night at 9 p.m., then our parents will be scrambling over the weekend to provide care for their child.”

Albert said families should at least be notified by Fridays at 5 p.m.

West Virginia’s school re-entry is guided by metrics developed by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. It’s based on a four-color system – green, yellow, orange and red. Each county is assigned a color based on the prevalence of COVID-19 within their borders, according to the West Virginia Department of Education.

Both the governor and Burch say school re-opening remains a “fluid” situation, and they are prepared to respond to any scenario.

Schools in West Virginia are set to begin Sept. 8.

West Virginia Teacher Unions Plan Saturday Protests as Senate Readies Work on Education Reform

With West Virginia Senate President Mitch Carmichael planning to address public education during a one-day special legislative session this weekend, leaders of teacher unions are gearing up to have their members at the Capitol.

A Senate spokeswoman says Carmichael and his members will begin work at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 1, to consider the 144-page “Student Success Act.”

The bill would boost school employee pay, create an open enrollment policy for counties, provide mental health training for teachers and allow for charter schools, among other reforms.

Leaders of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, the West Virginia Education Association and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association have called on their members to be there as the “Student Success Act” is being considered.

The groups are opposed to some of the bill’s proposals, including charter schools, a change to how layoffs would be considered and withholding pay during a strike.

West Virginia Education Association president Dale Lee said he hopes action on Saturday sends a message to those in leadership.

“It says that educators are watching and they feel as though Senator Carmichael and his cronies are listening to outside interests rather than the people of West Virginia,” Lee said. “West Virginians have made it clear — 88 percent are against charter schools.”

But once Saturday rolls along, that protest will be different than similar actions held in recent years. Earlier this year, teachers across the state walked off the job to oppose Senate Bill 451 — a long, sweeping and controversial bill that ultimately failed. With schools now out for the summer around the state, a rally wouldn’t be a strike, but rather a show of force on their own time.

“I think it’s always impactful when you see faces of people who are going to be affected by legislation if it is considered or passed,” AFT-West Virginia president Fred Albert said. “There is nothing that takes the place of human contact and having people be there with their bodies and spirits.”

Senate Democrats unveiled their own, separate proposals for an education overhaul earlier this month. Their emphasis is on mental health services, teacher pay and vocational training. Democrats have called on Carmichael and the Republican majority to to consider each proposed reform on its own merit.

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw split his chamber into four select committees on education during a one-day return to the Capitol last week. He’s said the House will not return to work until June 17, which would overlap with interim committee meetings.

With the House delaying action on education, Lee said he doesn’t understand Carmichael’s timing and intention of a quick session.

“I’m stunned that he wants to complete it in a day. You would think he would wait until interims when the House was in,” he said. “Or, you would think he would separate the bill and deal with the things that could be be passed and deal with the contentious items later.”

With the House waiting until June, union leaders such as Albert say they are ready to keep them engaged and block Carmichael’s bill from moving forward.

“If the House doesn’t come back in until later in June, I would imagine our members would want to be there,” Albert said. “I wouldn’t expect them to lose their desire to be involved.”

Carmichael has scheduled a Thursday morning press conference to discuss the Student Success Act.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that charter schools would be limited to four. In fact, public higher education institutions would be limited to authorizing four charter schools. County school boards would not be limited in the number of charter schools they could authorize.