New program to focus on children exposed to traumatic events
By Samuel Speciale, Charleston Daily Mail
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced Tuesday the statewide expansion of a juvenile justice program that requires law...
April 2015
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April 1, 2015
April 1, 2015
Therapist asks W.Va. to join nearby states in mandating school hours, not days
By Jessica Farrish, (Beckley) Register-Herald
A physical therapist in the Raleigh County school system said she's so tired of Charleston lawmakers wreaking havoc on the local...
April 2, 2015
Standing law could restrict snow-day forgiveness in W.Va.
By Ryan Quinn, The Charleston Gazette
County school districts in West Virginia might still have to make up all missed snow days this academic year, despite efforts to find them some exemptions....
April 2, 2015
WVDE recognizes 42 schools for high performance and progress
By Carrie Hodousek, WV MetroNews
The West Virginia Department of Education announced the 2014-2015 Reward Schools list Thursday. Forty-two schools statewide were honored for high performance and progress.
The state DOE determined where schools were placed on the list based on results from the WESTEST2 conducted in the spring of 2014.
Melanie Purkey, executive director of the state DOE...
April 7, 2015
Most comments are in favor of new K-12 science standards
By Ryan Quinn, The Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The vast majority of official comments on new statewide K-12 science standards — the first to require teaching about global warming in mandatory courses — were in favor of them, according to the West Virginia Department of Education.
“Over 7,000 people commented through individual comments, petitions, or via special interest groups,” the...
April 7, 2015
PEIA members face $500 increase if they don’t register for Healthy Tomorrows
By Jeff Jenkins in WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the state-run insurance system face an additional $500 deductible if they fail to register for the Healthy Tomorrows program during the current open enrollment period which ends May 15.
Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Director Ted Cheatham said Monday on MetroNews Talkline the first year of the three-year...
April 7, 2015
Commenters favor new K-12 science curriculum
By Ryan Quinn, Staff writer, Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The vast majority of official comments on new statewide K-12 science standards — the first to require teaching about global warming in mandatory courses — were in favor of them, according to the West Virginia Department of Education.
“Over 7,000 people commented through individual comments, petitions, or via special interest groups,” the...
April 7, 2015
Kanawha superintendent gets raise, extension
By Ryan Quinn, Staff writer, Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County school board members approved Monday a one-year contract extension and raise for their superintendent, after amending the contract to reduce the proposed pay increase.
Ron Duerring will get a $3,150 raise for the 2015-16 school year, a 2 percent increase above his current $157,500 annual salary. His proposed new contract in...
April 7, 2015
Hoppy Kercheval: 180 days of instruction means 180 days of instruction
Gov. Tomblin spent considerable time in his 2013 State of the State address talking about improving public education in West Virginia.
One of his proposals included a requirement that students have 180 separate instructional days.
“We need to get back to a place of common sense in our approach to education. Otherwise, we will never get to an adequate level of instructional time,” the...
April 7, 2015
Citing larger problems, Tomblin vetoes funds for Schools for Deaf and Blind
By Ryan Quinn, Staff writer, Charleston Gazette
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed a bill last week — passed nearly unanimously by both houses of the Legislature — that would have made the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind eligible for more money to fix extensive issues with its facilities.
The governor’s veto of House Bill 2160 follows his line-item veto of $1.5...
April 7, 2015
New truancy law aims to curb youth offenders
By Whitney Burdette, Capitol reporter, Charleston Daily Mail
West Virginia spends an astonishing amount of money each year on children in the juvenile justice system.
And as the number of children referred to state institutions, group homes and to out-of-state facilities increases, that number just continues to rise. The state Legislature this year took action and passed several bills aimed at decreasing the...
April 7, 2015
W.Va.'s state tax rates ranked among the lowest
The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
With tax day looming, it's easy to get bogged down in how much we owe the state and federal government, and groan.
But the truth is West Virginians don't have it so bad tax-wise, according to a study by The Tax Foundation, a Washington D.C., based think-tank. It does, however, suffer from low population to bear the tax burden and from nearly the lowest per capita income in...