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Justice hosts roundtable discussion with state workers, retirees in Charleston
By Carrie Hodousek, WV MetroNews
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice told state workers and retirees in Charleston Tuesday, one week before Election Day, “you are the key to our economic engine.”
Justice, the owner of the Greenbrier Resort, hosted a roundtable discussion at Embassy Suites to hear from employees concerned about higher deductibles, premiums, copays and...
WV Supreme Court rules against unions in teacher definition case
By Ryan Quinn, WV Gazette-Mail
West Virginia Supreme Court unanimously reversed Wednesday a ruling that favored state education unions, in a case stretching back to 2011 and dealing with whom is defined as a “teacher.”
The high court reversed Monongalia Circuit Court Judge Phillip D. Gaujot’s June 2015 ruling that “interventionists” who work in Monongalia’s public school system must be...
1st report cards on West Virginia public schools delayed
By Shauna Johnson, WV MetroNews
It’ll be late November at the earliest before the first report cards for the Mountain State’s public schools from the new West Virginia A-F School Accountability System are released to students, parents and school communities.
The state Department of Education is pushing back a previously scheduled Nov. 10 announcement date for those grades at the request of county...
Emails show White lobbied for state Board of Education VP position
By Ryan Quinn, The Charleston Gazette-Mail
Bill White publicly accused fellow West Virginia Board of Education members last year of making a “back room deal” to select the board’s three officers, and told a reporter twice after the July 2015 board vote — in which he wasn’t named one of the leaders — that he didn’t want an officer position.
But about a month and a half before the vote on...
Majority of WV public college grads leave state for work
Jake Jarvis, WV Gazette-Mail
The majority of students who graduated from West Virginia’s public colleges between 2003 and 2013 didn’t go on to work in the state, a new report from West Virginia University finds
.About two-thirds of the students who are from West Virginia wound up working in the state, and only about 10 percent of the out-of-state students did, according to the report.
For the...
School closures, constructions planned; A-F grades coming next week
By Ryan Quinn, The Charleston Gazette-Mail
The West Virginia Board of Education on Wednesday approved new plans involving school closures and constructions in Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe and Wood counties, and state education officials said the delayed A-F grades for entire schools should be approved and publicly released next week.
The new grades, largely based on students’ annual end-of-...
Tomblin announces 2 percent budget cut for W.Va. government agencies
By MetroNews Staff
There will be an across-the-board mid-year budget cut of 2 percent for most state government agencies, according to a Tuesday announcement made by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin.
The governor said the reduction is due to the state’s General Revenue Fund falling behind by more than $87 million since July.
The cuts will include a nearly $11 million reduction to the...
West Virginia schools get A to F grades starting today
By Brad McElhinny, WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s public schools start getting graded A-F today.
The new grading system made its debut during a state school board meeting, although it has been in development for months. Parents and community members can see an explanation and schools’ report cards at www.mywvschool.org.
Most of West...
State unveils A-F grades for schools
By Ryan Quinn, The Charleston Gazette-Mail
After delays that officials attributed to standardized test and federal school accountability changes, the West Virginia Board of Education Wednesday finally fully answered Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s request in his January 2014 State of the State address for it to establish an A-F grading system for entire schools.
The state school board’s vote to approve the school ratings was 7...
School A-F grades vary greatly in some counties
By Sarah Plummer, The Register-Herald
The release of the newly implemented West Virginia Department of Education A-F accountability rating revealed disparity among schools in many counties.
For instance, in Nicholas County alone, Mt. Nebo Elementary recieved an A while Dixie Elementary an F.
Most counties with schools that received an F, like Fayette and Raleigh counties, also saw a swath of Bs, Cs...
FEMA commits to replacing five schools destroyed in June flood
By Shauna Johnson, WV MetroNews
Nearly five months after the June Flood, state officials have a commitment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for rebuilds of five schools heavily damaged in the storm and its aftermath.
The schools that will be relocated are Herbert Hoover High School and Clendenin Elementary School in Kanawha County and Richwood High School and Richwood Middle School...
PEIA to hold last public hearing on changes at UC
By Carrie Hodousek, WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The University of Charleston will be the site for the last of four public hearings the state Public Employees Insurance Agency’s Finance Board has been hosting across the state in connection with proposed benefit reductions for state workers and retirees.
The final meeting in the series is Thursday at 6 p.m.
Hearings were held in Martinsburg,...