Search Block
Unions say certification bill doesn’t answer issue of competitive pay for teachers
By Samuel Speciale, Education reporter
While Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s signing of the alternative teacher certification bill last week has been lauded for providing a way to fill classroom vacancies, union representatives say it doesn’t address the real issue of teachers leaving West Virginia for higher-paying jobs in neighboring states.
“Until we start addressing...
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...
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...
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...
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...