The House Education Committee met today to hear a Department Overview and Budget Presentation by the West Virginia Department of Education.
Michael Martirano, the State Superintendent of Schools, addressed the committee. He spoke about the Board of Education. He stated the mission, which is, “The West Virginia Board of Education establishes policies and rules to assure implementation of West Virginia’s Education goals and to ensure the general supervision, oversight and monitoring of a thorough and efficient educational system.”
He said he is focused on improving education for all students. He believes in equity. Equity is not equality. Students have different needs and they should be met.
He announced that 70 of the 116 high schools in West Virginia have a 90 percent or higher graduation rate. He stated that under the federal government any school with a 60 percent or less will have to evaluated and he’s proud to announce that no high school in West Virginia has a graduation rate that low.
He stressed the importance of the getting teachers in the state. There are 718 teacher vacancies; 407 are filled with substitute teachers on permit, 128 are filled with fully educated substitute teachers, 79 certified teachers by not in their field, 98 retired educators, and six are not filled at all.
There are 19,000 teachers in the state 3,000 are special educators. Of that 3,000, there are 239 vacancies. Of the other 16,000 teachers 4,000 are special education certified.
He is happy to hear the Governor wants to increase teacher pay because the average pay for a teacher in West Virginia is $46,000; ranked 44 in the nation. He said West Virginia sticks out on the East Coast because all surrounding states pay teachers a higher salary. Maryland’s starting salary is more than West Virginia’s average teacher salary after 15 years.
The Education Budget is $2.4 billion; about 97 to 98 percent goes directly to the counties.
Other presenters included Terry Harless, Chief Financial Officer, and Amy Willard.
