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OPINIONS
Thumbs down: Education reform makes no headway in special session
The burst of interest last spring in West Virginia for education reform has all but dried up now, with little to show for it.
A special legislative session in May, called by Gov. Joe Manchin after the state failed to win any federal Race to the Top education funding, yielded nothing more than the formation of a work group to fine-tune proposals for consideration later. "Later" came this month, when a second special session produced very little passed legislation. The bills that were approved fall way short of any meaningful changes in the state's education approach.
So what happened?
First of all, the call for tackling the issue primarily came from one source, Manchin. The governor spelled out various proposals aimed at improving low-performing schools, holding educators more accountable and linking their evaluations in part to student performance, establishing a quasi-charter school option, and paying some teachers more money than others based on whether they were locating in underserved areas.
Second of all, many of the proposals were opposed by teachers unions, which have significant sway in the Legislature, particularly in the House of Delegates. The teachers unions had a "seat at the table" of the working group to help rework Manchin's proposals, although leaders of the teachers unions said later that they also should have had a vote. Based on the results, it appears they practically did.
Yet another diversion was the death of Sen. Robert C. Byrd. That forced the Legislature at the beginning of its July session to focus on legislation allowing a special election this year to replace him. In addition, Manchin likely was distracted by his own interest in running for that position.
The Legislature and whoever is governor still have plenty of work to do, because it's clear the status quo is not getting the job done.
