Let the Competition Beware
There will be no competition in West Virginia as far as West Virginia teacher union officials are concerned. They’ve got the legislature sewn up tight after 2 statewide strikes. Larry Sand puts all the facts together on the latest West Virginia strikes and comes up with a bleak future for West Virginia students.
West Virginia teachers who are interested in teaching in freedom and giving students the best education they can should explore West Virginia Professional Educators. Their motto is a Student’s Mind is too Precious to Bargain For!
In aggregate, West Virginia’s public schools are not very good. According to the state scorecard, 88 percent of the state’s 116 high schools “do not meet standards” in math. Furthermore, the state’s eighth graders rank 45th nationwide in reading as per the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). With these dismal numbers in mind, the legislators decided that things needed to be shaken up.
Enter SB 451. When it was first approved by the State Senate in early February, the bill permitted up to 2,500 educational savings accounts for families with an annual income below $150,000, and allowed for the establishment of charter schools. (West Virginia is one of just 7 states with no charters.) An early version of the bill would have eliminated seniority as the sole criteria for deciding reductions in force and required annual approval before unions could deduct dues from employee paychecks.