June 26, 2008 Merger of the two Retirement Systems

On October 8, 2007 at the state capitol there was a discussion of the five potential scenarios for the merger of the two retirement plans.  Teachers unions and other stakeholders met to discuss what such a  merger would mean.  The governor's office was in attendance as well as representatives of the retirement system to discuss how such a merger would effect  its members and other teachers and employees of the education system at large.  The merger passed in May with 78.3% selecting to move to TRS.  More older teachers and service personnel chose not to move than was prreviously expected, while many new teachers chose to select TRS.  There are 5,000 individuals who are still in the Teacher's Defined Benefit plan.  Those who moved chose to give their TDC benefits to th TRS and their move means a substantial savings to the state and thus the taxpayers.  The amount of cost is yet to be determined but all that moved will be paying an additional 1 1/2 % of their salary.  The TRS will be funded at 100% by 2030 but probably much sooner.

Sharon

June 26, 2008 Special Session Called by the Governor

The special session called by the governor addressed several issues including additional funding for pre-school age children and the controversial issue of informing citizens when over $5,000 is spent by corporations to defeat a candidate.  Although the governor and the leadership, including myself,intended to spend only two days to deal with a substantial number of items, the minority leadership and members refused to suspend the rules, costing the taxpayers $40,000 per day.  Those who supported the legislation believed that citizens have a right to know who is sending mass mailings, buying media time, or billboards, if back by in-state and out-of-state corporations.  The refusal to suspend the rules required three additional days at taxpayers expense.  Those who opposed the bill felt that it was freedom of speech and that the names of the corporations should not be required.  PACs were not included.

October 2007 Interim Update

The October Interim Committees met in Martinsburg, West Virginia.  As Chair of the Pensions and Retirement Committee I recommended to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance that an actuarial study be funded to look at the fiscal impact of merging the two teacher retirement systems together.  The study was provided to the Governor, Joint Comittee on Government and Finance, and to the Pension and Retirement Committee.  Five options were recommended to the legislature to allow members of the defined contribution sysystem to either remain in the present system or to move to the Teacher's Retirement System.  These options are being studied by the interim committee and stakeholders.   The final decision as to which option will be chosen will occur during the regular session in January.  

Sharon

June 2006 Interim Session Update

Last month during the interims, the House Education Committee looked at an issue which I feel very strongly about: No Child Left Behind. The school systems in West Virginia and our fantastic teachers are working very hard to comply with No Child Left Behind mandates, and our standardized test scores are showing it. However, we must sustain a commitment to excellence, specifically in the fields of math, science, foreign languages, and special education. It will continue to become increasingly difficult to recruit outstanding teachers for these and other subjects when West Virginia teacher salaries are so far beyond that of other states, a problem which is uniquely felt in the border counties.

We must find ways to recruit superior and talented teachers for our schools, particularly for the above subjects. I look forward to tackling this problem in my next term, and I am confident that through incentives tied to the PROMISE scholarship program, we can find ways to keep our brightest minds in this state. As Vice Chair of the House Subcommittee on No Child Left Behind, I am working with all of our county school systems to assist them in complying with the No Child Left Behind mandates.

Of course, the greatest step that could be taken to fulfill the promise of No Child Left Behind would be for the federal government to fully fund the program. The Federal Government should never burden the states with unfunded or inadequately funded education mandates that penalize the states' children. Write your congressperson and tell them to resolve this unfunded mandate for the sake of our children.

We are committed to move our children into the 21st century to competitive jobs and to stand shoulder to shoulder with young people from anywhere and be proud.  We have the advantage of having high caliber professors and fine instituions of higher learning at the graduate, baccalaureate and community college level as well as an excellent school system where children come first.  We will meet the mandates of No Child Left Behind.  Furthermore, we will continue to work to increase the graduation rate and the college going rate emphasizing opportunities in technological advances in the fields of medicine, forensics, and research.

-Sharon