Dec. 3—FAIRMONT — Labor issues set the tone for Monday afternoon’s Marion County Board of Education meeting.
The school board passed a resolution urging state lawmakers to stabilize the Public Employee’s Insurance Agency. State employees, a category that includes teachers and public school staff, face a 14% premium increase, doubling the cost of several types of health care services. The American Federation of Teachers and the West Virginia Educator’s Association spoke in favor of the resolution last month.
“When you started in education, the benefits you got in public education were the most attractive,” said School Superintendent Donna Heston. “That has slowly declined in popularity over the years. I think this certainly also has consequences for our workforce.”
School board member James Saunders said he was glad the board implemented the resolution, pointing out that every county is struggling to get teachers, making it harder for the state to stop funding PEIA. Board member Kevin Rogers wonders why no alternatives are available.
“So it’s kind of like legacy workers’ comp because it’s funded by the state,” Rogers said. “I guess I’m wondering why we couldn’t go to the open market. Maybe we’ll get better prices and better coverage.”
Heston responded that this was one of the things discussed by the state legislature, which emphasized that there was no funding mechanism for it during the last meeting between lawmakers and school officials. Board member Donna Costello said PEIA is something lawmakers have long set aside and people should call Charleston to remind lawmakers who they work for.
Gov. Jim Justice’s administration regularly likes to brag about how much excess money the state has under his tax-cut administration.
“All we hear from Charleston is the excess money we have,” said board member Thomas Dragich. “Well, they need to put it in PEIA and stop messing with teachers.”
The school district’s problems with PEIA contribute to staffing shortages, both among teachers and school support staff. There is currently a custodial shortage that the school district is working to address.
Heston said the district regularly posts job openings and holds events to attract employees, but the available workforce is too small to properly staff the district.
“We are a border county, like it or not, with Pennsylvania,” said Board Chairman George Boyles. “We’re competing for those resources, sometimes competing for teachers and others. So anything we can do to put ourselves in a better position, we’re in.”
The Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission also presented a $5,000 check for the revitalization of East-West Stadium during Monday afternoon’s Board of Education meeting.
“MCPARC certainly contributes to our students in these facilities,” Heston said. “So every dollar amount, the labor they put in, the purchase and the support is greatly appreciated. Because we have limited facilities in Marion County and so this $5,000 contribution is well received and we are grateful for it. “
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
