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About 43 Calhoun Schools service personnel have had a $600 supplement benefit restored for the last school year after filing a grievance against the Calhoun Board of Education.
The $600 supplement was given to teachers and school employees several years ago when the system's financial picture was brighter, and was removed last year by an order from state officials when it was announced that Calhoun School's had an $1.8 million deficit.
The $600 supplement "back pay" with interest will be for one year only to those parties that signed on to the grievance.
The service personnel contended that they were not properly notified of the reduction of employment terms, a violation of W. Va. Code 18A, and were not allowed a hearing.
The latest decision did not allow for a change in the reduction of 200 plus day contracts.
On June 30, 2014, the State Superintendent of Schools sent a letter to
Calhoun Schools informing them its proposed budget was insufficient to maintain their financial obligations.
The grievance says that Calhoun Schools
had a
recurring deficit since the 2010-11 school year, a deficit that increased each successive year.
The complaint says, "Despite having this knowledge, the former superintendent took no action to RIF or to
transfer any personnel to reduce spending," until June, 2014 when the state issued an "emergency directive" to make cut-backs when a $1.8 million deficit was acknowledged.
The filed grievance questions why state education officials signed-off on deficit Calhoun school financials for several years, while most county school board members acknowledged they were not informed about the deficit.
Superintendent Tim Woodward has announced a $1.1 million reduction plan which could bring the budget back into the black within a few years.
Financial officer Dan Minney reports that the latest county education budget is 11,468,738.23, which includes the budget for the Career Center at $1,180,117.
GRIEVANCE DECISION
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