Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 38, September 20, 2024
5.1. Administrative
Council. Each Center shall be administered by an Administrative Council.
5.1.a. The Administrative Council shall be
composed of:
5.1.a.1. one member of the
county board of education of each county involved, selected by each respective
county board of education and certified by its president and
secretary;
5.1.a.2. the county
superintendent of each county;
5.1.a.3. the Associate State Superintendent
or designated representative of the, Division of Technical Education and
Governor's Economic Initiatives; and,
5.1.a.4. the Director, who shall attend all
meetings and serve as secretary of the Administrative Council.
5.1.b. each Administrative Council
may adopt a policy for the appointment of alternate or substitute
members.
5.1.c. Appointment and
Term. Administrative Council members from the respective boards of education
shall be appointed terms of three years. If any member is unable to fulfill
their term of office, a replacement shall be appointed by the respective county
board of education for the unexpired term.
5.1.d. Duties. The Administrative Council
shall be the Center's governing body of the Center. The Administrative Council
shall make all decisions related to the Center's personnel, policy, programs,
and control.
5.1.e. Organizational,
Regular, and Special Meetings.
5.1.e.1. An
organizational meeting of the Administrative Council shall be held annually
during the month of July at which time a chairperson and vice-chairperson shall
be elected.
5.1.e.2. A minimum of
six meetings shall be held annually.
5.1.e.3. The secretary shall notify each
member of the Administrative Council of the agenda for each regular meeting at
least three business days in advance of the meeting.
5.1.e.4. A simple majority of the members of
the Administrative Council shall constitute a quorum. All decisions shall
require a simple majority vote for passage.
5.1.e.5. Special meetings may be called by
the chairperson or a majority of the members.
5.1.e.6. The WVBE grants authority to the
Administrative Council to enter into contracts. These contracts must be
consummated through the fiscal agent which is the county board of
education.
5.1.e.7. The secretary
of the Administrative Council shall record the proceedings of each meeting and
provide each council member with a copy of minutes and attachments within 10
business days after each meeting.
5.2. Fiscal Agent.
5.2.a. The Administrative Council may select
one of the participating counties to be the Fiscal Agent. If the county
selected is other than the county in which the Center is located, the selection
must be approved by the WVBE.
5.2.b. The Fiscal Agent shall maintain all
fiscal records relative to the Center and shall make records available to all
members of the Administrative Council.
5.2.c. The Fiscal Agent cannot initiate
action, control of, or direct the Center. The Fiscal Agent's approval authority
is limited to the question of the action's legality, the Administrative Council
having sole discretionary authority.
5.2.d. Because the Center operation does not
represent educational expenses and benefits reserved to the Fiscal Agent, the
Fiscal Agent's county board of education shall establish and maintain separate
accounts in the General Current Expense Fund apart from all other funds of the
county board of education. By this means, the county board's of education
normal financial report will not be distorted, and the Center accounts will be
clearly visible for accounting and auditing purposes. Purchase order forms,
transmittals, invoices, checks, and records may be the same as those of the
Fiscal Agent, but must be separately maintained. The Administrative Council
will act, in general, as a county board of education now acts in approving
fiscal actions, with the Fiscal Agent's responsibilities being limited as
provided.
5.2.e. The Fiscal Agent
shall be responsible for audits. Costs of audits shall be an allowable cost in
the operating budget for the Center.
5.3. Procedures for Purchasing. The Director
of the Center shall adhere to the purchasing policies established by the Fiscal
Agent and shall maintain a record of encumbrances. The Fiscal Agent shall
approve and authorize all purchasing recommendations submitted by the
Administrative Council, so long as purchases and procedures comply with
established policies, West Virginia law, and available budget.
5.4. Administration.
5.4.a. The Administrative Council shall
employ a Center Director. The Director shall administer, supervise, and
promote, under the policies and regulations established by the Administrative
Council, the career, technical, and adult programs the Centers
provide.
5.4.b. The Director shall
prepare and present the annual budget to the Administrative Council for review
and approval. Budget revisions must be approved by the Administrative Council
before presentation to the Fiscal Agent.
5.4.c. The Director shall be responsible for
the recommendation of personnel for appropriate positions. Such recommendation
shall be submitted to the Administrative Council for approval. The Director
shall be responsible for recommendation of school personnel actions as
prescribed in W. Va. Code §
18A-2-1 et
seq. Assignment, transfer, promotion, demotion, reduction in force, suspension,
and dismissal will be in accordance with West Virginia laws governing the
employment of professional and service personnel.
5.4.d. The Director shall recommend salaries
for the Center personnel. Recommendations shall be submitted to the
Administrative Council for approval.
5.4.e. The Director shall prepare and present
to the Administrative Council a 10 year Comprehensive Educational Facilities
Plan(CEFP), and any subsequent revisions necessary.
5.5. Personnel.
5.5.a. Professional personnel shall meet the
state requirements for certification in the field in which they are assigned.
Decisions relating to the employment of personnel will be made by the
Administrative Council upon recommendation by the Director. Personnel shall be
employed at the Center as approved by the Administrative Council in accordance
with West Virginia school law governing employment of service and professional
school personnel.
5.5.b. The
Administrative Council must afford its employees the same benefits (sick leave,
vacation, insurance, retirement, continuing contract, etc.) as those to which
the employees of the Fiscal Agent are entitled.
5.5.c. In the administration of grievances of
employees, the Director and Administrative Council will follow grievance
procedures as established by the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance
Board.
5.5.d. Employees of Centers
shall accrue seniority and continuing contract status in accordance with W. Va.
Code §
18A-4-8c.
5.5.e. Employees of Centers are not eligible
to serve on the boards of education of participating
counties.
5.6.
Extracurricular Activities. Extracurricular activities for high school students
shall be disassociated from the Center. Students attending the Center shall be
entitled to participate in extracurricular activities in their home
schools.
5.7. Program of Study. The
Administrative Council shall be the sole authority, subject to the rules of the
WVBE, in determining the program of instruction to be offered at the Center.
The Director shall be responsible for implementation of the program approved by
the Administrative Council.
5.8.
School Year. The calendar for the school year of the Center shall be
established by the Administrative Council in accordance with the program
purposes. The instructional term for the Center's high school students shall
correspond with the instructional terms of the participating counties to the
extent possible.
5.9.
Transportation. Transportation responsibilities and expenses for each public
school student attending the Center shall be assumed by the county board of
education sending the student to the Center.
5.10. Records and Reports.
5.10.a. The Director shall certify the
credits earned at the Center to the principals of the high schools in which the
students are enrolled.
5.10.b. The
Director shall prepare such other records and reports as are deemed necessary
by the Director or the Administrative Council.
5.11. Advisory Council. Each Center shall
establish an Advisory Council to provide advice on current job needs and the
relevance of courses being offered by the Center in meeting such needs. Such an
Advisory Council shall be composed of members of the general public, and shall
include representatives of business, industry, and labor. The Director shall
serve as secretary of the Advisory Council. Each county shall have
representation on the council and Advisory Council members representing a
county shall have their appointments approved by that county's board of
education. The term of office of the chairperson shall be one year. The
chairperson shall be elected by the membership. In addition, the Center
Director shall see that the Advisory Committee includes representatives of
business, industry, and labor for each career technical program of study
offered.
5.12. Finance. The Center
shall be financed as follows:
5.12.a. The
Administrative Council shall request state and federal financial assistance for
support of instruction, administration, supervision, operational expenses, and
other services associated with the operation of the Center.
5.12.b. The following "steps" of the state
foundation program shall be included in the sources of revenue for the
operation costs of Centers: Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Step 6 and allowances for
Public Employees Insurance Agency and retirement.
5.12.c. The local share shall be the total
budget (expenditures) for the operation of the Center minus anticipated
(received) revenues from federal and state sources, and the local share shall
be proportioned among the participating counties based on the previous year's
enrollment (second month) in the Center.
5.12.d. The Fiscal Agent county is also
eligible to receive, from state vocational funds, an allocation for
administrative costs. This amount shall be equal to the county's current
restricted indirect cost rate times the amount of revenue received toward
operation of the Center from the state foundation program and other state and
federal vocational funds.
5.12.e.
The Administrative Council may accept gifts, grants, other state and federal
funds, tuition, and other allocations of funds for purposes of erecting,
repairing, equipping buildings, and operating the Center.
5.13. Withdrawal. W. Va. Code §
18-2B-2a
states that any county participating in the operation of a Center shall not be
permitted to withdraw from such participation.
5.14. Duplication of Center Programs.
5.14.a. When planning the construction of a
high school in a county that is served by a Center, the county may not be
required to include the construction of a comprehensive career technical center
in the CEFP. If the county board of education elects to construct a
comprehensive career technical center, the board shall include the Director and
Administrative Council in the planning of programs to be offered at the career
technical center which complement the programs offered at the Center. The
programs offered at the career technical center may not replace the programs
offered at the existing Center without the consent of the Center's
Administrative Council(see W. Va. Code §
18-9D-19(e)).
5.14.b. A partner county that plans to
duplicate a state approved CTE program of study currently operating at the
Center shall receive permission of the Multi-County Administrative Council
prior to adding the duplicated program of study to the local educational agency
plan.
5.14.c. A partner county that
plans to open a local concentration (non state-approved) as outlined in W. Va.
126 CSR 44M, WVBE Policy 2520.13, West Virginia College- and Career-Readiness
Program of Study/Standards for Career and Technical Education, must:
5.14.c.1. establish local West Virginia
Education Information System course codes for offered courses;
5.14.c.2. establish a different program of
study name;
5.14.c.3. acquire local
county board of education approval;
5.14.c.4. assure the instructor certification
aligns with WVDE certification requirements;
5.14.c.5. maintain state facility and safety
compliance; and,
5.14.c.6. fund
locally without use of any CTE federal or state funds.
5.14.d. Local concentration completer data
will not be included in state and federal accountability or CTE funding
formulas.
