Since the West Virginia House of Delegates passed a law to alter education policies early this year, controversy began building. Seniority was a significant issue. Without seniority, many experienced teachers would find themselves in precarious position. A topic of concern for all was PEIA (Public Employees Insurance Agency). The proposed increases in insurance and an intrusive program, Go365, added "extra hoops for employees to jump through" to avoid higher premiums and out of pocket expenses. A majority of individuals and families affected by these changing policies cannot handle that type of financial strain, so educators and school personnel in each of West Virginia's 55 counties united to declare a Work Stoppage. After many attempts to negiotiate with state delegates and representatives, presidents of both teacher unions made the call...teachers would not teach, bus drivers would not drive, and cooks would not cook until a suitable compromise was met.
The end result was a 9-day closure of schools, a slight pay raise, and promise of a task force to fix the funding for PEIA. Educators aren't completely happy as skepticism still abounds, but they are glad to be back in their classrooms. "The support from the administration and our community was amazing," commented English Teacher Emily Moore. "We are fortunate to be Eagles."