Schools’ job changes approved

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va.

Child-care workers at the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind will be required to have an associate degree in to order to keep their jobs.

These employees work during noninstructional hours with students who live in the Romney school’s dorms. On Wednesday, the West Virginia Board of Education approved the school’s plan to restructure its residential program and replace the positions with new residential care specialist positions, media outlets reported.

The new positions will require an associate degree in child development or a related field, and will pay $8,000 to $10,000 more annually. The higher salaries will cost a total of $228,000 annually.

Child-care workers who don’t have a degree have until July 2018 to obtain one. There is no guarantee that they will keep their jobs, but experience will be considered.

Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield, about 26 miles from Romney, offers the required programs and degrees.

State Sen. Donald Cookman, D-Hampshire, asked the board to table the proposal until a grandfather clause could be considered, saying he was concerned about the workers losing their jobs.

“It’s a matter of fairness,” he said.

Elizabeth Boyer, the school’s superintendent, said current employees could apply for other jobs at the school or be placed in an applicant pool where they will have to interview for the new position.

“It’s not my intention to shed people,” Boyer said. “There is value in using the experience and expertise that we already have.”