Morrisey signs bill creating ‘Troops to Teachers’ program for veterans amid WV teacher shortage

Gov. Patrick Morrisey touted the state’s new “Troops to Teachers” program that aims to put veterans in classrooms while the state struggles with a teacher shortage. 

The governor called the program a “common sense solution.”

“Let’s get really smart, talented people into the classroom as quickly as possible,” Morrisey said. “It’s going to help veterans navigate the certification process, and it’s going to allow them to get into the classroom faster … It’s going to reduce some of the bureaucracy.”

He announced the program Wednesday at Hedgesville Middle School in the state’s Eastern Panhandle. 

“Veterans have certainly proven their worth for our state and for our country,” Morrisey said before ceremoniously signing the Republican-sponsored measure, Senate Bill 765, into law that created the state- level program.

The Troops to Teachers program helps veterans get classroom experience while they complete necessary requirements to become employed as K-12 teachers. 

Participants are required to have a bachelor’s degree and pass the state’s skills and subject matter tests in the area for which licensure is being sought. The state schools superintendent will issue teaching certificates to eligible participants.

Del. Bill Ridenour, who retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, has supported the legislation for years after his own experience looking for a career following his military service. He had hoped to be a teacher but wasn’t able to finance his education.

“West Virginia has one of the larger veteran populations in the country. We are not exploiting that resource,” said Ridenour, R-Jefferson.

He has worked on the legislation for several years ahead of its passage this year. The House of Delegates and Senate unanimously passed the bill earlier this year.

“I’m very, very proud we’re going to do this for our kids,” Ridenour said. 

Bill sponsor Sen. Tom Willis, R-Jefferson, is a West Virginia National Guard Green Beret.   “Veterans are uniquely suited to bring those qualities into our classrooms — to lead, inspire, and shape the next generation,” he said. 

Low teacher pay, PEIA issues continue 

West Virginia has the lowest teacher pay in the nation, which has contributed to the teacher shortage, particularly in border counties.

Morrisey has said he’d like to see a pay raise for teachers but hasn’t suggested legislation to accomplish it. This year, a Republican Senator proposed a bill that would have implemented locality pay for teachers; teachers in half the state’s counties could have seen a raise based on their area’s median home value. The bill didn’t get up for a full vote in the Senate, and this year’s legislative session ended without any action on teacher pay.

The state’s Public Employee Insurance Agency, which offers insurance to school employees, will see premium increases in July of 14% for state employees and 16% for local government employees in addition to out-of-pocket and copay increases. 

Union leaders representing West Virginia’s public workers have called on lawmakers to stabilize the rising costs of health care coverage for state employees. 

In April, Morrisey said he’d call a special legislative session for lawmakers to address the rising costs of the program, but no further details have been released ahead of the July price hike. 

The governor has signed several other education-focused bills this spring, including a key measure bolstering elementary teachers’ ability to remove disruptive and violent students. Other bills mandate that counties ban cell phones during classroom instructional time and that schools display a framed poster of “In God We Trust.”

West Virginia public schools continue to have some of the country’s lowest academic outcomes while serving many children in poverty, raised by grandparents and in the state’s foster care system.

“I’m committed to seeing our education system improve,” Morrisey said.