Governor McDonnell’s “Opportunity Educational Institution”
Education lobbyists (VASSP etc.), representing every major education association in the state, worked diligently against passage of legislation instituting a statewide board that would usurp the role of the local school board for schools with unaccredited status. It was difficult having to refer to the proposed entity to take over public schools as the Governor’s “Opportunity Educational Institution.” OEI sounds less ominous. You really can’t dress that title up, but it helps to use an acronym. The House voted overwhelmingly for the concept; but it looked as if there might be a chance to defeat SB 324 in the Senate. In the end, however, members split along Party lines on a vote of 20-20 with Lt Governor Bolling voting for the bill to break the tie. The bill passed. Attempts to replace the Administration’s extreme approach with a bill giving more power to the State Board of Education, supported by VASSP and other education associations, failed to make it past the Appropriations Committee.
The original language of the Administration’s bill was modified to a degree but took a turn for the worse when a Senate committee amended the legislation to include not only schools denied accreditation but also schools accredited with warning for two years. That could have resulted in a statewide takeover of massive proportions. New math SOL scores alone, with new and more rigorous tests on the way, could have caused the number six to burgeon to a much larger number if “warned” schools were included. Fortunately, the language in the compromise budget removed that amendment and restricted the takeover to those schools denied accreditation for the previous two years. Still, the VSBA and all other major education associations believe that the state takeover of local schools is patently unconstitutional; so stay tuned.
Budget Explanation/OEI
- $150,000 to DOE to begin implementation of OEI. The OEI Board shall be vested with all of the powers and duties of a local school board.
- Any school denied accreditation for the previous two school years shall be transferred to the OEI.
- The Board shall supervise and operate schools in the OEI in whatever manner that it determine, including the utilization of charter and lab schools.
- Each school transferred to the OEI shall be eligible to return to the local school division after achieving full accreditation.
- Each student shall have his proportionate state, local, and federal shares of per pupil funding transferred from the local school division of residence to the Institution.
- Students enrolled in a school under the supervision of the Institution shall be included in all applicable enrollment counts of the local school division of residence.
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Explanation:
(This amendment supports the implementation of the Opportunity Educational Institution. Funding should be based on those students transferred into the Institution and follow the students.) |
Bet Neale
ELIZABETH HARRELL (“Bet”) NEALE
CAREER HISTORY: Twenty-five years of legislative experience in the Virginia political arena.
Bet began her career in the political arena as a Legislative Research Associate at the Division of Legislative Services, having first been mentored by her father Delegate Lyman Harrell, who served 12 years as a member of the House of Delegates. After moving with her family to West Point, where her husband Mark practices dentistry and where they raised their three children Nancy, Cheryl and Mark, Bet remained active in state legislative work as a consultant for a state commission and as a legislative assistant to Delegate Mary Marshall and Delegate Dorothy McDiarmid, Chair of the House Education and House Appropriations Committees. Beginning in 1990, Bet represented VASS as their lead lobbyist for 8 years, after which she served as executive director of the Henrico Education Foundation for HCPS.
Bet came on board with VASSP in 2000 as Director of Government Relations and lobbies on behalf of Association members during all General Assembly sessions and at meetings of legislative education committees and subcommittees. In her capacity as Director of Government Relations/Lead Lobbyist for VASSP, Bet also represents middle and high school principals and assistant principals at statewide education meetings, seminars and special commissions as well as at meetings of the State Board of Education.
Bet is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a BA in English and a Collegiate Certificate in Secondary Education. She has been a guest lecturer at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia as well as a presenter at various state meetings and seminars.
