Previously I discussed Governor Justice’s vetoes of a number of bills that passed through both houses of the West Virginia legislature in the recently concluded session. Although more than half were vetoed for “technical” reasons and appear to be on track to become law eventually, perhaps even in the upcoming special session, there were a dozen bills that did not fit into this category. Among those bills were several that indicate that Governor Justice is against giving more control to local jurisdictions.

The governor vetoed SB 147, a bill that would have helped Berkeley County’s recycling and litter-control programs. SB 147 passed the senate 24-9 and the house 95-5; clearly bi-partisan margins. The governor’s reasoning for the veto is that it would divert funds from landfill operations in other parts of the state. In other words, it allocates the funds where the legislature deemed they should be allocated. In essence, the governor is saying “trust me”, I know better than you do on these matters. You know the old expression about trusting someone as far you could throw them? Regarding local control - that’s strike one on the governor.

The governor also vetoed SB 522 that would have created a special road fund repair bill that would have created transparency and would have taken a step in the direction of the decentralizing of the allocation process. In other words, it would have provided more local control. That’s strike two.

The most egregious veto however, was that of SB 624. This bill would have given local county school boards the option of using the ACT test instead of the SAT. Here’s the background. In the 2017 legislative session a similar bill was in the works. However, Superintendent of Schools Steven Paine told legislators that the bill was not necessary. The Board of Education could implement a policy change and take care of it. So it was assumed that this was a done deal. It wasn’t. Superintendent Paine apparently had no intention of showing anything but contempt for the legislature.

So this past session law makers took matters into their own hands. SB 624 passed the house 98-0 (2 absent) and in the senate 33-1. That Governor Justice should veto this bill is a display of utter contempt on his part for the legislators and for West Virginia voters. A slap in the face to every West Virginian.

My sources believe that Superintendent Steven Paine talked the Governor into the veto. The state Board of Education is often referred to as the “fourth branch of government” in West Virginia. There’s the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, the Judicial branch and then there’s the Board of Education. Our state constitution gives the BoE almost complete independence and autonomy. It is not accountable to the will of the people. It is not accountable to anyone. Except perhaps Governor Justice. And apparently Governor Justice doesn’t consider himself accountable to the voters - the parents of the students attending West Virginia schools. Superintendent Paine is in his second stint as Superintendent of Schools in West Virginia. The first go around was from mid-2005 through the end of 2010. During his tenure back then he unilaterally ushered Common Core into our state. There were no public hearings on the matter. Common Core was literally shoved down our throats by Superintendent Paine.

After “retiring” from his post in 2010, according to Ryan Quinn over at the Gazette, Paine served on the National Assessment Governing Board, an education testing concern. He also worked as a vice president for McGraw Hill, the mega corporation that provides testing and software and “with which West Virginia had done millions of dollars in business during Paine’s superintendent tenure” and that “Paine also is one of the founders of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which developed the Common Core-aligned standardized tests that the West Virginia school board is now planning to move away from.”

He later worked for the McGraw Hill Research Foundation and two California companies Engrade and BrightBytes, the latter of which has a $1.5 Million contract with West Virginia - a contract Paine was involved in rolling out. In other words Paine is a swamp creature that has made trips through the revolving door between the public and private sectors right here in West Virginia.

Paine was hired by the West Virginia Board of Education in March of 2017 at an annual salary of $230,000. Outgoing Superintendent Martiromo was supposed to leave June 30th of 2017, but apparently something urgent came up. On March 23, 2017 three candidates were interviewed by the Board of Education, with two brand new members appointed by Governor Justice (then a Democrat) in behind closed doors meetings. Paine was hired on the spot to start his employment the following Monday. Because the board was largely appointed by Governor Justice, two of which were sworn in the day of the meeting, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Governor Justice played a predominant role in the re-hiring of Steven Paine.

The following month Governor Justice signed HB 2711, a bill that was supposed to get rid of Common Core. It didn’t. It only renamed it. However, the legislation does allow counties to cast off Common Core if they choose to. And it did get rid of the Smarter Balanced testing regimen. But Common Core is still very much alive in West Virginia, which is one of the many reasons why the re-appointment of Steven Paine is such an egregious affront to West Virginians. And now that the governor has vetoed legislation that would have given counties a choice between the ACT tests and the SAT tests - everyone who has a stake in the West Virginia school system should be outraged.

Governor Justice has called for a “Special Session on Education Betterment”. It is coming up soon. The session will focus on the Comprehensive Education Reform legislation, SB 451 that passed the senate but didn’t make through the house. During the regular session, Governor Justice threatened to veto the bill. It never made it to his desk. However, based on what has gone on to this point, especially the re-appointment of Steven Paine as Superintendent, I question the governor’s commitment to “education betterment”. He would have to go a long way to dispel the notion that he isn’t partial to special interests that are dedicated to maintaining the status quo for their own financial betterment.