WVEA

The legislative working group considering education reform issues has finished its work and submitted its proposals to Gov. Joe Manchin.

The group was formed after the June special session on education hit a dead end with a number of the governor's plans going nowhere. The working group, made up of House and Senate members, was charged with reaching a consensus on the ideas and then send them back to the governor.

State Senator Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, says the group held its last meeting Monday and heard from Gov. Manchin who thanked the group for its work.

Foster says Manchin will decide what to put on the agenda. "It remains to be seen what will be introduced," he said. "But I'm still optimistic we'll be able to act upon much of this agenda during the special session."

The special session is currently scheduled to resume next Monday.

The working group reached consensus on seven education reform issues that had been discussed previously. The members also adopted a few ideas from the labor groups representing the state's education employees.

Sen. Foster says his goal is to stop current trends in public education including drop out rates, low performances on tests and poor graduation rates in colleges.

Foster admits he's been concerned about what kind of appetite lawmakers would have for education reform after working on the succession issue in a special session that begins Thursday, but he says the governor appears confident both can be done.

"We'll see," Foster said. "Obviously there are other political dynamics that are going on that will take precedence over dealing with this thing."