The Senate folded:
West Virginia lawmakers said Tuesday morning that a deal has been reached to deliver a 5% pay raise for all state employees, including striking teachers, according to the state committee meeting on the matter.
The deal is intended to end a teachers’ strike that has canceled nine consecutive school days across the state. Teachers’ union representative Christine Campbell told CNN she anticipates school will back in session Wednesday if the bill is passed Tuesday in the House of Delegates and Senate.
At a legislative conference committee meeting Tuesday to resolve the issue, Republican state Sen. Craig Blair said the new deal represents the largest pay raise in state history. There will be no tax increase to offset the raise, and Blair said the government will see a $20 million reduction in spending to come out of cuts to general services and Medicaid.
Not happy with the cuts to medicaid, but there is apparently $58 million in surplus revenue (I don’t honestly understand), so hopefully that will be applied to PEIA once that commission gets going. Who knows. I hope this starts a wave of teacher strikes.