Cahill v. Mercer County Bd. of Educ.
| Decision Date | 13 December 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 22808,22808 |
| Citation | 195 W.Va. 453,465 S.E.2d 910 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | , 106 Ed. Law Rep. 390 Sue CAHILL, Carolyn Donchatz and Sue Sommer, Appellants Below, Appellees v. MERCER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, Appellee Below, Appellant. |
Syllabus by the Court
1. Syl.Pt. 1, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources/Welch Emergency Hosp. v. Blankenship, 189 W.Va. 342, 431 S.E.2d 681 (1993).
2. "Under W.Va.Code, 18A-4-8b(a) (1983), decisions of a county board of education affecting teacher promotions and the filling of vacant teaching positions must be based primarily upon the applicants' qualifications for the job, with seniority having a bearing on the selection process when the applicants have otherwise equivalent qualifications or where the differences in qualification criteria are insufficient to form the basis for an informed and rational decision." Syl.Pt. 1, Dillon v. Board of Educ., 177 W.Va. 145, 351 S.E.2d 58 (1986).
3. Syl.Pt. 3, Dillon v. Board of Educ., 177 W.Va. 145, 351 S.E.2d 58 (1986).
4. Syl.Pt. 4, Board of Educ. of the County of Wood v. Enoch, 186 W.Va. 712, 414 S.E.2d 630 (1992).
J.W. Barringer, Stone, McGhee, Feuchtenberger & Barringer, Bluefield, for Appellees.
Kathryn R. Bayless, Bayless, McFadden & Cyrus, Princeton, for Appellant.
This is an appeal by the Mercer County Board of Education (hereinafter "the Board") from a July 29, 1994, decision of the Circuit Court of Mercer County in favor of the Appellees, Sue Cahill, Carolyn Donchatz, and Sue Sommer, teachers in Mercer County. The Board alleges that the lower court erroneously required it to employ the Appellees rather than the three other individuals originally assigned to the positions in question. Based upon our review of this matter, we reverse the decision of the lower court and remand with directions.
On May 9, 1989, Personnel Director Dr. Stephen Akers posted job openings for grades K-4 supervisory positions and listings for general supervisors, including a general supervisor's position with responsibility in the area of Social Studies. The Appellees each filed an application for the position of Supervisor of Elementary Education, and Appellee Carolyn Donchatz also applied for the position of Social Studies Supervisor. The Board awarded the positions for Elementary Education Supervisors to Rick Ball Anne Krout, and Bill Sherwood. 1 The position of Social Studies Supervisor was awarded to Carol Alley.
Upon the filing of grievances by each of the Appellees, a hearing examiner remanded the matter for reevaluation by the Board, reasoning that the method initially utilized by the Board to conduct its selections was flawed and that Superintendent William Baker's personal knowledge of some of the successful applicants had played an inordinate role in his recommendation to the Board. The hearing examiner ordered the Board to "complete a thorough and objective reevaluation of the applications...." The order suggested that anyone involved in the initial selection process should be prohibited from participating in the reevaluation, thus establishing an independent panel for the reevaluation.
The Board did not appeal that decision of the hearing examiner and proceeded to conduct a second evaluation of the applicants. Although he had been involved in the initial selection, Dr. Akers also participated in the reevaluation process. 2 Subsequent to this reconsideration, the original successful applicants retained their positions, and the Appellees filed a second grievance.
This second grievance was heard before an administrative law judge (hereinafter "ALJ") on January 24, 1992. The Appellees employed Dr. Ted Viars of Salem, Virginia, as an education expert to conduct a blind study of all applications, the job announcement, and the job descriptions. Dr. Viars ranked the Appellees as the three most qualified candidates. The ALJ permitted Dr. Viars to testify at the hearing, but refused to consider his testimony as expert testimony. 3
The Appellees also contended before the ALJ that Dr. Akers' participation in the reevaluation tainted the process to the extent that Dr. Akers personally selected the individuals comprising the reevaluation committee, assisted in the development of hypothetical questions, failed to consider the relationships between the committee members and the job applicants, and failed to schedule sufficient time for interviews and reviews of applicant resumes.
The ALJ concluded that the Board had adequately reevaluated the matter and had properly retained the three originally successful applicants. Specifically, the ALJ found that the reevaluation committee was not flawed or inadequate. The ALJ reviewed the evidence, found the reevaluation process to be reasonable, and found that the successful candidates should be retained. The ALJ specifically found that the Appellees had "failed to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that they were more qualified for the positions than those selected."
The lower court reversed the ALJ's decision on appeal, reasoning that the Board's reevaluation committee was not independent, that Dr. Viars should have been accorded expert status, and that the Appellees were the most qualified candidates for the positions. The Board now appeals that decision to this Court, contending that the lower court erred in reversing a decision of the ALJ which was not clearly wrong.
Appeals from the West Virginia Educational Employees Grievance Board are to be reviewed under West Virginia Code § 18-29-7 (1994). 4 Martin v. Randolph County Bd. of Educ., 195 W.Va. 297, 465 S.E.2d 399 (1995). In syllabus point one of West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources/Welch Emergency Hospital v. Blankenship, 189 W.Va. 342, 431 S.E.2d 681 (1993), we explained that 189 W.Va. at 343, 431 S.E.2d at 682; see Syl.Pt. 1, Ohio County Bd. of Educ. v. Hopkins, 193 W.Va. 600, 457 S.E.2d 537 (1995); Syl.Pt. 1, Parham v. Raleigh County Bd. of Educ., 192 W.Va. 540, 453 S.E.2d 374 (1994); Syl.Pt. 3, Lucion v. McDowell County Bd. of Educ., 191 W.Va. 399, 446 S.E.2d 487 (1994). Questions of law and the application of law to the facts, however, are reviewed de novo. Martin, 195 W.Va. at 304, 465 S.E.2d at 406.
The controlling statute at the time of the posting of these positions was West Virginia Code § 18A-4-8b(a) (1988) 5, which provided, in pertinent part, that "[a] county board of education shall make decisions affecting the promotion and filling of any classroom teacher's position occurring on the basis of qualifications." According to our interpretation of that statute in syllabus point one of Dillon v. Board of Education, 177 W.Va. 145, 351 S.E.2d 58 (1986):
Under W.Va.Code, 18A-4-8b(a) (1983), decisions of a county board of education affecting teacher promotions and the filling of vacant teaching positions must be based primarily upon the applicants' qualifications for the job, with seniority having a bearing on the selection process when the applicants have otherwise equivalent qualifications or where the differences in qualification criteria are insufficient to form the basis for an informed and rational decision.
The qualifications of the various candidates in the case sub judice were submitted and reviewed at the several levels of grievance through which this matter has traversed. A review of those records establishes that Appellee Carolyn Donchatz had twenty-three years of teaching experience, eighteen of which were in Mercer County. She had an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with a specialization in Social Studies. She also had a Master's Degree in Reading, plus thirty-three additional graduate hours. She was certified in Elementary Education 1-8, Social Studies 7-9, and was a Reading Specialist in K-12. Mrs. Donchatz also had extensive experience in the formulation of curriculum for the Mercer County school system.
Appellee Sue Cahill had eighteen years teaching experience in Mercer County, had a degree in Elementary Education, and a Master's Degree in Educational Supervision plus thirty additional graduate hours. She was certified in Elementary Education 1-9 with a specialization in Social Studies. Appellee Sue Sommer had sixteen years experience, ten of which were in Mercer County. She had a degree in Elementary Education and a Master's Degree in Education with a concentration in reading and minor concentration in speech/communication. She is certified in Elementary Education 1-8, Speech 1-9, English 7-12,...
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Cahill v. Mercer County Bd. of Educ.
...that Appellees were the more qualified applicants, we found it necessary to remand this case. Cahill v. Mercer County Bd. of Educ. (Cahill I), 195 W.Va. 453, 458-59, 465 S.E.2d 910, 915-16 (1995). In Cahill I, this Court expressly reminded the lower court of its obligation to accord substan......
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Reece v. Bd. Of Trustees/Marshall Univ., 24153.
...proceeding. See Martin v. Randolph County Board of Education, 195 W.Va. 297, 465 S.E.2d 399 (1995), and Cahill v. Mercer County Board of Education, 195 W.Va. 453, 465 S.E.2d 910 (1995). Those grounds are that the decision of the hearing examiner (i) is contrary to the law or a lawfully adop......