Dillon v. Board of Educ. of Wyoming County
| Citation | 351 S.E.2d 58,177 W.Va. 145 |
| Decision Date | 20 November 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 16830,16830 |
| Court | Supreme Court of West Virginia |
| Parties | , 36 Ed. Law Rep. 986 Patsy DILLON v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the COUNTY OF WYOMING, etc. |
Syllabus by the Court
1. 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.
2. County boards of education are bound by procedures they properly establish to conduct their affairs.
3. County boards of education have substantial discretion in matters relating to the hiring, assignment, transfer, and promotion of school personnel. Nevertheless, this discretion must be exercised reasonably, in the best interests of the schools, and in a manner which is not arbitrary and capricious.
4. Mandamus will lie to control a board of education in the exercise of its discretion upon a showing of caprice, passion, partiality, fraud, arbitrary conduct, some ulterior motive, or misapprehension of the law.
Allan N. Karlin, Morgantown, for appellant.
Harlen R. Tiller, Asst. Pros. Atty., Pineville, for appellee.
This is an appeal from a final order of the Circuit Court of Wyoming County, entered September 12, 1985, which denied the petition of the appellant, Patsy Dillon, for a writ of mandamus to compel the Wyoming County Board of Education to employ her as a language arts teacher at Mullens Middle School. The appellant contends that the circuit court erred in concluding that the Board's decision was not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. We agree, and we reverse the judgment of the circuit court.
The facts giving rise to this dispute are essentially uncontroverted. On August 23, 1984, Frank L. Blackwell, Superintendent of the Wyoming County Schools, posted a notice of a vacancy in the position of language arts teacher at Mullens Middle School. The notice specified that to be eligible for the position, applicants were required to possess a valid West Virginia teaching certificate in the language arts area.
On August 29, 1984, the appellant applied for the vacant position. The appellant is a certified teacher with specializations in English and social studies, grades one through nine, and in elementary education, grades one through eight. She has been teaching in the Wyoming County school system since 1969.
On August 30, 1984, Superintendent Blackwell telephoned the appellant and notified her that he intended to recommend that the Board of Education hire his sister-in-law, Tammy McKinney, to fill the position. Ms. McKinney is a certified teacher with specializations in English, grades seven through twelve, and as a school librarian, grades kindergarten through twelve. She had taught school in Wyoming County from 1977 to 1979, but had subsequently moved away and had only returned to the county seeking employment in the summer of 1984. Superintendent Blackwell told the appellant over the telephone that he was recommending Ms. McKinney because she had a masters degree and was, therefore, more qualified than the appellant.
On September 10, 1984, the Board of Education approved, without discussion, the superintendent's recommendation of Ms. McKinney for the teaching position at Mullens Middle School. The appellant subsequently filed a formal grievance with the Board, alleging that she had been denied a teaching position within her field and seeking to be assigned to the position filled by Ms. McKinney or to a similar position at another school. Attempts to settle the grievance were unsuccessful, and a hearing was conducted before the Board on January 7, 1985.
The evidence at the hearing before the Board reveals that Ms. McKinney has a masters degree in instructional science, 1 while the appellant has a bachelor's degree plus fifteen hours of graduate work. The evidence also shows that the appellant's graduate work was all in the language arts field, while only nine of Ms. McKinney's graduate hours related to that field. Neither applicant had taught language arts nor a related subject on a regular basis for the five years immediately preceding the posting of the vacancy at Mullens Middle School. 2
The evidence, however, shows that, prior to that five-year period, the appellant had taught language arts in the Wyoming County schools for approximately eight years. Ms. McKinney, who had seven years of teaching experience prior to 1979, had taught language arts in Wyoming and Fayette County junior high and high schools for approximately five years. Both applicants had received favorable evaluations during their teaching careers and had served as cheerleader sponsors and on textbook selection committees. In addition, Ms. McKinney had one year of extracurricular experience as a high school drama coach.
By letter dated January 15, 1985, the Board advised the appellant of its decision to deny her grievance on the ground that Ms. McKinney was better qualified for the teaching position. The appellant then instituted proceedings in the circuit court seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the Board to assign her to the position filled by Ms. McKinney. The circuit court issued a rule to show cause, and a hearing was conducted on April 25, 1985.
At the hearing before the circuit court, Superintendent Blackwell admitted that the appellant was qualified to fill the position at Mullens Middle School. He testified, however, that he had chosen to recommend Ms. McKinney for the position because of her "superior qualifications," which included her masters degree, specialization in library science, experience as a drama coach, and an ability to cooperate with people. Superintendent Blackwell testified that he had interviewed Ms. McKinney earlier in the summer of 1984 when she had first applied for a job with the Board, but admitted that at the time he decided to recommend her for the language arts position he did not know the field in which she had obtained her masters degree. The superintendent also admitted that he was only vaguely aware of the appellant's extracurricular activities and did not know that she had completed more graduate work in the language arts field and had more experience actually teaching that subject than Ms. McKinney. Superintendent Blackwell testified that he did not interview the appellant or seek further information regarding her qualifications for the position prior to making his recommendation.
By order entered September 12, 1985, the circuit court ruled that the conduct of the superintendent and the Board in hiring Ms. McKinney was not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion, and that the appellant was therefore not entitled to the relief prayed for. It is from this order, denying her application for a writ of mandamus, that Ms. Dillon now appeals.
The first question presented in this appeal is whether a school board is required to consider seniority in filling vacant teaching positions. W.Va.Code, 18A-4-8b(a) (1983), provides in pertinent part:
3
The appellant asserts that this provision requires the Board to select the most senior applicant to fill any vacancy unless his or her qualifications need improvement. The appellees assert that the plain language of the statute indicates that employment decisions are to be based solely upon the qualifications of the applicants, without regard to seniority.
Although we have not had occasion to consider this provision, it is evident that the statute's emphasis on the qualifications of applicants is in furtherance of the strong public policy favoring the hiring and advancement of teachers based on their abilities. Public education is a fundamental constitutional right in this State, and a prime function of the State government is to develop a high quality educational system, an integral part of which is qualified instructional personnel. Pauley v. Kelly, 162 W.Va. 672, 255 S.E.2d 859 (1979). See also Pauley v. Bailey, --- W.Va. ---, 324 S.E.2d 128 (1984). "[T]he State has a legitimate interest in the quality, integrity and efficiency of its public schools in furtherance of which it is not only the responsibility but also the duty of school administrators to screen those [in] ... the teaching profession to see that they meet this standard." James v. West Virginia Board of Regents, 322 F.Supp. 217, 229 (S.D.W.Va.), aff'd, 448 F.2d 785 (4th Cir.1971). The county boards of education perform these functions on behalf of the State in the hiring and placement of teachers. Boggs v. Board of Education, 161 W.Va. 471, 244 S.E.2d 799 (1978), overruled on other grounds, Ohio Valley Contractors v. Board of Education, --- W.Va. ---, 293 S.E.2d 437 (1982).
On the other hand, W.Va.Code, 18A-4-8b(a), expressly requires the school board to give an applicant with seniority who is not hired to fill a vacant position a written statement of the reasons for its decision to hire a teacher with less seniority along with suggestions as to how the more senior applicant can improve his or her qualifications. Prior to 1983, W.Va.Code, 18A-4-8b, entitled "Seniority rights for professional and school service personnel," granted professional personnel seniority rights only with regard to lay-offs and preferential recalls. By the addition of the language in question...
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