Johnson v. Cassell

• Decision Date: 05 December 1989
• Docket Number: No. 18993,18993
• Citation: 182 W.Va. 317,387 S.E.2d 553
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: , 58 Ed. Law Rep. 356 Robert JOHNSON v. Grey M. CASSELL, Superintendent and Madeline Blue, President, and Galen Shingleton, Joe Pancake, Members of the Hampshire County Board of Education.

Page 553

387 S.E.2d 553

182 W.Va. 317, 58 Ed. Law Rep. 356

Robert JOHNSON v. Grey M. CASSELL, Superintendent and Madeline Blue President, and Galen Shingleton, Joe Pancake Members of the Hampshire County Board of Education.

No. 18993.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Dec. 5, 1989.

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.' Syllabus Point 1, Dillon v. Bd. of Educ. of the County of Wyoming, 177 W.Va. 145, 351 S.E.2d 58 (1986)." Syllabus Point 1, State ex rel. Oser v. Haskins, 179 W.Va. 789, 374 S.E.2d 184 (1988).

2. " '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.' Syllabus Point 3, Dillon v. Bd. of Educ. of the County of Wyoming, 177 W.Va. 145, 351 S.E.2d 58 (1986)." Syllabus Point 2, State ex rel. Oser v. Haskins, 179 W.Va. 789, 374 S.E.2d 184 (1988).

Daniel C. Staggers, Staggers & Webb, Keyser and William McGinley, Charleston, for Robert Johnson.

Marcia J. Pollard, Steptoe & Johnson, Morgantown, for Grey M. Cassell, Members of the Bd. of Educ.

PER CURIAM:

This case is before this Court upon an appeal from a final order of the Circuit Court of Hampshire County dated October 10, 1988. In such order, the circuit court denied issuance of a writ of prohibition against the Hampshire County Board of Education. The petitioner, Robert Johnson, had petitioned the circuit court for a writ of prohibition to stop the Hampshire County School Board from placing an unqualified teacher in a vacant position for which he was qualified. For reasons set forth in this opinion, we reverse the order of the circuit court.

Robert Johnson is currently employed by the Berkeley County Board of Education as a gifted education teacher. However, he has resided in Hampshire County since 1980, and has desired to return to teaching in his home county upon the opening of a position in his field. He filed an application for employment in Hampshire County in June of 1987, and had also spoken to school officials concerning his interest in teaching in Hampshire County.

A teaching vacancy for gifted education in Hampshire County occurred in August 1987. On August 4, 1987, the Board of Education posted notices for the job vacancy in the schools, and also published notices in three area newspapers. The qualifications requirement in such job posting stated:

Applicants must hold, or be eligible for, a West Virginia Teaching Certificate in the areas of Learning Disability 7-12; Teacher of the Gifted-K-12.

The deadline for applications was August 18, 1987. The notices that were published in the area newspapers revealed that the job was open to current employees of the Hampshire County school system until August 14, 1987, and subsequent to that date, the job vacancy would be open to the public. Mr. Johnson saw the advertisement and arranged for an interview with the Director of Special Education in Hampshire County on August 5, 1987.

On August 17, 1987, upon recommendation of the county superintendent, the Board of Education voted to hire Charles Streisel for the position. Mr. Streisel was the only other candidate for the position. He was employed at the time by the Hampshire County Board of Education.

Mr. Johnson protested to the state superintendent of schools but received no response from such protests. He then instituted action in the Circuit Court of Hampshire County on January 14, 1988, seeking to prohibit the Board of Education from hiring a teacher who was unqualified for the vacant position. On September 22, 1988, the circuit court issued an opinion denying the writ of prohibition, and on October 10, 1988, the final order denying the same was entered.

The qualifications of the two candidates vary in important respects. Robert Johnson has obtained his master's degree in special education, and is specifically qualified in the field of gifted education. He has been certified by the state to teach in gifted education programs. He has eleven years teaching experience in the specialized area of gifted education, seven years under a state permit and four years after being fully certified. Charles Streisel, on the other hand, is certified by the state to teach only in the areas of general science and mathematics. At the time he was selected for the position as a teacher of gifted education, he did not possess a master's degree, was not certified to teach special education, or gifted education in particular, and had no experience teaching in a gifted education program. However, the county superintendent saw fit to alleviate these shortcomings and arranged for a temporary permit to be issued to Mr. Streisel to allow him to teach gifted education.

W.Va.Code § 18A-4-8b(a) (1988) states in pertinent part that "[a] county board of education shall make decisions affecting promotion and filling of any classroom teacher's position occurring on the basis of qualifications...."...