State ex rel. Jones v. Board of Educ. of Ritchie County

• Decision Date: 22 July 1987
• Docket Number: No. 17429,17429
• Citation: 359 S.E.2d 606,178 W.Va. 378
• Parties: , 41 Ed. Law Rep. 783 STATE of West Virginia ex rel. Thomas Michael JONES, et al. v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF RITCHIE COUNTY.
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court

Page 606

359 S.E.2d 606

178 W.Va. 378, 41 Ed. Law Rep. 783

STATE of West Virginia ex rel. Thomas Michael JONES, et al. v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF RITCHIE COUNTY.

No. 17429.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

July 22, 1987.

Syllabus by the Court

" 'Mandamus does not lie to control a board of education in the exercise of its discretion, in the absence of caprice, passion, partiality, fraud, arbitrary conduct, some ulterior motive, or misapprehension of law upon the part of such board.' Point 1 Syllabus, State ex rel. Payne v. Board of Education of Jefferson County, 135 W.Va. 349 [63 S.E.2d 579 (1951) ]." Syllabus point 5, State ex rel. Withers v. Board of Education, 153 W.Va. 867, 172 S.E.2d 796 (1970).

George E. Lantz, Parkersburg, for appellees.

C. David Morrison, J. Greg Goodykoontz, Steptoe & Johnson, Clarksburg, for appellant.

PER CURIAM:

This is an appeal brought by the Ritchie County Board of Education (hereinafter "the Board") from an order of the Circuit Court of Ritchie County, entered August 29, 1986, which granted a writ of mandamus to prevent the Board from implementing an amendment to the county's Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan which would have required the consolidation and closing of certain county schools. The lower court concluded that the Board failed to follow the proper statutory procedure for approval of the amendment. We disagree and we reverse the judgment of the circuit court.

In January 1985, the Board and the Ritchie County Superintendent of Schools began reviewing the county's instructional program in order to determine how best to implement the requirements of West Virginia Board of Education Policy No. 2510, establishing minimum standards for quality education in the public schools. After consulting with school administrators and representatives of local parent-teacher organizations, the Board and the Superintendent decided that the requirements of Policy No. 2510 might be best satisfied by reorganizing the structure of the county school system and developed four alternative proposals for school consolidations and/or closings. These proposals were initially presented to the public at a community meeting conducted on March 8, 1985.

At a regular Board meeting held on March 11, 1985, the Superintendent explained Policy No. 2510 and presented a general overview of the alternative reorganization proposals. The meeting was open to the public and was attended by a number of interested citizens. After a discussion of the reorganization proposals, a majority of the Board approved a plan which provided for one consolidated high school at Harrisville, middle schools at Cairo and Pennsboro, and elementary schools at Cairo, Ellenboro, Pennsboro, Smithville and Harrisville. In addition, the plan called for the Pullman early childhood education center and the Auburn multi-grade one-room school to be used as needed.

At a regular Board meeting held on March 28, 1985, a number of citizens expressed opposition to the reorganization plan and questioned the Board and the Superintendent as to the services to be provided in the reorganized schools. On April 8, 1985, the appellees herein, citizens, voters, residents and taxpayers of Ritchie County, instituted mandamus proceedings in the Circuit Court of Ritchie County seeking to compel the Board to set aside the reorganization plan.

On April 16, 1985, the Board conducted a special public meeting to vote on amending the county's Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan (CEFP) ¹ to conform to the reorganization proposal approved by the Board on March 11, 1985. A large number of people appeared at the meeting and spoke against the proposal. A majority of the Board, however, voted to proceed with the CEFP amendment and directed the Superintendent to institute the necessary procedures for its approval by the West Virginia Board of Education (hereinafter "the State Board").

On April 25, 1985, a written statement of the Board's reasons and supporting data for the consolidation proposal was filed in the Superintendent's office and made available to the public. A public hearing was advertised and set for May 21, 1985. At the hearing, opportunity was afforded citizens to speak, submit statements and question the Board and the Superintendent.

At a special meeting conducted on May 30, 1985, the Board voted to revise the reorganization plan to provide for an additional middle school at Harrisville and for continuation of the Pullman and Auburn schools. After receiving conflicting reports from the State Superintendent of Schools as to whether these revisions would be accepted, however, the Board held another special meeting on June 6, 1985 and voted to rescind its action of May 30, 1985. The final CEFP amendment submitted to the State Board conformed to the reorganization plan ratified by the Board on March 11, 1985 except insofar as it provided for the continuation of the Auburn school and the closing of the Pullman school.

On June 29, 1985, the State Board unanimously approved the Ritchie County CEFP amendment on condition that the Board implement certain improvements to specified school facilities and changes in the proposed curriculum and transportation system to bring the consolidation plan within State Board standards. At about the same time, the parties to this action apparently agreed to postpone indefinitely any hearing on the appellees' mandamus petition pending an evaluation of the State Board's ruling.

In the spring of 1986, a team of experts from the State Board studied the Ritchie County school system and determined that the required improvements had been completed. After a meeting at which proponents and opponents of the reorganization plan were afforded an opportunity to express their views, the State Board, on June 13, 1986, found that the conditions for ratification of the CEFP amendment had been met and approved implementation of the consolidation plan.

On July 2, 1986, the appellees herein filed an amended petition for a writ of mandamus in the Circuit Court of Ritchie County alleging that the Board had failed to comply with the procedures required by West Virginia Code § 18-5-13a (1987 Cum.Supp.) for implementing the reorganization plan and that the plan itself was unworkable, unaffordable and would result in a reduction in the quality of education in the Ritchie County schools. The Board filed an answer denying the allegations. An evidentiary hearing was commenced on July 23, 1986, and the testimony continued until August 15, 1986.

By memorandum order dated August 29, 1986, the circuit court concluded that there was a rational basis for the Board's decision to reorganize the school structure and found no grounds for reviewing the merits of the plan or interfering with the State Board's conclusion that the plan met or exceeded state standards. The court also found, however, that the reorganization plan presented at the public hearing on May 21, 1985 was incomplete and inadequate, as evidenced by the fact that the plan was revised several times thereafter, and ruled that the Board's adoption of the final CEFP amendment was therefore arbitrary and capricious. The court also concluded that the Board had violated the provisions of W.Va.Code § 18-5-13a by revising the reorganization plan without additional notice and further public hearings. On these grounds, the court granted the writ of mandamus prayed for. It is from this order that the Board prosecutes this appeal.

At the outset, we note that in this appeal we are not concerned with the wisdom of the Board's decision to reorganize the Ritchie County schools or with the merits of the plan itself. Under W.Va.Code § 18-5-13 (1987 Cum.Supp.), the county boards of education have the authority to close or consolidate county schools, and a decision in that regard is a matter within the sound discretion of the board of education. " '[M]andamus does not lie to control a board of education in the exercise of its discretion, in the absence of caprice, passion, partiality, fraud, arbitrary conduct, some ulterior motive, or misapprehension of law upon the part of such board.' Point 1 Syllabus, State ex rel. Payne v. Board of Education of Jefferson County, 135 W.Va. 349 [63 S.E.2d 579 (1951) ]." Syllabus point 5, State ex rel. Withers v. Board of Education, 153 W.Va. 867, 172 S.E.2d 796 (1970).

There is ample evidence in the record before this Court to support the conclusion that reorganization was an acceptable means of effectuating State Board policy and that the plan, as approved, met or exceeded state standards. Although the appellees still dispute whether consolidation will improve the quality of education in the Ritchie County schools, neither we nor the circuit court can substitute our judgment on this issue for that of the professional educators and administrators charged with the promulgation and implementation of state educational policy. See Dillon v. Board of Education, 171 W.Va. 631, 301 S.E.2d 588 (1983); Fox v. Board of Education, 160 W.Va. 668, 236 S.E.2d 243 (1977).

Rather, the key question in this appeal is whether the Board failed...