Miller v. Boone County BOE
Annotate this Case
September 1993 Term
___________
No. 21665
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DREMA MILLER, DENNIS MILLER, SHERYL BOTHWELL,
CHARLES HENSLEY, SHARON GRIFFITH, BEVERLY MILAM,
GARRY BOWMAN, LILLIAN KAY THURMOND, CYNTHIA SPRATT,
ELIZABETH SNODGRASS, ARTHUR BARKER, JR.,
CARL ELLIS AND LINDA BAILEY,
Plaintiffs Below, Appellees
v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE COUNTY OF BOONE,
Defendant Below, Appellant
___________________________________________________
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Boone County
Honorable W. Jack Stevens, Judge
Civil Action No. 91-C-145
REVERSED
___________________________________________________
Submitted: September 15, 1993
Filed: November 1, 1993
Timothy R. Conaway
Madison, West Virginia
Attorney for the Appellant
John Everett Roush
West Virginia School Service Personnel Association
Charleston, West Virginia
Attorney for the Appellees
JUSTICE McHUGH delivered the Opinion of the Court.
SYLLABUS BY THE COURT
1. "Under W.Va. Code, 18A-2-8a (1977), the local board
of education is required to receive from the county superintendent
a list of all probationary employees who are to be considered for
rehiring on or before the first Monday in May. Those probationary
personnel who are not rehired must be sent notices. Consequently,
the board will have actual notice of who is proposed to be rehired
and must take affirmative steps to approve rehiring." Syl. pt. 2,
Bonnell v. Carr, 170 W. Va. 493, 294 S.E.2d 910 (1982).
2. "A statutory provision which is clear and unambiguous
and plainly expresses the legislative intent will not be
interpreted by the courts but will be given full force and effect."
Syl. pt. 2, State v. Epperly, 135 W. Va. 877, 65 S.E.2d 488 (1951).
3. "Failure to renew a probationary teacher's employment
contract is an administrative act that entitles the teacher to a
grievance procedure hearing, where such procedure has been adopted
by the employer board of education and made applicable to all
school employees. The fact that the procedure may be generous
beyond statutory or constitutional requirements does not preclude
the teacher from availing himself of the rights provided by the
procedure." Syl. pt. 2, Powell v. Brown, 160 W. Va. 723, 238 S.E.2d 220 (1977).
4. "School personnel regulations and laws are to be
strictly construed in favor of the employee." Syl. pt. 1, Morgan
v. Pizzino, 163 W. Va. 454, 256 S.E.2d 592 (1979).
5. "'An error which is not prejudicial to the
complaining party is harmless and does not require reversal of the
final judgment.' Syllabus Point 4, Burns v. Goff, 164 W. Va. 301,
262 S.E.2d 772 (1980)." Syl. pt. 2, Robertson v. Truby, 170 W. Va.
62, 289 S.E.2d 736 (1982).
6. W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] does not require the
board of education or superintendent to take some affirmative
action before the first Monday in May when not rehiring
probationary employees other than notifying the employees that they
will not be rehired, and if requested, providing a reason for the
nonrenewal and a hearing.
McHugh, Justice:
This case is before the Court upon the appeal of the
Board of Education of Boone County from the October 9, 1992 order
of the Circuit Court of Boone County. The circuit court's order
reversed the March 5, 1991 decision of the West Virginia Education
and State Employees Grievance Board when ruling in favor of the
appellees by finding that W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] requires
that a hearing be held on or before the first Monday in May when
not rehiring probationary employees.See footnote 1 The appellees, who were
former bus drivers for the Board of Education of Boone County, are
Drema Miller, Dennis Miller, Sheryl Bothwell, Charles Hensley,
Sharon Griffith, Beverly Milam, Garry Bowman, Lillian Kay Thurmond,
Cynthia Spratt, Elizabeth Snodgrass, Arthur Barker, Jr., Carl
Ellis, and Linda Bailey. For reasons set forth below we reverse
the circuit court's order.
I
The appellees had been hired by the Board of Education of
Boone County as probationary employees for the 1989-1990 school
year. The appellees each received a letter dated March 19, 1990,
from the superintendent of Boone County public schools. The March
19, 1990 letters stated that on March 16, 1990, the superintendent
had recommended at a board of education meeting that the bus
drivers not be rehired for the following school year. The
superintendent explained in the March 19, 1990 letters that
"[s]chool closings, school consolidations, and the reorganization
of the Boone County School System, have brought about a county-wide
reduction in force through position eliminations in your area of
classification."
However, the March 19, 1990 letters were written before
the March 16, 1990 board of education meeting, and due to the
teacher's strike, the board of education was unable to address the
status of probationary employees at the March 16, 1990 meeting.
On April 3, 1990, the board of education met and addressed the
rehiring of school personnel; however, the minutes of that meeting
do not indicate that the appellees were discussed. The board of
education did discuss other personnel whose contracts would not be
renewed.
The superintendent sent a letter to each of the appellees
dated May 3, 1990, which stated that the board of education would
meet on May 15, 1990, "to provide you a hearing regarding your
proposed termination of employment contract . . . ." The hearing
was held on May 16, 1990. The superintendent sent a letter to each
of the bus drivers dated May 17, 1990, which stated that at their
May 16, 1990 meeting the board of education approved his
recommendation that the bus drivers not be rehired.
The appellees filed a grievance with the West Virginia
Education and State Employees Grievance Board pursuant to W. Va.
Code, 18-29-1, et seq. alleging that they were terminated by board
action on May 16, 1990, thus violating the time requirement in W.Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977]. The grievance was denied at levels I
and II. The parties waived level III.
At level IV the hearing examiner denied the grievance on
March 5, 1991, by finding that although W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a
[1977] requires the board to take action before the first Monday in
May when hiring probationary employees, W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a
[1977] does not require board action when employees are not rehired
since probationary employees do not have continuing contracts of
employment. The hearing examiner also found that the March 19,
1990 letter fulfilled the notification requirement of the statute.See footnote 2
The Circuit Court of Boone County reversed the level IV
decision by an order dated October 9, 1992, in which it held that
W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a "requires that a hearing be held on or before
the first Monday [in May] . . . to approve the rehiring of all
probationary school personnel." The appellant appeals the October
9, 1992 order.
II
We first address the appellant's contention that the
circuit court erred in finding that W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977]
requires that a hearing be held on or before the first Monday in
May to approve the rehiring of all probationary school personnel.
Although we agree with the appellant's contention, we point out
that the posture of the case below was whether or not the board of
education had to take some affirmative action other than notice
before the first Monday in May when not rehiring a probationary
employee.See footnote 3 The appellees contend that the affirmative action
required is a vote or indication in the minutes of the board of
education meeting that a probationary employee is not being
rehired. For reasons set forth below, we do not think that the
board of education needs to do anything more than follow the notice
requirements of W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] when a probationary
employee is not being rehired.
W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] states:
The superintendent at a meeting of the
board on or before the first Monday in May of
each year shall provide in writing to the
board a list of all probationary teachers that
he recommends to be rehired for the next
ensuing school year. The board shall act upon
the superintendent's recommendations at that
meeting in accordance with section one [§ 18A-
2-1] of this article. The board at this same
meeting shall also act upon the retention of
other probationary employees as provided in
sections four and five [§§ 18A-2-4, repealed
and 18A-2-5] of this article. Any such
probationary teacher or other probationary
employee who is not rehired by the board at
that meeting shall be notified in writing, by
certified mail, return receipt requested, to
such persons' last known addresses within ten
days following said board meeting, of their
not having been rehired or not having been
recommended for rehiring.
Any probationary teacher who receives
notice that he has not been recommended for
rehiring or other probationary employee who
has not been reemployed may within ten days
after receiving the written notice request a
statement of the reasons for not having been
rehired and may request a hearing before the
board. Such hearing shall be held at the next
regularly scheduled board of education meeting
or a special meeting of the board called
within thirty days of the request for hearing.
At the hearing, the reasons for the
nonrehiring must be shown.
The appellees contend that the above statute requires the board of
education to take some affirmative action before the first Monday
in May when not rehiring a probationary employee.
However, the statute plainly states, in pertinent part,
that "[t]he superintendent at a meeting of the board on or before
the first Monday in May . . . shall provide in writing to the board
a list of all probationary teachers that he recommends to be
rehired for the next ensuing school year." W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a
[1977] (emphasis added). There is no mention of a hearing being
held before the first Monday in May nor is there any mention of the
superintendent having to provide a list of those probationary
employees who are not being rehired. There is also no mention of
the board of education having to take some action to not rehire
probationary employees. The only mention of probationary employees
who are not being rehired is that they are to be provided notice of
the nonrenewal of their contract, and if requested, a statement of
the reasons for the nonrenewal of the contract and a hearing.
Furthermore, in syllabus point 2 of Bonnell v. Carr, 170
W. Va. 493, 294 S.E.2d 910 (1982) this Court stated:
Under W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a (1977), the
local board of education is required to
receive from the county superintendent a list
of all probationary employees who are to be
considered for rehiring on or before the first
Monday in May. Those probationary personnel
who are not rehired must be sent notices.
Consequently, the board will have actual
notice of who is proposed to be rehired and
must take affirmative steps to approve
rehiring.
In Bonnell we recognized that an affirmative step must be taken when rehiring probationary employees, but no mention was made of probationary employees who were not being rehired because W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] does not require an affirmative action in that instance. Not only is W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] clear that no affirmative action is required when not rehiring a probationary employee, but that is the only interpretation which makes sense because a probationary employee's contract is for one year and the contract automatically expires if it is not renewed without any affirmative action by the board of education. This Court has stated that "[a] statutory provision which is clear and unambiguous and plainly expresses the legislative intent will not be interpreted by the courts but will be given full force and effect." Syl. pt. 2, State v. Epperly, 135 W. Va. 877, 65 S.E.2d 488 (1951).
However, in syllabus point 2 of Powell v. Brown, 160
W.Va. 723, 238 S.E.2d 220 (1977) we recognized that a
[f]ailure to renew a probationary teacher's
employment contract is an administrative act
that entitles the teacher to a grievance
procedure hearing, where such procedure has
been adopted by the employer board of
education and made applicable to all school
employees. The fact that the procedure may be
generous beyond statutory or constitutional
requirements does not preclude the teacher
from availing himself of the rights provided
by the procedure.
We pointed out in Powell that a nontenured teacher usually does not
have a property interest in his job which is protected by the
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. See
Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S. Ct. 2701, 33 L. Ed. 2d 548 (1972). However, as we noted in syllabus
point 2 of Powell, if the school board does provide a grievance
procedure, it must follow it even if the procedure goes beyond what
is mandated by the constitution.
In the case before us, we will not attempt to erode the
rights of the grievant which we established in Powell, supra.
Therefore, the appellant in the case before us must follow the
notice requirements of W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977]. Furthermore,
we have stated in syllabus point 1 of Morgan v. Pizzino, 163 W. Va.
454, 256 S.E.2d 592 (1979) that "[s]chool personnel regulations and
laws are to be strictly construed in favor of the employee." This
case does not lessen the above standard. However, our decision to
strictly construe school personnel regulations and laws in favor of
the employee does not mean that we will ignore the plain meaning or
purpose of the statutes or regulations and rule in favor of the
employee in all cases. Our role is to fairly interpret and apply
the laws and regulations.
Therefore, when determining whether or not the appellees
were properly notified of the nonrenewal of their contracts and
given an opportunity to request a statement of reasons and a
hearing, it is important to remember the purpose of the
notification requirement. In State ex rel. Hawks v. Lazaro, 157 W.
Va. 417, 440, 202 S.E.2d 109, 124 (1974), we noted that "[n]otice
contemplates meaningful notice which affords an opportunity to
prepare a defense and to be heard upon the merits." Clearly, the
legislature wanted probationary employees whose contracts were not
being renewed to be timely notified so that the employees have an
opportunity to respond in order to ensure that the nonrenewal was
not occurring for unfair reasons.
In the case before us the appellees were notified by
letters dated March 19, 1990 that their contracts were not being
renewed. However, the board of education did not discuss the
renewal of probationary employee contracts until April 3, 1990, due
to the teacher's strike.
W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] states, in pertinent part,
that "[a]ny such probationary teacher or other probationary
employee who is not rehired by the board at that meeting shall be
notified in writing . . . within ten days following said board
meeting, [the board meeting held before the first Monday in May
where the probationary employees are rehired] of their not having
been rehired or not having been recommended for rehiring."
Therefore, according to the statute, the appellees should have been
notified within ten days of the April 3, 1990 meeting. However,
the appellees were notified before the April 3, 1990 meeting.
In the case before us there is no indication that the
appellees were harmed by the earlier notice since the notice they
received did afford them an opportunity "to prepare a defense and
to be heard upon the merits." State ex rel. Hawks, 157 W. Va. at
440, 202 S.E.2d at 124. This is especially true since the board is
not required to have a hearing before the first Monday in May, but
is required, at the latest, to have a hearing within thirty days of
the request for the hearing. In the case before us the hearing
examiner noted that the appellees did not ever request a hearing.See footnote 4
As we pointed out in syllabus point 2 of Robertson v. Truby, 170 W.
Va. 62, 289 S.E.2d 736 (1982), "'[a]n error which is not
prejudicial to the complaining party is harmless and does not
require reversal of the final judgment.' Syllabus Point 4, Burns
v. Goff, 164 W. Va. 301, 262 S.E.2d 772 (1980)."
Accordingly, we hold that W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977]
does not require the board of education or superintendent to take
some affirmative action before the first Monday in May when not
rehiring probationary employees other than notifying the employees
that they will not be rehired, and if requested, providing a reason
for the nonrenewal and a hearing.
III
We next address the appellant's contention that the
circuit court erred in finding that the findings of fact of the
administrative law judge are clearly wrong. We examined the record
and could find no material difference between the findings of fact.
Therefore, we hold that the findings of fact of the circuit court
do not materially differ from the administrative law judge's
findings of fact.
IV
Based on the foregoing, the October 9, 1992 order of the
Circuit Court of Boone County is reversed.
Reversed.
Footnote: 1The circuit court entered another order dated February 8, 1993, to correct the October 9, 1992 order since it failed to mention the word "May" when stating that W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] requires a hearing before the first Monday in May. Footnote: 2The hearing examiner noted in her March 5, 1991 order that although the issue of whether the March 19, 1990 letter fulfilled the notification requirement of W. Va. Code, 18A-2-8a [1977] was discussed, the appellees' counsel "reiterated that the only issue in these cases is whether the Board of Education should have taken affirmative action regarding Grievants' employment before the first Monday in May." However, the hearing examiner did address the notification issue so we will as well. Footnote: 3The issue was reframed or not succinctly stated in the circuit court's order when the circuit court found that "West Virginia Code § 18A-2-8a requires that a hearing be held on or before the first Monday [in May] of the previous school year to approve the rehiring of all probationary school personnel." The hearing examiner at level IV took the proper perspective when she stated that the grievants, the appellees, were contending that the board of education "violated W. Va. Code § 18A-2-8a by not voting not to retain them at a meeting prior to the first Monday in May and because no such action was taken, [the board of education] also violated the provision by failing to notify them of that action within 10 days of such meeting." (footnotes omitted). Therefore, we are addressing the issue from the hearing examiner's perspective. Footnote: 4The hearing examiner noted the following in footnote 5 of her decision. "Grievants [the appellees] did not request a hearing. [The board of education's] counsel at Level IV explained that [the board of education] schedules such hearings even if not requested."
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