Ohio County Board of Ed v. Hopkins
Annotate this Case
January 1995 Term
___________
No. 22492
___________
OHIO COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION,
Plaintiff Below, Appellee
v.
CLARENCE E. HOPKINS, JR.,
Defendant Below, Appellant
___________________________________________________
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Ohio County
Honorable W. Craig Broadwater, Judge
Civil Action No. 93-CAP-25
AFFIRMED
___________________________________________________
Submitted: January 11, 1995
Filed: April 14, 1995
John Everett Roush
Charleston, West Virginia
Attorney for the Appellant
Robert G. McCoid
Arthur M. Recht
Schrader, Recht, Byrd, Companion & Gurley
Wheeling, West Virginia
Attorney for the Appellee
This Opinion was delivered PER CURIAM.
Justice Brotherton did not participate.
Judge Fox sitting by temporary assignment.
SYLLABUS BY THE COURT
1. "A final order of the hearing examiner for the West
Virginia Educational Employees Grievance Board, made pursuant to W.
Va. Code, 18-29-1, et seq. (1985), and based upon findings of fact,
should not be reversed unless clearly wrong." Syl. pt. 1,
Randolph County Board of Education v. Scalia, 182 W. Va. 289, 387 S.E.2d 524 (1989).
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." Syl. pt.
3, Dillon v. Wyoming County Board of Education, 177 W. Va. 145, 351 S.E.2d 58 (1986).
Per Curiam:
This action is before this Court upon an appeal from the
final order of the Circuit Court of Ohio County, West Virginia,
entered on February 2, 1994. Pursuant to that order, the circuit
court reversed the decision of the West Virginia Education and
State Employees Grievance Board which stated that the appellant,
Clarence Hopkins, Jr., was entitled to the position of Supervisor
of Transportation with the appellee, the Ohio County Board of
Education. Upon a review of the record and the briefs and argument
of counsel, the final order of the circuit court is affirmed.
I
At the end of the 1991-92 school year, the Supervisor of
Transportation of the Ohio County Board of Education retired, thus
creating a vacancy for the 1992-93 school year. On July 28 1992,
a notice was posted inviting applications for the position.
Indicating that the goal of the Supervisor of Transportation was to
provide "safe and efficient transportation" for students, the
notice stated that the salary range would be $17,900 to $26,500,
"negotiable based on experience." In addition, the notice listed
the following qualifications for the job:
1. Broad knowledge of safety rules,
traffic regulations, laws and ordinances
governing use and operation of motor vehicles
in West Virginia and specifically school
buses.
2. Broad knowledge of the county road
system.
3. Broad knowledge and understanding of
preventive maintenance routines and mechanical
operation of equipment.
4. Successful experience in diagnosing
simple automotive maintenance trouble.
5. Broad knowledge and understanding of
business administration and practices to
include, but not limited to, budgeting,
scheduling, inventory control, purchasing,
bidding, letter writing, etc.
6. Successful experience in planning,
assigning and supervising the work activities
of employees.
7. Successful experience in record
keeping and inventory control to include
computer literacy skills.
8. A clear and consistent record of
positive work behavior that includes
consistency in presenting a positive image of
Ohio County Schools --- its work, Board,
staff, etc. --- in all dealings with
individuals and groups, both within and
outside the organization.
9. Possession of a valid State of West
Virginia motor vehicle operator's license and
able to obtain a commercial operator's
license.
10. West Virginia State Transportation
Certification training to instruct new
drivers.
11. Associate Degree or Higher Degree
preferred.
12. Willing and able to work a flexible
schedule.
13. Any combination of training and
experience which would lead to successful
employment as a Transportation Supervisor.
In addition to the above qualifications, the notice also
listed thirty-one "job duties" associated with the Supervisor of
Transportation position. The listed job duties included: (1) the
development and administration of a transportation program to meet the county instructional program and extra-curricular activities,
(2) the supervision and maintenance of equipment, (3) the
preparation and administration of a transportation budget and (4)
the maintaining of various safety standards.
Following the posting of the notice, the Ohio County
Board of Education received approximately fifty applications,
including an application from the appellant and an application from
an individual by the name of Michael Corra. At the time of
application, the appellant was employed as a bus operator for the
Ohio County Board of Education and had general experience in
management from other jobs.See footnote 1 Michael Corra was not an employee of the Ohio County Board of Education. Although both the appellant
and Michael Corra generally met the qualifications listed in the
notice, Michael Corra had worked as a manager of a bus company in
Parkersburg, West Virginia, since 1975.See footnote 2
In August 1992, the Ohio County Board of Education
approved the appointment of Michael Corra as Supervisor of
Transportation for the 1992-93 school year. Based upon his
experience as a manager of a bus company, his annual salary was set
at the top level of $26,500.See footnote 3
Contending that he should have been offered the position
of Supervisor of Transportation, the appellant filed a grievance
with the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance
Board. W. Va. Code, 29-6A-1, et seq.; W. Va. Code, 18-29-1, et
seq. Various hearings were conducted, and the grievance proceeded
through the Level IV stage, resulting in a final decision of an
administrative law judge on August 12, 1993. Citing the provisions
of W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b [1990], which provides for the seniority
rights of school service personnel, the administrative law judge
ruled that the appellant's seniority, qualifications and
evaluations of past service entitled him to the position of
Supervisor of Transportation.
The circuit court, however, concluded that the Grievance
Board was clearly wrong and, by order entered on February 2, 1994,
reversed the Board's decision.
II
The appellant contends that, as a bus operator for the
Ohio County Board of Education, he was a regularly employed school
service employee and was, therefore, entitled to the protections of
W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b [1990]. Indeed, there is no dispute before
this Court that both the positions of "bus operator" and
"supervisor of transportation" are defined as school service
personnel positions under W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8 [1992]. Under that
statute, "bus operator" means "personnel employed to operate school
buses and other school transportation vehicles as provided by the
state board of education," and "supervisor of transportation" means
"qualified personnel employed to direct school transportation
activities, properly and safely, and to supervise the maintenance
and repair of vehicles, buses, and other mechanical and mobile
equipment used by the county school system."See footnote 4 As provided by
W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b [1990]:
A county board of education shall make
decisions affecting promotion and filling of
any service personnel positions of employment
or jobs occurring throughout the school year
that are to be performed by service personnel
as provided in section eight, article four of
this chapter, on the basis of seniority,
qualifications and evaluation of past service.
Qualifications shall mean that the
applicant holds a classification title in his
category of employment as provided in this
section and must be given first opportunity for promotion and filling vacancies. Other
employees then must be considered and shall
qualify by meeting the definition of the job
title as defined in section eight, article
four of this chapter, that relates to the
promotion or vacancy. If the employee so
requests, the board must show valid cause why
an employee with the most seniority is not
promoted or employed in the position for which
he applies. Applicants shall be considered in
the following order:
(1) Regularly employed service personnel;
(2) Service personnel whose employment
has been discontinued in accordance with this
section;
(3) Professional personnel who held
temporary service personnel jobs or positions
prior to the ninth day of June, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-two, and who apply only
for such temporary jobs or positions;
(4) Substitute service personnel; and
(5) New service personnel.
Relying upon the above provision, the appellant asserts
that, inasmuch as he was a "regularly employed service" employee of
the Ohio County Board of Education, and Michael Corra was a "new
service" employee, the appellant was entitled to the Supervisor of
Transportation position, based upon his seniority, qualifications
and evaluation of past service. Of course, that seniority alone is
not the sole factor to be considered is clear from the language of
W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b [1990], to the effect that a county board of
education must show valid cause why an employee with the most
seniority is not employed in the position for which he applies.
Nor, here, are the appellant's evaluations of past service in
question. Rather, the issue before this Court concerns the appellant's qualifications for the position of Supervisor of
Transportation, compared with those of Michael Corra.
In syllabus point 1 of Randolph County Board of Education
v. Scalia, 182 W. Va. 289, 387 S.E.2d 524 (1989), we recognized
that "[a] final order of the hearing examiner for the West
Virginia Educational Employees Grievance Board, made pursuant to W.
Va. Code, 18-29-1, et seq. (1985), and based upon findings of fact,
should not be reversed unless clearly wrong." Syl. pt. 3, Lucion
v. McDowell County Board of Education, 191 W. Va. 399, 446 S.E.2d 487 (1994); syl. pt. 1, Department of Natural Resources v. Myers,
191 W. Va. 72, 443 S.E.2d 229 (1994); syl. pt. 1, Department of
Health v. Blankenship, 189 W. Va. 342, 431 S.E.2d 681 (1993); syl.
pt. 3, Butcher v. Gilmer County Board of Education, 189 W. Va. 253,
429 S.E.2d 903 (1993). See also W. Va. Code, 29-6A-7 [1988];
W. Va. Code, 18-29-7 [1985].
In this case, however, the circuit court found the
findings of the West Virginia Education and State Employees
Grievance Board to be clearly wrong. The circuit court, indicating
that Michael Corra was more qualified for the position of
Supervisor of Transportation than the appellant, stated in its
letter memorandum of opinion:
[The appellant's] acknowledgement at the Level
IV hearing that he did not have any experience
in scheduling buses, had no experience in road
testing driver routes, had no experience in
training drivers, had no experience in
purchasing equipment for buses, had no
experience in investigating accidents, had no
knowledge of warranty of buses and had no
background or experience in accounting for transportation, clearly show that he was not
qualified for the position[.]
The circuit court, in support of its decision, relied
upon Cox v. Hampshire County Board of Education, 177 W. Va. 576,
355 S.E.2d 365 (1987). In Cox, two Hampshire County school service
employees challenged the appointment of a non-employee to the
county school position of Assistant Transportation Director. The
two school service employees filed grievances stating that the
appointment violated the provisions of W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b
[1982]. During the litigation, however, the nonemployee resigned
as Assistant Transportation Director, and the Hampshire County
Board eliminated the position, combining its duties upon a
permanent basis with those of a professional administrator. The
circuit court dismissed the claims of the two school service
employees because the position in question had been eliminated and
because, in any event, the nonemployee had been more qualified.
This Court affirmed the rulings of the circuit court in
Cox. As to the elimination of the position of Assistant
Transportation Director, we emphasized that the management of a
county school transportation system is for the welfare of the
children,See footnote 5 and we stated: "We believe it is within the discretion
of the county board of education to place this responsibility with a professional employee who is, presumably, more acquainted with
the administrative and managerial skills necessary to the operation
of an efficient transportation system." 177 W. Va. at 581, 355 S.E.2d at 370 (emphasis added). Moreover, with regard to the
conclusion of the circuit court that the nonemployee had been more
qualified for the position, we stated: "Finally, we find no
reversible error in the circuit court's finding that Mr. Cheshire
[the nonemployee] was more clearly qualified than either of the
appellants by virtue of his prior experience as director of a
transportation terminal, a position which required supervision of
maintenance, safety programs and personnel." 177 W. Va. at 581,
355 S.E.2d at 370.
Although the Supervisor of Transportation position in the
case before us was not merged upon a permanent basis into a
professional position, see note 3, supra, we find persuasive, in
comparing the qualifications of the appellant to Michael Corra, the
language of Cox to the effect that it was within the county board
of education's discretion to place the responsibility of its
transportation system with an applicant "more acquainted with the
administrative and managerial skills necessary to the operation of
an efficient transportation system," especially, as Cox suggests,
where that applicant had been the "director of a transportation
terminal." That is what the Ohio County Board of Education did in
this case, and that action was affirmed by the circuit court.
The above language of Cox comports with syllabus point 3
of Dillon v. Wyoming County Board of Education, 177 W. Va. 145, 351 S.E.2d 58 (1986), in which we held: "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." Syl., Harrison County Board of
Education v. Coffman, 189 W. Va. 273, 430 S.E.2d 331 (1993); syl.
pt. 2, State ex rel. Melchiori v. Marshall County Board of
Education, 188 W. Va. 575, 425 S.E.2d 251 (1992); syl. pt. 6,
Triggs v. Berkeley County Board of Education, 188 W. Va. 435, 425 S.E.2d 111 (1992); syl. pt. 1, Hyre v. Upshur County Board of
Education, 186 W. Va. 267, 412 S.E.2d 265 (1991).
In Hyre, supra, a bus operator challenged the action of
the Upshur County Board of Education appointing an individual to
the position of Supervisor of Transportation. The bus operator,
who had more seniority as a school service employee than the person
selected, relied upon the provisions of W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b
[1990]. In reversing a decision of the Circuit Court of Kanawha
County adverse to the Upshur County Board, this Court observed in
Hyre that the record demonstrated that the person selected for the
position of Supervisor of Transportation was the more qualified
candidate for the job.
In the case before this Court, the record demonstrates
that the appellant had never managed a bus transit company, as had
Michael Corra. The Ohio County Board of Education concluded that
Michael Corra was the more qualified candidate for the position of Supervisor of Transportation, and the August 12, 1993, decision of
the West Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board
conceded that Michael Corra "arguably was somewhat more 'qualified'
by virtue of prior experience as a manager of a commercial bus
operation." Moreover, the posted notice of vacancy for the
position of Supervisor of Transportation stated that the salary
would be negotiable "based upon experience," and item number
thirteen of the notice indicated that "training and experience"
were qualifications for the job. Certainly, a special degree of
responsibility parallels the transportation of school children.
The decision of the Ohio County Board of Education in selecting
Michael Corra was within the parameters of its discretion.
The Circuit Court of Ohio County was correct in
concluding that the decision of the West Virginia Education and
State Employees Grievance Board was clearly wrong. Accordingly,
the final order of the circuit court, entered on February 2, 1994,
is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Footnote: 1
As reflected in the decision of August 12, 1993, the
administrative law judge of the West Virginia Education and State
Employees Grievance Board described the appellant as an Ohio
County native who had left that area but returned in 1985. As
the administrative law judge further stated:
[The appellant] completed the requirements
for licensure as a school bus operator and
worked for OCBE as a substitute operator for
two years or so until he became regularly
hired for full-time employment approximately
three years ago. In addition, he testified
that he concurrently manages the physical-
plant operations of a moderate-sized
commercial office building, located in
Wheeling, Ohio County's principal city.
[The appellant] testified that he is a
licensed pilot and further serves the Ohio
County community as a deputy commander for
the civil air patrol at Wheeling's Ohio
County Airport. He stated that his duties
there were mainly administrative and that he
manages forty persons and regularly flies a
State-owned, single-engine airplane.
According to [the appellant], he also
obtained a bachelors degree at Wheeling
College upon his return to the Wheeling area,
a task he had begun at a different college
while a young man prior to entering the armed
forces.
Footnote: 2
In a letter dated August 3, 1992, to the Ohio County
Board of Education, Michael Corra described his background as
follows:
My experience includes all phases of bus
transportation supervision, with excellent
success in safety and operations. I have
experience in all the areas outlined in the
job description. I have been employed at
Park Transit bus company since 1975, as
Transportation Manager, performing these
responsibilities. I graduated from Wheeling
College in 1972, and joined this firm in
1975.
Moreover, Michael Corra's resume set forth some of his
duties with the bus company in Parkersburg:
Duties include leading transportation
department, monitoring productivity,
supervising subordinates and substitutes, for
daily scheduled single day and multi-day bus
moves, and emergencies. Prepare bus
schedules, road test driver recruits, train
drivers, prepare payroll, recommend equipment
purchases, work with school principals for
special school trips. Handle complaints and
resolution. Investigate accidents, ensure
conformity with federal and state laws. Plan
and develop recommendations for future needs
to administrators. Advise on road hazards,
call out substitute drivers as needed. Deal
with bus manufacturers on warranty claims,
maintain fuel supply control program, and
oversee monthly fuel reports.
Footnote: 3
Shortly thereafter, Michael Corra resigned from the
position of Supervisor of Transportation, and the Ohio County
Board of Education assigned those duties to a school principal
upon an interim basis. The resignation of Michael Corra and the
Board's subsequent action are not part of the assignment of error
in this appeal, which relates to the initial hiring of Michael
Corra instead of the appellant.Footnote: 4
Pursuant to W. Va. Code, 18A-1-1 [1981], "service
personnel" means "those who serve the school or schools as a
whole, in a nonprofessional capacity, including such areas as
secretarial, custodial, maintenance, transportation, school
lunch, and as aides."Footnote: 5
In State ex rel. Hughes v. Kanawha County Board of
Education, 154 W. Va. 107, 118, 174 S.E.2d 711, 718 (1970),
dism'd 403 U.S. 944 (1971), we observed that "[s]chool buses
owned and operated by county boards of education are, in a great
measure at least, maintained and operated in order to protect the
health, safety and welfare of the students who are transported
thereon."
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.