Oxley v. Summers Co. BOE
Annotate this Case
September 1993 Term
___________
No. 21536
___________
CHARLES STUART OXLEY,
Plaintiff Below, Appellant
v.
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE
COUNTY OF SUMMERS
Defendant Below, Appellee
___________________________________________________
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kanawha County
Honorable Patrick Casey, Judge
Civil Action No. 90-AA-154
REVERSED
___________________________________________________
Submitted: September 22, 1993
Filed: December 14, 1993
J. W. Feuchtenberger Stone, McGhee, Feuchtenberger & Barringer Bluefield, West Virginia Attorney for the Appellant
Kathryn Reed Bayless Princeton, West Virginia Attorney for the Appellee
This Opinion was delivered PER CURIAM.
SYLLABUS BY THE COURT
"'"In reviewing the judgment of the lower court
this Court does not accord special weight to the lower court's
conclusions of law, and will reverse the judgment below when it
is based on an incorrect conclusion of law." Syllabus Point 1
Burks v. McNeel, 164 W. Va. 654, 264 S.E.2d 651 (1980).
Syllabus, Bolton v. Bechtold, [178] W. Va. [556], 363 S.E.2d 241
(1987).' Syllabus Point 2, State ex rel. Dept. of Motor Vehicles
v. Sanders, 184 W. Va. 55, 399 S.E.2d 455 (1990). " Syl. pt. 2,
Davis v. W. Va. Dept. of Motor Vehicles, 187 W. Va 402, 419 S.E.2d 470 (1992).
Per Curiam:
This action is before this Court upon appeal of
the April 15, 1992, decision of the Circuit Court of Kanawha
County. In that order, the circuit court upheld the final
decision of the West Virginia Education and State Employee
Grievance Board which stated that the appellant, Charles Stuart
Oxley, was not entitled to the position as principal at the
Summers County Career Center because he did not possess the
required secondary principal's certificate. On appeal, the
appellant asks that this Court reverse the decision of the
circuit court. For the reasons stated below, the decision of the
Circuit Court of Kanawha County is reversed.
I
On July 25, 1989, the appellee, the Board of
Education of the County of Summers, posted a notice of a job
vacancy for "career center principal." The posting noted that
the applicant must possess the requisite certification: (1) a
principal's certificate grades 7-12; and (2) a vocational
administrative certificate. Demetrius Tassos, the Superintendent
of Schools for Summers County at the time, interviewed the
applicants. The appellant possessed a vocational administrator's
certificate and an elementary principal's certificate. The
appellant, however, was eligible for his secondary principal's
certificate but he had not yet completed the necessary paperwork
to receive it.
Harold Bandy also desired the position, but he
possessed only a principal's certificate. Prior to the posting
of the vacant position, Mr. Bandy applied through the appellee
and Mr. Tassos for a temporary permit as a vocational
administrator from the West Virginia State Department of
Education. The application for such permit was completed by Mr.
Bandy and Mr. Tassos. Specifically, Mr. Tassos certified in the
application that "in my judgment, the applicant [Mr. Bandy] is
the best qualified person available; therefore, I recommend that
he/she be granted a permit for the position to which he/she has
been assigned." The application was signed and submitted on July
3, 1989. The circuit court and the parties herein agree that the
circumstances surrounding the issuance of the permit are
questionable.
Ultimately, Mr. Tassos recommended Mr. Bandy for
the position, and on August 10, 1989, the appellee hired Mr.
Bandy to be the new career center principal.
On August 22, 1989, the appellant filed a
grievance. The appellant contended that he was the more
qualified individual for the position, and thus, the appellee's
decision to hire Mr. Bandy was in violation of W. Va. Code, 18A-
4-8b(a) [1990]. However, the appellant's grievance was denied at
every stage of the grievance process.
On April 15, 1992, the circuit court affirmed the
decision of the Level IV hearing examiner and held that the
appellant failed to meet the posted job requirements at the time
the appellee selected Mr. Bandy. It is from the circuit court's
order dated April 15, 1992, that the appellant appeals to this
Court.
However, it should be noted that on September 13,
1991, Mr. Tassos resigned as superintendent. Shortly thereafter,
the new superintendent recommended that the appellee post an
administrative vacancy at the career center. Following the
posting, the appellant was hired as principal of the career
center.
II
The appellant's primary point of contention is
that the circuit court erred in upholding the decision of the
Level IV hearing examiner in light of the reliable, probative and
substantial evidence on the whole record.
This case before us is unusual in that the
parties' request for relief is practically identical.
Specifically, the appellee joins the appellant in asking this
Court to reverse the order of the circuit court. We concur with
the parties, and therefore reverse the decision of the circuit
court.
At oral argument before this Court, the parties
acknowledged and agreed that problems existed in the selection
process. In his brief, the appellant, who is now the principal
of the career center, argues that it was obvious that the job
posting was not a bona fide posting in that Mr. Tassos had
recommended a permit and selected Mr. Bandy for the position
approximately three weeks prior to the posting. Accordingly, the
appellant asserts that the selection of Mr. Bandy should have
been set aside as violative of W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b(a) [1990],
and the position should have been readvertised and reselected.
The appellee, in its brief, states that the
appellee did not become aware of the circumstances surrounding
the permit application until 1991, more than one year after the
initiation of the grievance proceedings. The appellee maintains
that had the Board been aware of the fact that Mr. Tassos had
made inaccurate statements, or more pointedly, certified Mr.
Bandy as the most qualified applicant prior to the position being
posted, it would have proceeded differently. We commend the
appellee for being forthright.
Similarly, the Level IV hearing examiner found, in
his decision on August 31, 1990, that the propriety of Mr.
Tassos' representations on Mr. Bandy's permit application could
be perceived as questionable. However, the hearing examiner
concluded that the appellant did not, at the time of the posting,
possess the requisite certification therefore making him
ineligible for the position. The circuit court adopted the
findings of fact and conclusions of law of the hearing examiner
and held that the representations made by Mr. Tassos on behalf of
Mr. Bandy for his permit application could be perceived as
questionable; nevertheless, the appellant failed to meet the job
requirements as posted.
In syllabus point 2 of Davis v. W. Va. Dept. of
Motor Vehicles, 187 W. Va. 402, 419 S.E.2d 470 (1992), we
addressed the weight to be accorded to conclusions of the lower
court:
'"In reviewing the judgment of
the lower court this Court does not
accord special weight to the lower
court's conclusions of law, and
will reverse the judgment below
when it is based on an incorrect
conclusion of law." Syllabus Point
1, Burks v. McNeel, 164 W. Va. 654,
264 S.E.2d 651 (1980). Syllabus,
Bolton v. Bechtold, [178] W. Va.
[556], 363 S.E.2d 241 (1987).'
Syllabus Point 2, State ex rel.
Dept. of Motor Vehicles v. Sanders,
184 W. Va. 55, 399 S.E.2d 455
(1990).
After a thorough review of the record, and
arguments of counsel, we are of the opinion that the trial court
erred in adopting the conclusion of the hearing examiner. There
was obviously, as recognized by both parties, error in the
selection process. Therefore, we reverse the decision of the
circuit court and find that the appellee erred in not initially
giving the position to the most qualified individual pursuant to
W. Va. Code, 18A-4-8b(a) [1990]. We further hold that the
appellant is entitled to continue to maintain the position as
principal of the career center.See footnote 1
1
Based upon the foregoing reasons, the decision of
the Circuit Court of Kanawha County is reversed.
Reversed.
Footnote: 1 1Other individuals have filed grievances asserting that they
are more qualified for the position of principal at the career
center. These grievances have been stayed at Level IV pending
the outcome of this case. Therefore, the appellee further
requests that we order the Board to reevaluate the candidates who
applied for the career center position, with respect to the
qualifications of each candidate as they then existed, which
would compel the appellee to offer the position to the most
qualified individual.
The appellant's grievance is the only grievance or issue
before us in this case, and that is the only issue we will
address. The record herein is insufficient to support any
further findings or rulings by this court with respect to the
other grievants.
Following everything that has transpired, the appellant was ultimately hired as career center principal. We cannot comment on the other candidates, nor can we discern any reason as to why the appellee should conduct a reevaluation of the candidates.
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