West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 126 - Education › Title 126 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Series 126-141 - County Board of Education Relations with County Staff and School Employees (Policy 5300) › Section 126-141-3 - Principles

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
3.1. County boards
				of education, subject to the provisions of W. Va. Code §18 and §18A
				and the rules and regulations of the WVBE, are responsible for the management
				of the schools within each county. Their powers and responsibilities in setting
				policy and in providing for such management are broad but not
				absolute.
3.2. County staff and
				school employees (employees) share the responsibility for putting into effect
				the policies and practices approved by CBEM and such employees have certain
				rights and responsibilities as provided in statute and in contract.
3.3. Employees are entitled to meet, form
				associations, and work in concert in order to improve their circumstances or
				the circumstances of the schools. However, the right to strike does not exist
				for any public employee in the State of West Virginia, including school
				employees (see W. Va. Code § 18-5-45a).
3.4. CBEM and their employees can most
				effectively carry out their responsibilities to the public and to each other by
				establishing clear and open lines of communication. Employees should be
				encouraged to make suggestions, proposals, and recommendations through
				appropriate channels to the county board of education. Decisions of county
				boards of education concerning such suggestions, proposals, and recommendations
				should be communicated to their employees clearly and openly.
3.5. Official meetings of county boards of
				education are public meetings and are subject to open meeting laws. Employees
				should be encouraged to attend such meetings without fear of
				reprisal.
3.6. Employees are
				entitled to know how well they are performing at their jobs and shall be
				offered the opportunity to participate in an open and honest evaluation of
				their performance on a regular basis, or at minimum, annually. Any decision
				concerning promotion, demotion, transfer, or termination of employment is based
				on objective factors such as an evaluation, relevant provisions of W. Va. Code,
				and WVBE policies, county policies, and county need. Employees are entitled to
				the opportunity to improve their job performance, prior to termination or
				transfer of services and can only do so with the assistance of regular
				evaluation, unless the employee has conducted acts identified in section 3.6.a.
3.6.a. Notwithstanding any other provisions
				of law, a county board of education may suspend or dismiss any person in its
				employment at any time for: immorality, incompetence, cruelty, insubordination,
				intemperance, willful neglect of duty, unsatisfactory performance, a finding of
				abuse by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources in
				accordance with W. Va. Code § 49-1-1
et seq.
, the
				conviction of a misdemeanor or a guilty plea or a plea of nolo contendere to a
				misdemeanor charge that has a rational nexus between the conduct and
				performance of the employee's job, or the conviction of a felony or a guilty
				plea or a plea of nolo contendere to a felony charge pursuant to W. Va. Code
				§
										18A-2-8.
3.6.a.1. A charge of unsatisfactory
				performance shall not be made except as the result of an employee performance
				evaluation pursuant to W. Va. Code §
											18A-2-12.
				The charges shall be stated in writing served upon the employee within two days
				of presentation of the charges to the county board of education.