OPINION ISSUED JANUARY 18, 1988
SCOTT A. BROWN, ET AL.
VS.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(CC-87-136 - CC-87-144)
William B. McGinley, Attorney at Law, for claimants.
Robert D. Pollitt, Special Assistant Attorney General, for
respondent.
PER CURIAM:
These claims were submitted for decision based upon the pleadings,
and
upon a written
stipulation.
The claimants, by their counsel, William B. McGinley, and
respondent, by
its counsel, Brentz
Thompson, entered into a stipulation. The parties, in the
stipulation,
agreed to the following facts:
The claimants are employed by the West Virginia Department of
Education
(hereinafter for the
Department) as teacher aides assigned to the Special Education Unit
of
the Colin Anderson
Center.
All claimants were employed as teacher aides between March and
September
1984 as a result
of the respondent assuming educational responsibility for Medley
class
members in facilities of
the Department of Health. Claimants had formerly been employed by
the
Department of Health
as therapy aides, psychiatric aides or houseparents.
When hired by respondent the grievants were allowed prior
experience
credit for pay purposes
only for years worked in the education program of the Department of
Health.
Subsequently, five additional aides were hired by the respondent
who
were granted prior
experience pay credit for years worked at the Colin Anderson Center
but
not in the educational
program of the Department of Health.
The State Superintendent of Schools approved the salaries including
the
additional experience
credit granted to the five new aides, and the State Board of
Education
paid those salaries.
The claimants, as employees of the West Virginia Department of
Education, have a grievance
procedure available to them that was established by the legislature
and
set out in WV Code
§18-29-1 et seq. The procedure contains four levels, with the last
level
consisting of a full
hearing before a hearing examiner of the Education Employees
Grievance
Board.
Claimants sought relief through the statutory grievance procedure
and
received a favorable
decision at Level Four written by Hearing Examiner Sue Keller on
June
13, 1986. In that
decision, Examiner Keller held that:
The grievants are entitled to salary adjustment granting credit for
years of employment earned
at the Center, effective as of the date of the policy change.
The respondent adjusted the salaries accordingly following the
date of
the Hearing Examiner's
decision, but has not adjusted the salaries from the date of the
change
in the "experience credit
policy" (i.e. the date of hire for the first additional aide) to
the
date of the decision.
The Court, having reviewed the pleadings and stipulation filed in this
action, is of the opinion
that, in equity and good conscience, the following awards should be
made:
Scott A. Brown $ 556.00
Betty Craven $1641.60
Cindy S. Jeffers $2736.00
David Lancaster $820.80
Anthony A. MacFarlane $556.00
Carol J. McCutcheon $2736.00
Tamara Sanford $1504.00
Elizabeth J. Stuart $3830.40
Elizabeth Anne Wolfe $2508.00
However, there has been no appropriation of funds from which these
claims may be paid. In
that respect, these claims bear some similarity to the factual
situation
in Airkem Sales and
Service, et al. vs. Dept. of Mental Health, 8 Ct.Cl. 180 (1971) in
which
an appropriation had
been exceeded by expenditures.
Claims Disallowed.