Residency requirement? Not for superintendents anymore
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
CHARLESTON, WV – On Monday morning, the West Virginia House of Delegates signed off on SB 694, removing the residency requirement for county school superintendents.
Del. Joe Statler, R-Monongahela, explained the bill, saying, “Current law requires the county superintendent to live in the county they serve or in a contiguous county. This bill removes the statutory requirement and instead allows each county board of education to determine residency expectations through the superintendent’s employment contract.”
More specifically, he said a county would no longer be compelled to hire someone from their own county or a neighboring county. A board may do so “if it chooses to”.
Speaker Roger Hanshaw asked if there was further discussion, and no delegates spoke. The bill passed by a vote of 72-24 with three delegates absent.
Having passed the House and Senate, the bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Patrick Morrisey for final action.
Testimony in the Senate
As reported by Autumn Shelton, Senate Education received testimony on this bill in early February.
Drew McClanahan, legislative policy officer for the West Virginia Department of Education, told senators last month that the change would allow county boards an additional tool in choosing the best candidate for a superintendent position.
“The current statute requires, you know, a contiguous county or to live in the county,” McClanahan explained. “So, for instance, if you’re living on the western side of Kanawha you could maybe travel to Fayette as a contiguous county, but you would not necessarily be allowed to take the superintendent position in Cabell because it’s two counties over.”
He said that particularly in county takeover situations boards have a hard time finding qualified candidates who meet the residency requirement.
Nicole Hevener, superintendent of Pendleton County Schools, testified that her county has experienced side effects from the residency requirement.
“Having been in [human resources] as an HR director for eight years, I can tell you that Pendleton County has lost several applicants because we did not have a place for them to reside,” Hevener said, adding that there aren’t a lot of homes or rentals available.
Howard O’Cull, President of the West Virginia School Board Association, also testified in favor of the bill, noting, “When we really look at this, this gives, in a time when it’s very difficult to find superintendents, it gives another opportunity for county boards. And, if they hire someone in Mingo to work in Monongalia, they’ll have to defend that. Some of them would do that well, some of them wouldn’t.”
