FILE – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice speaks, while his dog named “Babydog” and his wife Cathy Justice listen during an election night event at the governor’s mansion in Charleston, Va., Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, file)

CHARLESTON — To think she was “hidden in qualifications” Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday that he has appointed his wife, First Lady Cathy Justice, to the West Virginia School Board.
“I had to do a lot of sales and talk to Cathy about it.” Justice said Thursday during his weekly administrative briefing from the State Capitol Building. “I am honored to announce the appointment of our First Lady, Cathy Justice, to the West Virginia Board of Education. She will do an incredible job. In reality, Cathy loves children beyond common sense.
Cathy Justice graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Raleigh County in 1970, where she met Governor Justice. Both went to Marshall University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. She also worked as a substitute teacher in the Raleigh County school system. As First Lady, Cathy Justice became the face of the Communities in Schools program, which aims to connect at-risk students and their families to resources, such as academic assistance and tutoring; basic needs, such as clothing and food; intervention and behavior modification; career preparation; community service, crisis intervention, life skills, mental health services, etc. According to the state Department of Education, the Communities in Schools program was first introduced in Greenbrier County in 2004, but the program began expanding in 2018 during the two four-year term years of Justice as governor. Now, the program serves all 55 counties, with 298 site coordinators in 285 schools, benefiting more than 117,000 students. Through Communities in Schools, Cathy Justice has also placed 42 therapy dogs in schools.
“They work with communities in schools across our 55 counties and all the good things Cathy has done, it’s amazing,” said justice. “She sure has earned her stripes when it comes to the good things she does for kids. I’m really proud. At first I couldn’t get Cathy across the finish line, but I think she will do an incredible job. She is motivated now and ready to go out and do the work.
Cathy Justice will succeed Dr. Daniel Snively, whose term expired Monday. Snively, director of the Heart Center at the Huntington Internal Medicine Group, was appointed by Governor Justice in 2019 to fill the remaining term of Elkins attorney Joseph Wallace, whom the governor appointed in 2017. It is not the first time a governor has appointed their spouse to the State Board of Education. Then-Governor Joe Manchin appointed First Lady Gayle Manchin to the state board in 2007. She continued to serve after Manchin won election to the U.S. Senate in 2010 and 2012, serving twice the rotating position of state council president before resigning in 2015. Co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, Gayle Manchin holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Education from West Virginia University and Salem International University. She taught in Marion County and was on the faculty of Fairmont State University. Nine of the 11 members of the State Board of Education are appointed by the governor and vested by the state Constitution with responsibility for overseeing the school systems of the state’s 55 counties. Appointed members serve overlapping nine-year terms and no more than five of the appointed members may belong to the same political party. Responding to questions about her qualifications and whether the appointment represented nepotism, Justice said First Lady Justice was more than qualified. Gov. Justice — who is finishing the final two months of his second and final four-year term — won election to the U.S. Senate Tuesday night.
"How can you think that Cathy is not just concealed by her qualifications," said justice. “The work she has done is extraordinary. She is very, very qualified. She holds a Secondary Diploma (Education) from Marshall University. I absolutely cannot find anyone, anywhere, who is more qualified than Cathy Justice for this position. I think she will do very well.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at [email protected]