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West Virginia’s first lady, Cathy Justice, has been appointed to the state Board of Education.
Gov. Jim Justice announced the appointment of his wife to the board that oversees the state’s elementary and secondary schools during his regular media briefing Thursday morning.
Cathy Justice holds a degree in secondary education from Marshall University and has previously worked as a substitute teacher in Raleigh County schools. The governor also cited her work expanding the Communities in Schools (CIS) program, designed to connect struggling students to caring adults and community resources.
“I couldn’t possibly, there’s no way that I could find someone, no matter where they are, that’s more qualified than Cathy Justice for this job,” Gov. Justice said. “So I think she’ll do great.”
The First Lady has made CIS her primary initiative since 2018. According to the West Virginia Department of Education, CIS supports supports 272 schools and 114,000 students
The appointment fills the vacancy left after the five year term of Dr. Daniel Snavely expired this month. The governor said several times during the briefing that he had to convince Cathy Justice to take the position.
“In the beginning, I couldn’t get Cathy across the finish line on this and everything, but I think she’ll do an amazing job,” Gov. Justice said. “She’s fired up now and ready to go and do the job.”
Later in the press briefing Gov. Justice was asked if he had any comment on the appearance of nepotism in the appointment. The governor said he could not hear the question and an aide running the briefing said they were having technical difficulties before turning the floor back to Gov. Justice for closing remarks.
“All I can say is Cathy’s super qualified,” he said. “For crying out loud, you know, there’s no point in, no point in beating up Cathy. She’s given everything she could possibly give, you know. And, and, like I said, I had to, I had to really, really work hard to talk her into this.”
The West Virginia Board of Education will next meet on Wednesday morning, Nov. 13.
