HUNTINGTON -- Unlike its neighbor Wayne County, which expects to hire more than a dozen new teachers for the coming year, Cabell County Schools may have few opportunities for new teachers.

Actually, Director of Communications Jedd Flowers said Cabell County is 63 professional positions over the state formula this year.

"They are supplemented by county funds," he said, adding the number is higher than in recent years. "They went up mostly because of middle school (restructuring)."

Legislators passed an increase of the state aid formula, but Flowers said Cabell County must get that number down.

Flowers said that is part of the reason Cabell was not represented at Marshall University's Educator Expo last month. Professional Personnel Manager Vickie Adkins added that she was signed up to be there but had a last-minute scheduling conflict. She does plan to meet with interested Marshall graduates in May when the 2008-09 job field becomes more clear.

But the hiring process in West Virginia is such that recruiters couldn't offer a job to a graduating teacher even if there were one. State law stipulates that central offices post the job opening online and interested candidates submit a bid sheet for the position. Adkins said they must have a resume and application on file before they can bid.

Then, the candidates are sorted by seven different criteria depending on whether they are a new hire or existing Cabell County teacher. Those include teaching experience, certifications, past evaluations, degree level, specialized training, seniority and teaching experience in required area.

For new hires, an interview at the central office often takes place, while a current teacher applying for a job at another school likely will talk only with the principal about his or her expectations for the job.

The list of criteria, Adkins said, ensures the most qualified teacher is put in the classroom and increases the likelihood that students are being taught by teachers with the correct certification.

But there is another layer that comes before jobs are put out for bid, which happens mostly during the summer months. Teachers who are let go or contracts are not renewed, a victim of reduction in force, are given first priority, Flowers said, followed by transfers.

Adkins said people who get "RIFed," the term used by educators, typically are those whose positions must be evaluated at the end of each school year for need. For instance, a reading coach working with second graders may not be needed for next year's second-grade students, she said.

Wayne County's director of personnel and certification Dinah Ledbetter, who did attend the Educator Expo, said no one will be "RIFed," and she only expects 12 transfers. She also said they will be posting 12 elementary positions and expect there to be one science position and multiple math openings.

There are other teachers who get an opportunity to save their jobs as well. Those teaching a class, such as science or math, in which they aren't certified, have the opportunity to keep that job if they are currently taking college classes to get certification or plan to do so within a specific time frame.

Cabell County also had a large list of substitutes. Adkins said the 330 on the list are divided. Some are retirees and still enjoy teaching part time. Some are working on graduate degrees or obtaining other certification, and there are others who are raising families and can only work a few days a week.

But Adkins also said there are many waiting for jobs, specifically in elementary schools, to open up. In the meantime, they are earning seniority, which will help them when more positions become available.