The chancellor for community and technical college education is the chief executive officer of the council and as such may exercise the powers and duties assigned by the council. The chancellor has the following powers and duties:

(1) To serve as the principal accountability point for the council for implementation of the public policy agenda as it relates to community and technical colleges;

(2) To assume principal responsibility for directing and assisting the work of the council; and

(3) To supervise and direct staff of the council as necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties and responsibilities of this article.

(A) On the effective date of this section, all personnel employed by the commission and under the supervision of the vice chancellor for community and technical college education and workforce development on January 1, 2004, are transferred to the jurisdiction of the council and are under the direct supervision of the chancellor for community and technical college education.

(B) Prior to October 1, 2004, any such employee, including the chief executive officer of the council, may not be terminated or have his or her salary or benefit level reduced as the result of the governance reorganization set forth in this article.

(4) On behalf of the council, the chancellor may enter into agreements with any state agency or political subdivision of the state, any state higher education institution or any other person or entity to enlist staff assistance to implement the powers and duties assigned to the council by state law.

(5) The chancellor is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the council and has the following responsibilities:

(A) To carry out policy and program directives of the council;

(B) To develop and submit annual reports on the implementation plan to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter and in the institutional compacts;

(C) To prepare and submit to the council for its approval the proposed budget of the council including the office of the chancellor and necessary staff;

(D) To assist the governing boards in developing rules, subject to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter requires the rules of the governing boards to be filed pursuant to the rule-making procedures provided in article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The chancellor is responsible for ensuring that any policy which is required to be uniform across the institutions under the jurisdiction of the council is applied in a uniform manner; and

(E) To perform all other duties and responsibilities assigned by the council or by state law.

(6) The chancellor shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of all assigned duties and responsibilities.

(7) The council is the primary advocate for community and technical college education and, with the chancellor, advises the Legislature on matters of community and technical college education in West Virginia. The chancellor shall work closely with the Legislative Oversight commission on education accountability and with the elected leadership of the state to ensure that they are fully informed about community and technical college education issues and that the council fully understands the goals for higher education that the Legislature has established by law.

(8) The chancellor may design and develop for consideration by the council new statewide or regional initiatives directly related to community and technical college education and in accordance with the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter and the public policy agenda.

(9) The chancellor shall work closely with members of the state Board of Education and with the State Superintendent of Schools to assure that the following goals are met:

(A) Development and implementation of a seamless kindergarten-through-college system of education; and

(B) Appropriate coordination of missions and programs. To further the goals of cooperation and coordination between the council and the state Board of Education, the chancellor serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state Board of Education.