The employees of the board shall be under such merit system as the board shall provide and, for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of article two (f), the board and its employees shall be considered a state agency, and the state employees' retirement system is hereby authorized to contract with the board in order to further or facilitate the activities of the board pursuant to article two (f) of the compact. No such contract shall take effect prior to its approval by the Governor.
West Virginia Legal Code