Adams County School Dist. No. 50 v. Heimer

• Citation: 919 P.2d 786
• Decision Date: 17 June 1996
• Docket Number: No. 94SC706,94SC706
• Parties: 111 Ed. Law Rep. 519 ADAMS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 50, Petitioner, v. Jan HEIMER, Respondent.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

Page 786

919 P.2d 786

111 Ed. Law Rep. 519

ADAMS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 50, Petitioner, v. Jan HEIMER, Respondent.

No. 94SC706.

Supreme Court of Colorado En Banc.

June 17, 1996.

Semple & Jackson, P.C., Martin Semple and Patrick B. Mooney, Denver, for Petitioner.

Colorado Education Association, Martha R. Houser, Gregory J. Lawler, Sharyn E. Dreyer, Cathy L. Cooper, Bradley C. Bartels, Aurora, William J. Maikovich, Aurora, for Respondent.

Colorado Association of School Boards, Lauren B. Kingsbery, for Amicus Curiae Colorado Association of School Boards.

Justice KOURLIS delivered the Opinion of the Court.

We granted certiorari to review Heimer v. Board of Education, Adams County-Westminster School District 50, 895 P.2d 152 (Colo.App.1994), in which the court of appeals reversed the decision of the Board of Education of the Adams County-Westminster School District (the Board) to dismiss Jan Heimer from her position as a non-probationary teacher pursuant to the Teacher Employment, Compensation, and Dismissal Act of 1990, §§ 22-63-101 to -403, 9 C.R.S. (1995). We reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the case with directions to review the Board's decision to determine if it was arbitrary, capricious, or legally impermissible.

I.

On December 7, 1992, the Superintendent of the Adams County-Westminster School District filed written charges against Heimer with the Board recommending that Heimer be dismissed for incompetency, neglect of duty, unsatisfactory performance, insubordination or other good and just cause. ¹ Pursuant to section 22-63-302(3), 9 C.R.S. (1995), Heimer requested an evidentiary hearing before an impartial hearing officer. After a nine day hearing, the hearing officer entered findings of fact establishing two grounds for dismissal: insubordination and neglect of duty. Despite these findings, the hearing officer recommended retention of the teacher. In the recommendation, the hearing officer explained that "[t]hese acts, when considered in the context of all of the reasons for which she was terminated, do not stand by themselves as cause for dismissal."

The Board reviewed the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation pursuant to section 22-63-302(9), 9 C.R.S. (1995), and entered an order dismissing Heimer for insubordination and neglect of duty. The Board incorporated certain of the hearing officer's findings in its Order of Dismissal to support its decision. The Board explained that its review of the totality of the evidence indicated that Heimer did have deficiencies in her teaching which should have been corrected and that Heimer did not improve after attempts at remediation.

The court of appeals undertook review of the Board's order under section 22-63-302(10)(c), 9 C.R.S. (1995), upon appeal by Heimer. The court of appeals determined that the statute directed it to proceed as follows:

Under the new statute [1990 Act], we must then proceed to compare the conclusions (or ultimate facts) adopted by the board of education with the hearing officer's supported findings of fact. If the board's conclusions are not supported by such findings, the board's decision must be vacated.

If, on the other hand, both the conclusions of the hearing officer and those of the board are rationally supported by those findings, we will be required to compare and to balance the force of each body's conclusions.

Heimer v. Board of Educ., Adams County-Westminster Sch. Dist. No. 50, 895 P.2d 152, 159 (Colo.App.1994). In implementing this review procedure, the court defined the "record" for purposes of review to be the hearing officer's findings of fact. Ultimately, the court concluded that:

[B]ecause the hearing officer determined that Heimer did, in fact, engage in certain acts of insubordination and neglect of duty, we cannot say that the board's decision is not legally supported by those findings or that no reasonable person could reach the conclusion that Heimer should be terminated. Hence, we cannot conclude that the board's ultimate determination must be vacated because it lacks any legal foundation.

Our conclusion [is] that the hearing officer's recommendation finds more support in the record than does the board's decision....

Heimer, 895 P.2d at 160 (emphasis in original). Because the court of appeals determined that the hearing officer's recommendation rather than the Board's decision had more support in the record, it reversed the Board's order dismissing Heimer from her position and ordered reinstatement.

This court granted certiorari to review:

(1) Whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that its review of the record is limited to the hearing officer's findings when a school board dismisses a teacher contrary to the hearing officer's recommendation and neither party asserts that those findings lack evidentiary support;

(2) Whether appellate review of respondent's employment dismissal requires deference to decisions made by a board of education;

(3) Whether an appellate court must review a school board's specific ground for dismissing a teacher after a hearing officer has recommended retention; [and]

(4) Whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that the hearing officer's recommendation has more support in the record than the contrary decision of the board of education.

We affirm the court of appeals' determination that the record consisted in this case of the hearing officer's findings since neither party challenged these findings. In addition, we recognize that boards of education have primary responsibility for hiring and firing teachers in their school districts. Snyder v. Jefferson County Sch. Dist. R-1, 842 P.2d 624, 681 (Colo.1992). Because we conclude that section 22-63-302(10)(c), 9 C.R.S. (1995), embraces this principle, we reverse and remand for additional review.

II.

This is a teacher dismissal case: the first such case to reach this court since enactment of the Teacher Employment, Compensation, and Dismissal Act of 1990, sections 22-63-101 to -403 (1995) (hereinafter "1990 Act"). ² We are here called upon to evaluate the role assigned by the 1990 Act to the court of appeals in reviewing a decision made by a board of education to dismiss a teacher over the recommendation of a hearing officer that the teacher be retained.

The 1990 Act provides that a teacher who has been the subject of a chief administrative officer's recommendation of dismissal may request a hearing before an impartial hearing officer. § 22-63-302(3), 9 C.R.S. (1995). The hearing officer is charged by the statute with hearing evidence, reviewing exhibits, and making written findings of fact. § 22-63-302(8), 9 C.R.S. (1995). The hearing officer is to recommend to the board that the teacher either be retained or dismissed. Id.

The board must then review the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation and enter a written order. § 22-63-302(9), 9 C.R.S. (1995). If the board orders dismissal of the teacher over the hearing officer's recommendation of retention, the board is directed to arrive at a conclusion, giving its reasons therefor, which reasons must be supported by the record. Id.

Under those circumstances, the teacher may seek recourse in the court of appeals. § 22-63-302(10), 9 C.R.S. (1995). Section 22-63-302(10)(c) provides as follows:

(c) The action for review shall be based upon the record before the hearing officer. If the decision of the board to dismiss the teacher was in accordance with the recommendation of the hearing officer, the court of appeals shall review such record to determine whether the action of the board was arbitrary or capricious or was legally impermissible. If the decision of the board to dismiss the teacher was made over the hearing officer's recommendation of retention, the court of appeals shall either affirm the decision of the board or affirm the recommendation of the hearing officer, based upon the court's review of the record as a whole and the court's own judgment as to whether the board's decision or the hearing officer's recommendation has more support in the record as a whole.

Thus, when the court of appeals is reviewing a board's decision of dismissal that is consistent with the hearing officer's recommendation, the court is to determine whether the board action was arbitrary, capricious, or legally impermissible. We must determine here what standard the court is to use when reviewing a decision of the board that is contrary to a hearing officer's recommendation of retention.

A.

Our primary task in construing statutes is to give effect to the intent of the legislature. Snyder v. Jefferson County Sch. Dist. R-1, 842 P.2d 624, 629 (Colo.1992). To do so, we first look to the statutory language and interpret statutory terms in accordance with their plain and obvious meaning. Bertrand v. Board of County Comm'rs, 872 P.2d 223, 228 (Colo.1994). Furthermore, when possible, statutes should be construed so as to avoid questions of their constitutional validity. See People v. Thomas, 867 P.2d 880, 883 (Colo.1994); Perry Park Water & Sanitation Dist. v. Cordillera Corp., 818 P.2d 728, 732 (Colo.1991).

The issue here is whether or not the statute preserves and is consistent with the appropriate allocation of responsibilities among the hearing officer, the board, and the court of appeals. If the statute were read to usurp the role of the board, either by elevating the hearing officer's recommendation to an equal plane with the board decision or by requiring the court of appeals to decline to give deference to the board decision, then the constitutionality of the statute would be in doubt. ³

In determining the legislative intent of the Act, a brief review of the precursors to the 1990 Act is initially instructive. The 1990 Act replaced the Teacher Employment, Dismissal, and Tenure Act of 1967, §§ 22-63-101 to -118, 9 C.R.S. (1988 & 1989 Supp.) (hereinafter "1967 Act"). Under the 1967 Act, a teacher could obtain review...