Banks v. Wolfe County Bd. of Educ.
| Decision Date | 06 June 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-5985.,01-5985. |
| Citation | 330 F.3d 888 |
| Parties | Netta BANKS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. WOLFE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
W. Keith Ransdell (briefed), John C. Roach (argued and briefed), Ransdell, Roach & Wier, Lexington, KY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Susan C. Sears, Catherine Salmen Wright (briefed), Mekesha H. Montgomery (argued), Frost, Brown & Todd, Lexington, KY, for Defendants-Appellees.
Before GILMAN and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges; POLSTER, District Judge.*
POLSTER, D.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which GILMAN, J., joined. GIBBONS, J. (pp. 898-899), delivered a separate concurring opinion.
Plaintiff-Appellant Netta Banks appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment to Defendants-Appellees Wolfe County Board of Education, Stephen Butcher, and Howard Osborne on her First Amendment retaliation claim. For the reasons set forth below, the judgment of the district court is REVERSED and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
In 1993, Plaintiff-Appellant Netta Banks ("Banks") received a degree in elementary education. After her graduation, Banks began substitute teaching for the Wolfe County Board of Education ("Defendant Board"). In 1995, Banks was hired as a classified instructional aide with Defendant Board. In August of 1998, Banks became the parent liaison at Campton Elementary School. Banks was never employed by Defendant Board in a certified teaching position despite interviewing for several positions both before and after August of 1998.
In August of 1998, Howard Osborne ("Defendant Osborne") was hired as principal at Campton Elementary. On August 4, 1998, Banks interviewed for a primary teaching position at Campton Elementary with the Campton Site-Based Council ("Campton Council"). Defendant Osborne was a member of the Campton Council. Krystal Evans, another applicant, was awarded the position.
Following this decision, Banks began to question the policies and procedures of the Campton Council. Banks spoke to several members of the Campton Council regarding Evans' hiring and the interviewing procedures that were or were not followed. On August 10, 1998, Banks directed an open records request to Defendant Osborne. Banks' request sought copies of the Campton Elementary School's site-based decision-making policies and procedures for the hiring of certified personnel, copies of her job description and personnel folder, and copies of the August 4, 1998 Campton Council's meeting.
In a letter dated August 13, 1998, Banks made a formal written complaint to the Office of Education Accountability of the Commonwealth of Kentucky ("OEA").1 The letter alleges that the Campton Council failed to follow its policies and procedures in hiring Evans and that there had been irregularities in the hiring of three other primary positions. On or about August 14, 1998, Bill Stearns of the OEA contacted Defendant Osborne and requested information regarding the hiring of Evans. Defendant Osborne testified that the OEA neither gave him a copy of the complaint nor told him who the complainant was. On August 17, 1998, Defendant Osborne provided the OEA with documentation about the hiring of Krystal Evans.
In a letter dated October 9, 1998, Banks sent a second written complaint to the OEA and asserted twenty-eight allegations of wrongdoing by Defendants. On October 13 and 14, 1998, two OEA staff members conducted an on-site investigation at Campton Elementary and interviewed the Campton Council members and Superintendent Stephen Butcher ("Defendant Butcher"). On December 14, 1998, the OEA sent Defendant Butcher the Preliminary Report and requested a formal response to the findings. On December 29, 1998, Defendant Butcher responded to the findings. On February 16, 1999, the OEA issued a final report.
Defendants assert that Banks' conduct adversely affected the school and the ability of its staff to meet the needs of the students. On or before October 13, 1998, Defendant Butcher met with and informed Banks that she was being transferred to the Family Resource Center. On October 13, 1998, Banks received a letter confirming the transfer. Banks alleges that she was transferred in retaliation for her filing the formal complaints with OEA. Banks further contends that she was not interviewed or hired for numerous jobs and that Defendant Butcher refused to forward her name to principals for open positions. Banks also asserts that the contract offered by Defendant Board for the 1999-2000 school year did not include a 3 percent raise and an additional $600 pay increase.2 Banks did not sign the contract and accepted a certified teaching position in Powell County. Banks has taught at Stanton Elementary School in Powell County since August of 1999.
On July 12, 1999, Banks filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint alleging a First Amendment claim and a state whistleblower claim. J.A. at 8-14. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Wolfe County Board of Education, Stephen Butcher, and Howard Osborne on Banks' First Amendment claim. The district court concluded that Banks' speech did not address a matter of public concern. The district court dismissed with prejudice Banks' state whistleblower claim on statute of limitations grounds. In the present appeal, Banks challenges only the district court's granting of summary judgment in favor of Defendants on the First Amendment claim. Banks does not challenge the district court's ruling on her state whistleblower claim.
This court reviews the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Watkins v. City of Battle Creek, 273 F.3d 682, 685 (6th Cir.2001). Summary judgment is proper when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the factual evidence and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "[T]he party opposing the motion may not rely solely on the pleadings and must adduce more than a mere scintilla of evidence; if the nonmoving party fails to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of the case with respect to which the nonmovant has the burden, the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law." Thompson v. Ashe, 250 F.3d 399, 405 (6th Cir.2001). A genuine issue for trial exists "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
Not all speech by a public employee is protected by the First Amendment. In order to make out a prima facie case for a First Amendment claim, Banks, a public employee who claims that an employment decision was made in retaliation for engaging in protected speech, must show that: (1) "the plaintiff was engaged in constitutionally protected speech; (2) the plaintiff was subjected to an adverse action or was deprived of some benefit; and (3) the protected speech was a `substantial' or a `motivating factor' in the adverse action." Brandenburg v. Housing Authority of Irvine, 253 F.3d 891, 896 (6th Cir.2001) (citing Mt. Healthy City School Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287, 97 S.Ct. 568, 50 L.Ed.2d 471 (1977)). To demonstrate that Banks was engaging in constitutionally protected speech, she must show that her speech touched on matters of public concern, and that her "interest in making such statements outweighs the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees." Pickering v. Board of Educ. of Township High School, Dist. 205, 391 U.S. 563, 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968); Mt. Healthy City School Dist. Bd. of Educ., 429 U.S. at 284, 97 S.Ct. 568; and Bailey v. Floyd County Bd. of Educ., 106 F.3d 135, 144 (6th Cir.1997). Whether speech addresses a matter of public concern is a question of law. Barnes v. McDowell, 848 F.2d 725, 733 (6th Cir. 1988). If a plaintiff's speech does not address a matter of public concern, no further inquiry is necessary. Id.
The Supreme Court has held that speech addressing a matter of public concern is speech relating to "any matter of political, social, or other concern to the community." Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 146, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983). By contrast, a public employee's speech dealing with "matters only of personal interest" is generally not afforded constitutional protection. Id. at 147, 103 S.Ct. 1684. "Whether an employee's speech addresses a matter of public concern must be determined by the content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed by the whole record." Id. at 147-48, 103 S.Ct. 1684. In general, speech involves matters of public concern when it involves "issues about which information is needed or appropriate to enable the members of society to make informed decisions about the operation of their government." Brandenburg, 253 F.3d at 898 (quoting McKinley v. City of Eloy, 705 F.2d 1110, 1114 (9th Cir.1983)). If any part of an employee's speech relating to a matter of public concern is a substantial or motivating factor in the adverse action, the court must engage in the balancing process set forth in Pickering. The court is required to: "balance between the interests of the teacher, as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern and the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the...
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