Board of School Trustees of Marion Community Schools v. Marion Teachers Ass'n

• Decision Date: 21 November 1988
• Docket Number: No. 29A04-8712-CV-390,29A04-8712-CV-390
• Citation: 530 N.E.2d 309
• Parties: 50 Ed. Law Rep. 158 BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES OF the MARION COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. MARION TEACHERS ASSOCIATION and Jim Templin, in his capacity as President of the Marion Teachers Association, Appellee (Plaintiff Below), and Indiana Education Employment Relations Board and Raymond L. Green, Chairman, Appellee (Defendant Below).
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

Page 309

530 N.E.2d 309

50 Ed. Law Rep. 158

BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES OF the MARION COMMUNITY SCHOOLS Appellant (Defendant Below), v. MARION TEACHERS ASSOCIATION and Jim Templin, in his capacity as President of the Marion Teachers Association Appellee (Plaintiff Below) and Indiana Education Employment Relations Board and Raymond L Green, Chairman, Appellee (Defendant Below).

No. 29A04-8712-CV-390.

Court of Appeals of Indiana, Third District.

Nov. 21, 1988.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 17, 1989.

Richard D. Small, Jr., Abbott, Rund, Small & Goerges, Indianapolis, for appellant.

Richard J. Darko, Richard S. Pitts, Lowe, Gray, Steele & Hoffman, Indianapolis, for appellees.

HOFFMAN, Judge.

On September 25, 1985, the Marion Teachers Association and the Board of School Trustees of the Marion Community Schools entered a collective bargaining agreement for the 1985-1986 school year.

On October 25, 1985, the School Board filed a petition for unit clarification with the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board (I.E.E.R.B.). The School Board petitioned to exclude the positions of assistant athletic director, head high school boy's basketball coach and head high school football coach from the teacher's bargaining unit.

The I.E.E.R.B. determined that the three positions were supervisory and should be excluded from the bargaining unit. Marion Community Schools v. Marion Teachers Association (1986) I.E.E.R.B. Annual Report 48, 54. The Marion Teachers Association filed a petition for judicial review of the agency's action. The petition was granted. The trial court concluded that the I.E.E.R.B.'s adjudication of the case was in excess of its statutory jurisdiction. The School Board appeals the trial court decision.

The School Board argues that the trial court erred in its interpretation of the goals and underlying policy of the Certificated Educational Employee Bargaining Act (the Act), IND.CODE Sec. 20-7.5-1-1 et seq. (1982 Ed.).

The trial court found that the I.E.E.R.B. was in excess of its statutory jurisdiction set out at IND.CODE Sec. 20-7.5-1-10(a), which reads in part:

"(1) the parties may agree on the appropriate unit. For this purpose the parties shall consist of the school employer and a school employee organization representing twenty percent (20%) or more of the school employees in any proposed unit.

(2) If no such agreement is reached, or if any school employee in the proposed unit files a complaint to such unit with the board [I.E.E.R.B.], the board shall determine the proper unit...."

The trial court concluded that the I.E.E.R.B. is prohibited from ruling on a unit determination petition when the parties have agreed on the appropriate unit and no school employee has filed a complaint to the unit.

When construing any statute, a determination of legislative intent is imperative and that intent should be given deference whenever possible. Intent may be discerned from a consideration of the goals and the policy underlying the statute. United Rural Elec. v. Ind. & Mich. Elec. (1987), Ind.App., 515 N.E.2d 1135, 1138. The trial court's ruling counters the legislature's intent. The legislature enacted an administrative scheme empowering the I.E.E.R.B. to adjudicate unit determination petitions and resolve questions concerning composition of teacher's bargaining units.

The teacher's collective bargaining act does not grant the right to enter an illegal contract. South Bend Com. School v. Nat. Educ. Ass'n (1983), Ind.App., 444 N.E.2d 348, 353. Supervisors are excluded from teacher bargaining units as a matter of law.

IND.CODE Sec. 20-7.5-1-2(e), (k), (l ) (1982 Ed.);

Board of School Trustees v. Indiana Educ. (1986), Ind.App., 498 N.E.2d 1006, 1008.

The Act does not sanction an illegally composed bargaining unit. The legislature's goal was to have the I.E.E.R.B., a nonparty agency with expertise in the field of educational employment law, determine whether an educational employee is a supervisor and excluded from the bargaining unit. A collective bargaining contract should not bar I.E.E.R.B. review of a unit determination petition filed by a school employer when that unit illegally includes supervisory personnel.

The legislature excluded unit determinations as a subject of the collective bargaining process. IND.CODE Sec. 20-7.5-1-4 and 5 (1982 Ed.). The following I.E.E.R.B. regulation correctly allows unit determination petitions from school employers or school employees and their organizations when a collective bargaining contract exists:

"Unit Clarification. The...