Christopher v. WINDOM AREA SCHOOL BD., No. A09-1715.

• Decision Date: 27 April 2010
• Docket Number: No. A09-1715.
• Citation: 781 N.W.2d 904
• Parties: Corey CHRISTOPHER, Relator, v. WINDOM AREA SCHOOL BOARD, Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Court of Appeals

781 N.W.2d 904

Corey CHRISTOPHER, Relator, v. WINDOM AREA SCHOOL BOARD, Respondent.

No. A09-1715.

Court of Appeals of Minnesota.

April 27, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Philip G. Villaume, Villaume and Schiek, P.A., Bloomington, MN, for relator.

Kevin J. Rupp, Minneapolis, MN, for respondent.

Considered and decided by SHUMAKER, Presiding Judge; KLAPHAKE, Judge; and CRIPPEN, Judge.^*

OPINION

KLAPHAKE, Judge.

This appeal involves a challenge to a school board's decision not to renew an annual basketball coaching contract of a high school teacher. We affirm.

FACTS

During the 2008-09 school year, relator Corey Christopher was a part-time English teacher, activities director, and boys varsity basketball coach at the Windom Area School (Windom). As a teacher, relator taught one English class and supervised one study hall. Relator's teaching position was subject to a continuing contract, but his other assignments were subject to a one-year contract for which he received separate compensation.

On May 6, 2009, Windom school superintendent Wayne Wormstadt sent a letter to respondent Windom Area School Board (the school board), recommending that the school board not renew relator's contract as head boys basketball coach for the 2009-10 school year. The reasons given for Wormstadt's recommendation were:

1. Lack of a clear, organized, and linear boys basketball program for grades 7-12.

2. Failure to communicate in a clear and effective manner in his role as the head coach.

3. Mr. Christopher will be assigned grades 9 and 10 English for the 2009-10 school year. He will be returning to the classroom as a full-time teacher for the first time in seven years. Mr. Hanson the school principal and I both believe it is with utmost importance that Mr. Christopher gives his full efforts to the classroom above coaching. He will be the only teacher for these two grade levels. With the current state mandated testing in these grades and the fact that all students will pass through his classroom, we feel it is vital that all of Mr. Christopher's efforts are focused on the primary purpose of teaching English.

The school board approved the decision not to renew relator as head boys basketball coach at a regular meeting on May 11, 2009, and sent relator a letter informing him of that decision the next day.

Relator sought legal counsel, and on May 20, 2009, relator's counsel wrote a letter to counsel for the school board, requesting the reasons for the decision and asking for a hearing before a neutral hearing officer. On May 27, 2009, Wormstadt sent a letter to relator informing him of the reasons for the decision in language that was identical to that set forth in Wormstadt's May 6 letter to the school board.

On May 28, 2009, the school board counsel sent relator's counsel a letter denying relator's request for a hearing before a neutral hearing officer, stating that it was not required either by statute or under state or federal due process law. Nevertheless, on June 1, 2009, Wormstadt sent relator a letter informing him that he would be given the opportunity to appear at a school board meeting to respond to the reasons given for his non-renewal and that the meeting would be either open or closed, at relator's option. Relator then sought to subpoena witnesses, call Wormstadt as a witness, and cross-examine school board members, but those requests were denied on the basis that the purpose of the meeting was merely to allow relator to respond to the school board's given reasons for the non-renewal decision and not to conduct a contested-case hearing.

The school board meeting was held on August 4, 2009. Relator called sixteen witnesses to speak on his behalf, including a former principal, a clergy person, and individuals involved in Windom basketball, such as fellow coaches, parents, referees, staff, and a student. Nearly all spoke with regard to relator's coaching ability; nearly all made comments extremely favorable to relator; and many directly contradicted the first two given reasons for the school board's non-renewal decision and questioned the unexpected and summary nature of the decision. Two persons spoke with regard to relator's teaching ability, and both, a former principal and a paraprofessional who assisted in relator's classroom for seven years, gave favorable observations about his teaching ability.

Superintendent Wormstadt also spoke at the meeting and elaborated on the original reasons he gave for recommending that relator's coaching assignment not be renewed. He talked about relator's deficiencies in basketball program development in the grades leading up to high school, his failure to communicate with the lower grades, and his yelling and swearing at an assistant coach in one instance.

Wormstadt also stated that relator was needed as a full-time English teacher and would be responsible for teaching 120-130 students beginning the following year, that teaching needed to be his priority, and that he had been deficient in some areas as an English teacher. Wormstadt recounted that one family had decided to have their children take online English classes, and three other families were considering this option due to the possibility of relator being their children's English teacher.

Wormstadt also listed two examples of relator's poor classroom supervision in April 2008. One instance involved relator being so absorbed with phone texting while at his desk that he was unaware of Wormstadt's presence in the classroom or of students' behavior and lack of productivity. The second instance, which occurred less than a week later, involved relator leaving his classroom unsupervised while he talked on his cell phone in the hallway.¹ Wormstadt did not answer questions, and at the end of the meeting, the school board voted unanimously to affirm its earlier decision.

Relator resigned from all duties at Windom on September 4, 2009, and the school board approved his resignation at its regular meeting on September 14, 2009. Relator petitioned this court for a writ of certiorari, which this court issued on September 18, 2009.

ISSUES

1. Does this court have jurisdiction to hear this case?

2. Did the school board's decision not to renew relator's coaching position violate his statutory rights under Minn.Stat. § 122A.33, subd. 2?

3. Did the school board's decision not to renew relator's coaching position violate his constitutional due process rights?

4. Are the issues raised by relator moot because relator resigned from all duties at Windom on September 4, 2009?

ANALYSIS

1. Jurisdiction

Respondent argues that this court lacks jurisdiction over this matter because relator's petition for a writ of certiorari was untimely. Under Minn.Stat. § 606.01 (2008), a writ of certiorari "shall be issued within 60 days after the party applying for such writ shall have received due notice of the proceeding sought to be reviewed thereby." See Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 115.01 (stating that the appeal period for decisions reviewable by certiorari is "governed by the applicable statute"). A party's failure to meet the time requirements of Minn.Stat. § 606.01 is a jurisdictional defect. Flaherty v. Ind. Sch. Dist. No. 2144, 577 N.W.2d 229, 233 (Minn.App. 1998), review denied (Minn. June 17, 1998). "If the writ of certiorari is not timely issued or served, the writ must be discharged for lack of jurisdiction." Hickman v. Comm'r of Human Servs., 682 N.W.2d 697, 700 (Minn.App.2004).

The school board decided not to renew relator's coaching assignment on May 11, 2008, and informed relator of its decision in a letter dated May 12, 2008. The school board claims that the period for petitioning for a writ of certiorari expired 60 days later, although its decision did not become final until after the August 4, 2008 meeting affirming its earlier decision. See Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 103.03(g) (allowing party to appeal from "a final order, decision or judgment affecting a substantial right made in an administrative or other special proceeding").

We conclude that the school board's decision lacked finality until after the August 4 meeting. Until after the August 4 vote, the school board could have altered its decision upon hearing relator's response to its reasons for the non-renewal. Relator's failure to petition for a writ of certiorari was due in part to the decision of the school board, consistent with the statutory requirements of Minn.Stat. § 122A.33, subd. 3 (2008), to allow him to request the reasons for the school board's decision and to permit him to appear at a school board meeting to respond to the school board's initial decision. As such, the school board's decision was not final until August 4, and relator's appeal was timely.

2. Violation of Statutory Rights

This court will reverse a school board decision "when it is fraudulent, arbitrary, unreasonable, unsupported by substantial evidence not within its jurisdiction, or based on an error of law." Dokmo v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 11, 459 N.W.2d 671, 675 (Minn.1990). Questions of statutory construction are legal questions subject to de novo review. Denelsbeck v. Wells Fargo & Co., 666 N.W.2d 339, 346 (Minn.2003); In re Denial of Eller Media Co.'s Applications for Outdoor Adver. Device Permits, 664 N.W.2d 1, 7 (Minn.2003).

Under Minn.Stat. § 122A.33, subd. 2, "a person employed as a head varsity coach has an annual contract as a coach that the school board may or may not renew as the board sees fit." The statute requires the school board to take the following actions before it decides not to renew a person's coaching contract:

A school board that declines to renew the coaching contract of a licensed or nonlicensed head varsity coach must notify the coach within 14 days of that decision. If the coach requests reasons for not renewing the coaching contract, the board must give the coach its reasons in writing within ten days of receiving the request. Upon request, the board must provide the

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