Finch v. Fort Bend Independent School Dist.

• Decision Date: 05 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-20924.,02-20924.
• Citation: 333 F.3d 555
• Parties: Patsy FINCH, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. FORT BEND INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants, Don Hooper, Individually and in his official capacity; Arthur Culver, Individually and in his official capacity, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

333 F.3d 555

Patsy FINCH, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. FORT BEND INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants Don Hooper, Individually and in his official capacity; Arthur Culver, Individually and in his official capacity, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 02-20924.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

June 5, 2003.

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Cynthia Thomson Diggs (argued), Holmes, Woods & Diggs, Houston, TX, Gregory Dale Morrison, Galow, Smith & Morrison, Austin, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

David M. Feldman, Clay Thomas Grover (argued), Feldman & Rogers, Houston, TX, for Defendants-Appellants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before SMITH, DENNIS and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.

CLEMENT, Circuit Judge:

Superintendents of a school district appeal the interlocutory order denying their motion for summary judgment predicated on qualified immunity, where a former middle school principal sued the superintendents and school district following her alleged constructive discharge. The former principal brought claims for: violation of her rights under the United States Constitution to freedom of speech and association and to procedural and substantive due process; violation of her rights under the Texas Constitution to freedom of speech and association; breach of contract; and intentional infliction of emotional distress. We REVERSE IN PART the order of the district court denying summary judgment as it pertained to all constitutional claims, and DISMISS the appeal as it pertains to the Texas tort law claim.

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Prior to the events at issue in this litigation, Patsy Finch ("Finch") worked for the Houston Independent School District for 27 years, including 6 years as a teacher, 2 years as an assistant principal, and 21 years as a secondary principal.

Arthur Culver ("Culver") actively recruited Finch for 2 years to join Fort Bend Independent School District ("FBISD"). Finch ultimately accepted Culver (and FBISD)'s offer, which included the position of principal at her choice of middle schools. Finch started as principal of Lake Olympia Middle School under a one-year probationary contract. See TEX. EDUC.CODE ANN. § 21.102(a)(1996). As Superintendent of Area I, Culver supervised Finch.

In the fall of the probationary year, Culver directed Finch to write a proposal for a "School Within a School" program to address issues that had been discussed at an Area I principals' meeting. The program involved placing students whose age exceeded the corresponding grade level by as much as three years in separate classrooms with an enriched curriculum. Finch presented her written proposal to Culver later that fall. No formal action was taken on the proposal that school year.

At the end of the probationary year, Culver evaluated Finch: "Overall, Mrs. Finch has done an outstanding job. She has overcome many obstacles in order to make [Lake Olympia Middle School] a better place for teaching/learning to take place. There was a high turnover rate with teachers, however, that is normal when you bring in a strong instructional leader with high expectations & accountability. Change & turnover was needed." Finch received a two-year term contract.

In November of the first year under the term contract, Don Hooper ("Hooper"), Superintendent over all of FBISD (and Culver's direct supervisor), invited Finch to present her "School Within a School" proposal to the FBISD executive cabinet, which comprised Hooper, all area superintendents (including Culver), and all associate superintendents. The minutes from that meeting state:

A considerable amount of time was spent for the presentation and dialogue about different aspects of the proposal. [The associate superintendent for budget and finance] suggested that Finch meet with someone from his staff to review her proposed budget, and [the then Area III superintendent] suggested [Finch] review a program at Hodges Bend Middle School that has a similar concept. In conclusion, Dr. Hooper commended Finch for her work and desire to address the needs of these children. He also asked that she review certain areas of the proposal and provide greater detail and descriptions of how the program will be different, and thus prove successful for these students.

Three months later, Finch's employment situation abruptly changed. On February 25, Culver informed Finch that Hooper wanted Finch to resign, effective at the end of the school year. Hooper suggested Finch would be reassigned if she did not resign. The request stunned Finch. She and Culver went to see Hooper. According to Finch's deposition, Hooper opened the conversation by stating: "I just don't like you, and I made a mistake in bringing you here from [Houston] ISD. We need to cut our losses, and you need to leave. You need to resign[.]" Hooper stated Finch was not keeping the parents of her students under control. Hooper expressed displeasure about contemporary media reports that a few years earlier, when Finch was principal of Pershing Middle School, the coach of Pershing's female basketball team allegedly raped a member of the team during a school function. Hooper further expressed concern that Finch had defended Jackie Gilbert, a physical education teacher Finch had brought with her from Pershing, who had recently resigned following charges of impropriety. Hooper also told Finch that "he didn't like the School Within a School proposal, that he was absolutely sick of [it]."¹

After the meeting, Culver had additional contact with Finch during the workday and into the evening (via telephone) to determine whether Finch would resign. The following morning, Friday, February 26, a FBISD police car blocked Finch in her driveway. The police officer delivered a letter from the associate superintendent of human resources reassigning Finch to an unspecified position, instructing Finch to meet with Hooper on Monday morning, and directing Finch not to go to Lake Olympia Middle School. On Monday, Finch met Hooper and was assigned to the maintenance department.

Later that week, Hooper provided Finch with written notice that she was being reassigned to the specific position of Facilitator for Classified Staff Development. The written notice provided reasons for the reassignment:

1. Failure to maintain an effective working relationship with FBISD administrators/colleagues;

2. Failure to cooperate with and to timely prepare documents needed in connection with a special education matter;

3. Failure to follow established policies and procedures; and

4. Insubordination.

In addition, the notice informed Finch she could present any concerns she had regarding the reassignment through the FBISD grievance process. Finch's salary remained unchanged.

Finch filed a grievance. In April, Hooper conducted a Level III grievance hearing, with Finch represented by counsel. Following an adverse result, Finch appealed the Level III grievance hearing to the FBISD board of trustees.² The board held an evidentiary hearing, referred to as a Level IV grievance hearing, in May, with both sides represented by counsel. The board ultimately took no action on Finch's grievance, which effectively upheld the Level III decision. Finch resigned from FBISD in July.

Finch sued the Superintendents and FBISD in federal court, bringing: (1) a procedural due process claim alleging that Finch was entitled to, but did not receive, a pre-termination hearing; (2) a substantive due process claim; (3) First Amendment claims based on Finch's speech regarding the "School Within a School" proposal and her associations with members of the school board; (4) claims under the Texas Constitution that track her First Amendment claims; (5) a state law claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (6) a state law claim for breach of contract.³

The Superintendents moved for summary judgment predicated on qualified immunity. The district court denied the motion, finding Finch was given virtually no prior notice of the reassignment and finding a genuine issue of fact over whether Finch's reassignment was a demotion. The Superintendents appealed.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

By way of motion, Finch contends the Court is deprived of jurisdiction to consider this appeal. To deny a summary judgment motion based on qualified immunity, a district court must determine both (1) that certain conduct "violate[d] clearly established statutory rights of which a reasonable person would have known," Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), and (2) that a genuine issue of fact exists regarding whether the defendant engaged in such conduct. See Kinney v. Weaver, 301 F.3d 253, 261 (5th Cir.2002). On interlocutory appeal, this Court may review only the first question. See Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 313, 319, 115 S.Ct. 2151, 132 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995); Wagner v. Bay City, 227 F.3d 316, 320 (5th Cir.2000) ("[W]e can review the materiality of any factual disputes, but not their genuineness.") (emphasis in original). The court below denied the motion for summary judgment "[b]ecause genuine issues of material fact exist[.]" (emphasis added). Thus, this Court has jurisdiction to hear this interlocutory appeal insofar as it challenges the district court's determination of materiality.

In this situation, the Court reviews de novo. See Benningfield v. City of Houston, 157 F.3d 369, 374 (5th Cir.1998). "In making [a] legal determination on the materiality of the facts at issue, we review the complaint and record to determine whether, assuming that the plaintiff's version of the facts is true, those facts are materially sufficient to establish that the defendants acted in an objectively unreasonable manner in light of clearly established law." Kinney, 301 F.3d at 261 (internal citations omitted, emphasis added).

III. DISCUSSION

The court must engage in a two-step analysis to determine whether...