Fort Wayne Educ. Ass'n, Inc. v. Board of School Trustees of Ft. Wayne Community Schools, 90A04-8904-CV-00164
| Decision Date | 09 April 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90A04-8904-CV-00164,90A04-8904-CV-00164 |
| Citation | 569 N.E.2d 672 |
| Parties | 66 Ed. Law Rep. 1227 FORT WAYNE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, INC. Appellant, v. BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES OF THE FORT WAYNE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, Appellee. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Richard J. Darko, Joseph R. Pitcher, Lowe Gray Steele & Hoffman, Indianapolis, for appellant.
Alan Verplanck, Barrett & McNagny, Fort Wayne, for appellee.
Fort Wayne Snider High School teacher Kerry A. Miller was scheduled to teach two courses in Word Power--a Latin derivatives course--instead of Spanish, which he preferred. He claimed a teacher with less seniority was treated with favoritism in the scheduling of teaching assignments. Miller and the Fort Wayne Education Association (an organization representing the licensed employees of the school district) filed a grievance on June 11, 1987 alleging violations of the Master Contract, Article XI, regarding placement, assignment and promotion. The matter proceeded through contractual and administrative remedies, and was finally submitted to arbitration. The arbitrator found that, under the terms of the contract, no reassignment occurred and denied Miller and the Association any relief. In his award, the arbitrator concluded that, in considerations of transfer and reassignment, building needs outweigh seniority/length of service. The Association, contending that the arbitrator exceeded his authority by ruling on issues not submitted, filed suit requesting the court to modify the arbitrator's award pursuant to Ind.Code 34-4-2-14. The Wells Circuit Court, after a hearing, granted summary judgment to the Board of School Trustees of the Fort Wayne Community Schools (the Board) finding that no reassignment or transfer occurred and that the issue of building needs versus seniority was moot. The Association appeals contending the trial court erred in not considering extrinsic evidence to determine whether the arbitrator exceeded his authority and that the trial court erred as a matter of law in not modifying the award.
We affirm the trial court's award of summary judgment on the issue of whether Miller was reassigned, but reverse and remand with instructions to excise the language that building needs outweigh seniority, because this part of the award exceeds the authority granted to the arbitrator under the Master Contract.
The issues presented have been restated as follows:
I. Did the trial court err in refusing to consider extrinsic evidence in reviewing the arbitrator's award; and
II. Did the trial court err when it failed to modify the language in the arbitrator's award in which the arbitrator awarded upon a matter not submitted, which could have been corrected without
affecting the merits of the decision pursuant to IC 34-4-2-14.
The underlying dispute between the Association and the Board arose out of the scheduling of classes for the 1987-88 school year. In the Spring of 1987, the head of the foreign language department was required to submit class schedules for the upcoming school year. As was customary, the teachers submitted their "wish lists" for teaching assignments. These requests resulted in conflict among the Spanish teachers. The department head scheduled a meeting with the teachers. The conflict was resolved by Miller and Alicia Bower, each agreeing to teach one section of Latin Word Power. The agreed schedule was submitted to the Assistant Principal. However, Bower later informed the Assistant Principal that she no longer desired to teach the Word Power course and that she had been pressured into the compromise. After consultation with the Principal and no consultation with the teachers or department head, Miller was assigned to teach two Word Power courses and Bower was assigned all Spanish courses.
Miller filed a grievance alleging a violation of the Contract, Article XI and requested all Spanish assignments. Miller's position was that he had more seniority/length of service with the school and that he should have been given preference. He also claimed that Bower had been given preference because she was the daughter of a former department head.
The Board's position was that Bower--a Cuban, with Spanish as her native language--was not treated with favoritism, but the principal's decision--which was solely within his discretion--was reasonable because Miller had taught the Word Power course previously and Bower had not.
The matter proceeded through contractual and administrative review and finally to arbitration pursuant to the Master Contract. The arbitrator, Robert W. Kilroy, after a hearing, determined that, in fact, Miller had not been reassigned, reasoning as follows (in pertinent part):
Based on the evidence, the arguments of the parties, and collective bargaining agreement, the arbitrator finds no violation of the agreement.
In order to prevail in this matter, the Association must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence: that length of service in the school system is the controlling factor in Article XI, 3.b.; and/or that the school principal was arbitrary and capricious in that application of Article XI, 3.b. The agreement and evidence in the matter does not support either proposition.
Beginning with Article II, the Board has the right, responsibility and authority to establish and staff curriculum and programs. Teachers are placed within the building or unit by the Board and Superintendent. And finally, assignments are made by the building principal according to the teaching needs of the school, and according to qualifications and teacher preference. The needs of the school and the qualifications of teachers to meet these needs are within the sole discretion of the principal. The only qualifiers to his/her judgment is teacher preference and assignments outside the area of teacher certification (XI-A2.ab). Length of service is absent from this section as a concept and a qualifier. Applying the facts of this case to A2.a and b, the arbitrator finds that reasons were clearly articulated for the assignments of grievant [Miller] and [Bower]. The principal credibly testifies that [Bower] was hired for her native ability to teach upper level Spanish classes. Grievant on the other hand, has had two years experience teaching Word Power and has achieved good results from students. In the absence of any evidence that grievant had equal ability in upper level Spanish classes, or that [Bower] could teach Word Power as well as grievant, the results are not arbitrary or capricious. Several teachers testified that [Bower] could teach Word Power. These conclusions are not doubted. However, the judgment to be made in this case was for As a concept, length of service appears in Article XI for the first time in section 3--Transfer or Reassignment. The facts of this case do not establish that a transfer or reassignment occurred. Assignments were not made until on or about May 26, 1987. While department teachers may have decided as to what assignments they preferred, this, standing by itself, did not constitute an assignment as contemplated by Section 2.
the principal, not the collective judgment of staff members upon preferences.
Assuming for the purpose of the Association's argument that a transfer/reassignment occurred, the provision of b.1-4 apply. The Association argues that length of service is the controlling factor. This conclusion is not supported by the evidence or the Agreement.
During negotiation for the present and precedent Agreements, the Association proposed seniority as a criteria for reassignment, and proposed that the particular needs of the school be eliminated. These changes were resisted by the Board and no agreement was reached. This leads to the inescapable conclusion that building needs outweigh seniority/length of service considerations in transfer and reassignments.
* * * * * *
(R.27-28).
The Association sought judicial review in Wells Circuit Court to modify the arbitrator's award on the basis that the decision exceeded the scope of his authority. Specifically, the Association contended that the parties had agreed that Miller was reassigned and, therefore, the arbitrator's finding was contrary to the parties' agreement. The Association also argued that the language--building needs outweigh seniority--should be excised. It contends that the construction of the language in the Master Contract will affect disputes between the parties on future questions concerning transfers and reassignments. 1
When reviewing the grant of a motion for summary judgment, we stand in the shoes of the trial court. Ft. Wayne Community Schools v. Ft. Wayne Education Association (1986), Ind.App., 490 N.E.2d 337. Summary judgment is appropriate only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.
The Association argues that extrinsic evidence must be reviewed to enable a court to determine whether statutory grounds for modification of an award exists. It contends the Board and the Association were in agreement prior to the arbitration on two pertinent points:
1) that Miller had been reassigned, and
2) that the four criteria under the Transfer and Reassignment provisions of the Master Contract had not been prioritized. 2
Therefore, the Association argues, the arbitrator's decision was contrary to both parties' positions, and thus, exceeded the scope of his authority.
The Association sought judicial review to modify the award pursuant to Indiana's version of the Uniform Arbitration Act, IC 34-4-2-14. 3 The arbitration hearing had not been transcribed by a reporter because neither party requested it. However, the Association did tape record the proceedings. The Association submitted to the trial court a typed transcript of the tape recorded opening and closing statements of both counsel and also submitted the post-arbitration hearing briefs of the parties. An...
To continue reading
Request your trial