Green v. Clarendon County School Dist. Three

• Decision Date: 30 April 1996
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 2:94-4-18AJ.
• Citation: 923 F. Supp. 829
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina
• Parties: William Henry GREEN, Plaintiff, v. CLARENDON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT THREE; Carnell Hampton, in both his individual capacity and as member of the Clarendon County School District Three Board of Trustees; and Edgar C. Taylor, in both his individual and official capacity as Superintendent of Clarendon County School District Three, Defendants.

923 F. Supp. 829

William Henry GREEN, Plaintiff, v. CLARENDON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT THREE; Carnell Hampton, in both his individual capacity and as member of the Clarendon County School District Three Board of Trustees; and Edgar C. Taylor, in both his individual and official capacity as Superintendent of Clarendon County School District Three, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 2:94-4-18AJ.

United States District Court, D. South Carolina, Charleston Division.

April 30, 1996.

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William E. Craver, III, Jay T. Gouldon, Richard Stoney, Charleston, SC, for plaintiff.

Todd W. Smyth, G. Mark Phillips, Charleston, SC, Kenneth L. Childs, Columbia, SC, for defendants.

ORDER

NORTON, District Judge.

Words are like leaves; and where they most abound, much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.

— ALEXANDER POPE, AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM.

This action is before the court on the parties' verbose and extensive cross-motions for summary judgment.¹ For the reasons set forth below, the court denies Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, and the court grants in part and denies in part Defendants' motion for summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

This case arises out of an allegation of racial discrimination in employment. Plaintiff was first employed by the Defendant Clarendon County School District Three ("District") as an elementary school teacher in 1975. From 1977 to 1978, Plaintiff taught middle school in Clarendon County School District Two, and then returned to the District in 1978 to teach at Walker-Gamble Elementary School ("Walker-Gamble"). During the 1979-1980 school year, Plaintiff served as a teacher and assistant principal of Walker-Gamble, and then in 1980 Plaintiff was promoted to principal of East Clarendon Middle School ("East Clarendon"). In June of 1986, Plaintiff was terminated from that position and reassigned to a district administrative level position as transportation supervisor and director of maintenance and purchasing. In 1987, Plaintiff accepted a position teaching at Walker-Gamble, where he taught until April 14, 1994, when his employment was terminated. During the time frame relevant to this lawsuit, therefore, Plaintiff was an elementary school teacher for the District.

In 1992, two principal positions became available in the District, one at Walker-Gamble and one at East Clarendon. Plaintiff applied for the position of principal at East Clarendon. Both vacancies were advertised in local newspapers and, in addition, the Superintendent (Defendant Dr. Taylor) asked the principals of schools within the District to announce the vacancies to members of their faculty. The Superintendent formed selection committees at both schools, each committee comprised of approximately six members of the faculty of the respective schools. Each committee developed a profile of a desirable candidate for principal, comprised a list, and submitted it to the Superintendent.

At Walker-Gamble, the Superintendent himself screened applications, selected candidates for interviews, and conducted those interviews. The Superintendent then selected the best candidate and two alternates based on his interviews. At East Clarendon, the selection committee rather than the Superintendent screened applications and selected those individuals to be interviewed. This list was submitted to the Superintendent, who added one applicant to the list. The resulting list of applicants was interviewed separately by both the selection committee and the Superintendent. The selection committee then forwarded to the Superintendent the names of three individuals, ranked in no particular order. The Superintendent also arrived at the same three names, and selected the one person he would recommend to fill the position, together with two alternates.

Defendants allege that while the Superintendent and the selection committees were carrying out the selection process, Plaintiff was attempting to persuade individual members of the school board to elect him to fill the principal position at East Clarendon. (Mem.Supp.Defs.' Mot.Summ. J., at 4), citing Dep. of Pl. (II) at 76-80, 180-181. Defendants point out that Plaintiff has close personal ties to two members of the board, F.C. Green (Plaintiff's cousin), and Larry Coker (also a cousin of the Plaintiff, and his next-door neighbor). (Dep. of Pl. at 77-78, 99-100.)

The school board met on March 25, 1993, in executive session,² to consider the applications for principal at both schools. The board is comprised of six white members and one black member. It is undisputed that the Superintendent recommended that the board elect Ms. Connie Dennis, a white applicant, for the position at Walker-Gamble. The board unanimously accepted the recommendation of Ms. Dennis. Defendants urge that this was consistent with "the Board's long-standing tradition of deferring to the decision of the superintendent regarding the hiring of new administrators." Id., citing Dep. of Blakely, at 147-48; Dep. of F.C. Green, at 78; Dep. of Hampton, at 80.

The school board's actions following the discussion of Ms. Dennis' application are the subject of dispute. The Plaintiff, who is white, characterizes the selection of East Clarendon's principal as follows:

It is undisputed that Board members F.C. Green, Benton Blakely and Col. Larry Coker made their decision to vote to select Plaintiff to fill the East Clarendon Middle School position of principal during the meeting. L. Coker Deposition at 55. Blakely Deposition 83-84. F.C. Green Deposition at 33. Hampton Deposition, 49, 58-59. There is testimony that Board members Allen Coker, Ben Floyd and Alton Newton, Jr. indicated they would not vote to select Plaintiff to fill the East Clarendon Middle School position of Principal. L. Coker Deposition at 55. Hampton Deposition, 49, 58-59. Mr. Floyd acknowledged that Mr. F.C. Green and Mr. Blakely said they would vote for Plaintiff, said he could not recall whether Colonel Coker expressed an opinion, and indicated he would vote for Mrs. Boston. Floyd Deposition, 31-32. Mr. Allen Coker stated that "Mr. Benton (Blakely) and Mr. (F.C.) Green and Colonel Larry (Coker) were sort of in favor of Mr. Green, Mr. Henry Green." Coker Deposition at 45. He further stated the other Board members were in favor or sic Mrs. Boston. Id. Mr. Newton acknowledges that Mr. F.C. Green and Mr. Blakely supported Plaintiff for the position and further indicated that he did not recall anybody else's opinion. Newton Deposition at 46. Reverend Hampton stated that he would not vote for Plaintiff because of Plaintiff's race ...

In addition to Plaintiff, the Board also considered a black, Mrs. Linda Boston ...

(Mem.Supp.Pl.'s Mot.Summ. J. at 7-8).

Defendants, on the other hand, allege that the Superintendent specifically recommended Ms. Boston, and then certain members of the board suggested that the board elect Plaintiff instead:

The Superintendent recalls that he recommended Linda Boston for the position at East Clarendon, along with the names of two alternates, in the same manner he had submitted Ms. Dennis' recommendation. (Blakely 147-148; F.C. Green 78; Hampton 80). A majority of the members of the Board — Benton Blakely, Allen Coker, Ben Floyd, Rev. Hampton and Al Newton — stated at their depositions that Dr. Taylor specifically recommended Ms. Boston for the position. (Blakely 85, 145; A. Coker 43-44; Floyd 30; Hampton 48; Newton 38-42). Mr. (F.C.) Green maintains that he noticed Plaintiff's name in the folders the Superintendent had passed out and recommended that the Board hire Plaintiff as the middle school principal, before the Superintendent issued a recommendation. Mr. (F.C.) Green, however, acknowledges that at some point in the proceedings Ms. Boston was also considered for the position. (F.C. Green 35.) The remaining Board member, Larry Coker, seems to recall that Dr. Taylor asked the Board to decide between Plaintiff and Ms. Boston, although he acknowledged that it is possible that the Superintendent specifically recommended Ms. Boston. (L. Coker 53, 84). In any event, the minutes of the March 25 meeting expressly state that with regard to Walker-Gamble Elementary School "there was a recommendation from the Superintendent to hire Ms. Connie Dennis as principal" of Walker-Gamble Elementary and that there was also "a recommendation from the Superintendent to hire Ms. Linda Boston as principal for the East Clarendon Middle School." (Minutes of March 25, 1993 Bd.Mtg.)

(Mem.Supp.Defs.' Mot.Summ.J. at 4-5).

One board member remembers that at some other point in the discussion, the Superintendent commented that he had recently observed Plaintiff in a parent-teacher conference, and that it was "the worst he had ever seen." (Mem.Supp.Defs.' Mot.Summ. J. at 6, citing Dep. of Blakely, at 72). Another board member commented at the meeting that persons in his community had told him they did not want Plaintiff to be appointed principal. (Mem.Supp.Defs.' Mot.Summ.J. at 6, citing Dep. of A. Coker, at 51).

It is undisputed that at some point Defendant Hampton, the board's only black member, stated that he would not vote for two white principals. As Defendant Hampton stated in his deposition,

I made a statement that I would not vote for — I was not going to vote for two white principals. And the statement came out of the discussion when we were — when Mr. Green was being recommended, we had board members suggesting we give him the job and after it — the conversation went on for a while and I told them, I said I'm not going to vote for two white principals because we have 40 percent of the kids in the school are black and I think we need to have a black principal and if you want to recommend Mr. Green for the position, we can hire Mr. Green at the elementary school or at the middle school, I don't care. If we want Mr. Green, we can put him at the elementary school or at the middle school, but I'm just not

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