Halfhill v. Northeast School Corp., 06-2204.
| Decision Date | 28 December 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-2204.,06-2204. |
| Citation | 472 F.3d 496 |
| Parties | Steven D. HALFHILL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NORTHEAST SCHOOL CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Robert P. Kondras, Jr. (argued), Hunt, Hassler & Lorenz, Terre Haute, IN, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Ronald J. Semler (argued), Stephenson, Morow & Semler, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before BAUER, POSNER, and FLAUM, Circuit Judges.
Steven D. Halfhill worked as a third-grade teacher for the Northeast School Corporation (Northeast) in Sullivan County, Indiana during the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 school years. Northeast elected not to renew his teaching contract for the 2003-2004 school year because of four incidents in which Halfhill made physical contact with students when disciplining them. Halfhill sued, alleging that Northeast violated his procedural due process rights, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and breached his employment contract, in violation of state law. The district court granted Northeast's motion for summary judgment and denied Halfhill's cross-motion for summary judgment. Halfhill appeals both rulings. For the following reasons, we affirm.
Halfhill worked as a third-grade teacher at Northeast for two years, but Northeast declined to renew his teaching contract for a third year. In support of its decision, Northeast claimed that Halfhill demonstrated a lack of professionalism on four occasions. In September 2001, while Halfhill was supervising an indoor recess, he grabbed a misbehaving student (by the back of the neck or arm, the parties disagree) and led him to an area where the two could talk in private. The boy's parents complained to the principal, Mark Baker, who spoke with Halfhill and advised him of the limited circumstances in which a teacher is permitted to touch a student.
On September 28, 2002, Halfhill disciplined another misbehaving student by placing his thumb and index finger under the child's chin and pressing it upward. Halfhill touched the student in this manner to force the child to make eye contact with him. That student's parents also complained, and Baker met with Halfhill a second time, advising him that a teacher is "going to lose" anytime he touches a student.
In October 2002, parents complained about allegations that Halfhill had choked and kicked a student and looked into the girls' bathroom. Baker, Halfhill, and school superintendent Richard Walters met with the parents to discuss the allegations. At the meeting, Halfhill acted in a negative and hostile manner, and Baker reminded Halfhill that the parents had a right to express their concerns. Though a subsequent investigation found no merit to the parents' allegations, Halfhill's attitude during the meeting concerned Baker and Walters.
The last incident, which influenced Northeast's decision more than the others, occurred in April 2003. A scuffle between two students prompted Halfhill to escort one of the students to the office by placing his hand high on the student's back or neck. The student complained that Halfhill hurt him, and the student's mother contacted the school. Baker and Walters met soon afterwards and decided to recommend that the Northeast School Board (Board) not renew Halfhill's contract for the next school year. The fact that Halfhill would receive certain tenure privileges along with his next teaching contract influenced their decision.
On April 22, 2003, Walters and Baker informed Halfhill that they were recommending that the Board not renew his contract and explained the reasons for their decision. Halfhill responded by voicing his disagreement. On April 28, the Board held a special meeting to discuss the renewal of Halfhill's contract. After an executive session in which Baker and Walters answered the Board's questions about Halfhill and made their recommendation against rehiring him, the Board voted, in an open session, not to renew Halfhill's contract. The Board notified Halfhill about its decision the next day, which was two days before the statutory deadline for informing a nonpermanent teacher of a decision not to renew his contract. Had the Board passed the statutory deadline without making a decision, Halfhill's employment contract would have been renewed automatically. See Ind.Code § 20-6.1-4-14 (now repealed)
Halfhill's contract incorporated the terms of a "Master Contract" applicable to all teachers in the school district and contained a number of provisions relevant to this dispute. Article V provided, "An employee shall not be disciplined, reprimanded, suspended, reduced in compensation, discharged, or deprived of any professional advantage without just cause." Article XIII required that school administrators evaluate each teacher's performance on a yearly basis using a particular evaluation form. The form provided space for an administrator to make comments about the teacher's performance and to mark whether "the teacher's contract should be renewed," "the teacher should be transferred to a different assignment where he/she could serve in a more effective and satisfactory way," "the teacher should be given permanent status," or "the teacher's contract should be non-renewed." Article XIII also allowed the teacher to rebut, in writing, any negative comment on the evaluation form. Halfhill received three evaluations during the time he worked for Northeast. The last one, which he received on November 19, 2002, recommended that his contract be renewed.
Two other provisions of Halfhill's contract are also relevant. Article XIV discussed dismissal procedures and required the Board to provide a hearing to any teacher whose administrative staff recommended the teacher's dismissal. Article XV outlined a teacher's right to grievance procedures. If a teacher believed that the school had violated one of the terms of his teaching contract, then under Article XV, that teacher could submit a grievance to his or her principal. The principal had five days to respond to the grievance, and if the teacher was not satisfied with the response, then the teacher could appeal successively to the superintendent, an arbitrator, and, finally, the Board. The Board made a final decision about the grievance, and its decision was binding on all parties.
On May 1, 2003, Halfhill, pursuant to his rights under Ind.Code § 20-6.1-4-14, requested that the Board provide him with a written explanation of the reasons for its decision not to rehire him. On May 6, the Board provided its explanation, which recounted the four incidents discussed above. Halfhill then filed an Article XV grievance with Baker and requested a meeting with the Board so that he could explain why its decision was improper. On May 9, Baker responded in writing to Halfhill's grievance and declined to reconsider his recommendation to the Board. On May 14, 2003, Halfhill appealed Baker's response to Superintendent Walter.
On May 22, Halfhill met with the Board to discuss its decision. He brought with him a lengthy written statement "as a kind of rebuttal to Dr. Baker's reasoning . . . for non-renewal," but the Board refused to read the letter. Halfhill Dep. at 31. Nevertheless, the Board gave Halfhill and his attorney an opportunity to tell Halfhill's side of the story. Id. The Board did not tell Halfhill what Baker or Walters had said about him, and Halfhill had no right to call or cross-examine witnesses. Halfhill also claims that the presiding member of the Board told him that the May 22 meeting was not a hearing. On May 28, the Board voted to affirm its decision not to renew Halfhill's contract.
Halfhill then appealed his grievance to non-binding arbitration. Halfhill's representative in the arbitration, Dan Hartz, testified that he contacted Walters prior to the January 30, 2004 arbitration hearing and that Walters told him arbitration was a waste of time because "regardless of what the arbitrator decides it is only advisory and it comes back to the same group of people, the Board of Education, who have already made the decision." Appellant's Br. at 40. As it happened, Walters' prediction was accurate. The arbitrator recommended that the Board reinstate Halfhill to his old position, concluding that Northeast discharged him without just cause in violation of Article V. On August 16, 2004, however, the Board voted to reject the arbitrator's recommendation.
On November 12, 2004, Halfhill filed this lawsuit, alleging that Northeast had breached his employment contract and violated his procedural due process rights. On April, 6, 2006, the district court granted Northeast's and denied Halfhill's motion for summary judgment. It ruled that Halfhill possessed no property interest in the renewal of his teaching contract; that even assuming Halfhill possessed such an interest, Northeast provided him with adequate process; and that Northeast did not breach his employment contract.
The Court reviews the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. In the course of our review, we consider the facts in the light most favorable to Halfhill, the non-moving party, and draw all reasonable inferences in his favor. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
Halfhill contends that Northeast deprived him of a property interest without providing adequate due process protections. To prove a violation of procedural due process rights, a plaintiff must show that the State deprived him of a protected liberty or property interest and that the deprivation occurred without adequate due process. Brown v. City of Michigan City, Indiana, 462 F.3d 720, 728 (7th Cir.2006). "A protected property interest in employment can arise from a state statute, regulation, municipal ordinance, or an express or implied contract — those `rules or understandings that secure certain benefits and that support claims...
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