Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School Dist. v. Honeoye Falls-Lima Ed. Ass'n
| Decision Date | 05 February 1980 |
| Docket Number | FALLS-LIMA |
| Citation | 426 N.Y.S.2d 263,49 N.Y.2d 732 |
| Parties | , 402 N.E.2d 1165, 110 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2224 HONEOYECENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, Respondent, v. HONEOYEEDUCATION ASSOCIATION et al., Appellants. |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
The order of the Appellate Division should be modified, with cost to appellants, to grant a stay of arbitration with respect to section 9 of article VI of the contract, but otherwise to deny the petition.
Whether the curriculum changes initiated by the board constituted "a change in policy or practice" within the meaning of section 1 of article XIX of the contract between the parties is a matter of contractual agreement within the arbitration provision of the contract (art. III, § 5.4). Since section 1 of article XIX requires only that proposed changes be submitted for review and mutual agreement to a committee formed in conjunction with the association, but expressly provides that "(f)inal consideration is at the discretion of the Board of Education", there is no public policy prohibition against submission to arbitration of the questions whether there was a change in policy and a failure to follow the procedure contracted for (Matter of Port Washington Union Free School Dist. v. Port Washington Teachers Assn., 45 N.Y.2d 411, 408 N.Y.S.2d 453, 380 N.E.2d 280; Matter of Board of Educ. v. United Federation of Teachers, 46 N.Y.2d 1018, 416 N.Y.S.2d 535, 389 N.E.2d 1057).
Arbitration with respect to the job security provision of the contract (art. VI, § 9) is, however, another matter. While the contract provision requires layoff of those with the least seniority in the school district, subdivision 2 of section 2510 of the Education Law directs that "the services of the teacher having the least seniority in the system within the tenure of the position abolished shall be discontinued" (emphasis added). The apparent purpose of that provision is to maintain teaching proficiency which would otherwise be denigrated if, for example, the abolition of three vocational training positions required the dismissal of three teachers of romance languages, or vice versa, simply because they happened to have been the last three persons employed.
We have previously made clear that it is beyond the power of a school board to surrender through collective bargaining a responsibility...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Blackburne (Governor's Office of Employee Relations), Matter of
...411, 423, 408 N.Y.S.2d 453, 380 N.E.2d 280 [Breitel, Ch. J., concurring]; accord, Honeoye Falls-Lima Cent. School Dist. v. Honeoye Falls-Lima Educ. Assn., 49 N.Y.2d 732, 734, 426 N.Y.S.2d 263, 402 N.E.2d 1165). By enacting the Hatch Act, Congress sought to require public employees who admin......
-
Board of Educ. of Watertown City School Dist. (Watertown Educ. Ass'n), In re
...664 N.E.2d 1222 [termination of state agency employee for violation of Hatch Act]; Honeoye Falls-Lima Cent. School Dist. v. Honeoye Falls-Lima Educ. Assn., 49 N.Y.2d 732, 426 N.Y.S.2d 263, 402 N.E.2d 1165 [seniority dispute involving adequate academic standards]; Board of Educ. v. Areman, 4......
-
Cole v. Board of Educ., South Huntington USFD
...versa, simply because they happened to have been the last three persons employed" (Honeo Falls-Lima Cent. School Dist. v. Honeoye Falls-Lima Educ. Assn., 49 N.Y.2d 732, 733, 426 N.Y.S.2d 263, 402 N.E.2d 1165). The Commissioner of Education has stated that "a teacher appointed prior to the e......
-
County of Chautauqua v. Civil Serv.
...needs or the community's service needs" (Petitioner's Brief at 16). We agree. In Honeoye Falls-Lima Cent. School Dist. v. Honeoye Falls-Lima Educ. Assn., 49 N.Y.2d 732, 426 N.Y.S.2d 263, 402 N.E.2d 1165 [1980], we addressed a similar conflict. In that case, at issue was a job security provi......