Johnston v. Marion Independent School Dist., 61233
| Decision Date | 21 February 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 61233,61233 |
| Citation | 275 N.W.2d 215 |
| Parties | 19 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 8998 Ruth R. JOHNSTON, Appellant, v. MARION INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellee. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
James L. Sayre, of Dreher, Wilson, Adams & Jensen, Des Moines, for appellant.
Ernest F. Pence and Thomas R. Pence, of Hines, Pence, Day & Powers, Cedar Rapids, for appellee.
Considered by REYNOLDSON, C. J., and LeGRAND, HARRIS, McCORMICK and LARSON, JJ.
Is a teacher's attainment of mandatory retirement age "good cause" for discharge under § 279.24, The Code, 1973? The trial court held there was good cause. We disagree.
Ruth R. Johnston (plaintiff) became a teacher in the Marion School District (the school) in 1954. She brought this equity action to challenge the legality of the school district's termination of her employment. During the 1973-1974 school year plaintiff reached 65 years of age. The school has a mandatory retirement policy which calls for retirement on the first day of July following an employee's 65th birthday. The school reserves the right to re-employ retired teachers on a year-to-year basis.
The school first tried and failed to retire the plaintiff by serving a notice of termination in accordance with § 279.13, The Code, 1973. This attempt was ineffective, however, because the school failed to give timely notice under § 279.13.
Thereafter the school attempted to discharge plaintiff under § 279.24, The Code, 1973. That section provides:
"The board may, by a majority vote, discharge any teacher for incompetency, inattention to duty, partiality, or any Good cause, after a full and fair investigation made at a meeting of the board held for that purpose, at which the teacher shall be permitted to be present and make defense, allowing him a reasonable time therefor." (Emphasis added.)
Plaintiff resisted the attempt urging there was no "good cause" to discharge her. The sole and only issue in the suit is whether good cause did exist in view of (1) the school policy and (2) plaintiff's age.
I. We explained the term "good cause" in some detail in Hartman v. Merged Area VI Community College, 270 N.W.2d 822, 826 (Iowa 1978). The term must relate to some specific personal fault of the teacher.
We cannot believe the legislature intended that the attainment of the 65th birthday could be thought to be good cause. But the school argues that the term should be so interpreted in the light of the specific school policy which calls for the...
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...good cause" with preceding statutory language, "incompetency, inattention to duty, (or) partiality." In Johnston v. Marion Independent School District, 275 N.W.2d 215, 216 (Iowa 1979), we held a teacher's attainment of mandatory retirement age was not a ground for "good cause" In both Hartm......
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