Jones v. Rapides Parish School Bd.
| Decision Date | 19 May 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-896,92-896 |
| Citation | 634 So.2d 1197 |
| Parties | 90 Ed. Law Rep. 973 Donald Glenn JONES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RAPIDES PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
James Joseph Brady, Brian D. Cespiva, Alexandria, for Donald Glenn Jones.
Raymond L. Brown Jr., Field Vernon Gremillion III, Alexandria, for Rapides Parish School Bd.
Before DOUCET, YELVERTON and COOKS, JJ.
Donald Glenn Jones, a tenured teacher, was dismissed from his position for willful neglect of duty by the Rapides Parish School Board. Jones appealed to the district court, which reversed the decision of the School Board reinstating him with back pay. The School Board appeals. We affirm.
Jones was a reading teacher at Tioga Junior High School. On May 18, 1989, he showed a portion of the movie "Child's Play," an "R" (restricted) rated movie, to his junior high classes. The "R" rating is based on the movie's violent nature and adult language. On discovering Jones allowed his classes to view the movie, Winston Welch, the principal at Tioga Junior High School, recommended his dismissal for willful neglect of duty and incompetence to Allen Nichols, the Rapides Parish Superintendent of Schools.
Nichols, by letter to the School Board dated June 13, 1989, concurred in Welch's recommendation. Nichols listed seven different infractions committed by Jones, dating from September of 1984 through the showing of the movie in May of 1989. Jones was charged with these infractions and made the subject of a disciplinary action under the provisions of LSA-R.S. 17:443. After the hearing on August 7, 1989, the Board voted to dismiss Jones from his position as a tenured teacher.
Jones then petitioned the district court for a full hearing to review the action of the School Board. In its reasons for judgment, the district court found it was "fundamentally unfair" to force him to defend, without warning, against charges which he answered previously. The Court noted Jones was prepared at the hearing to defend only against the current charge of showing the "Child's Play" movie. The Court also found he was entitled to know the specific charge or charges which resulted in his termination. There were seven (7) separate charges against plaintiff, but only one (1) vote was taken on all the charges at the conclusion of the hearing. Citing the case of State Ex. Rel. Franceski v. Plaquemines Parish, 416 So.2d 150 (La.App. 4th Cir.1982), writ denied, 421 So.2d 907 (La.1982), the district court concluded Jones was entitled to a vote on each charge to determine which charge(s) prompted his dismissal. The Court also found there was no evidence in the record to show Jones received a list of the old charges prior to the hearing, and that the current charge of showing the "R" rated movie was not sufficiently proved.
For the above reasons, the district court issued a judgment reversing the decision of the Rapides Parish School Board, reinstating Donald Glenn Jones to his position as a tenured teacher with back pay. This appeal ensued.
The School Board's brief asserts twelve (12) assignments of error which we group into four categories. The School Board argues: (1) the district court erred in concluding the "old charges" were improperly brought against Jones; (2) the district court erred in finding the School Board's decision should have contained a ruling on specific charges; (3) the district court erred in finding the School Board's decision was not based on substantial evidence; and (4) the district court erred in failing to require proof by Jones that he lost salary as a consequence of his termination.
In Howell v. Winn Parish School Board, 332 So.2d 822, 825 (La.1976), the Louisiana Supreme Court set out the standard of judicial review of a school board's action under the Louisiana Teachers Tenure Act, LSA-R.S. 17:441 et. seq., as follows:
(citations omitted).
The School Board argues the prior violations were presented to document Jones' cumulative history of willful neglect of duty. The "old charges" included two (2) instances in 1984 and one (1) in 1988 where Jones was admonished for keeping students in a classroom when they were scheduled to attend another class; two (2) instances in 1985 where he was given a "needs improvement" rating by a supervisor regarding his teaching performance; and one (1) instance in 1987-1988 where he allegedly did not give any teacher-made tests to his students.
Jones' counsel strenuously objected to the introduction of these old charges at the hearing. Counsel argued his client was prejudiced by having to defend charges relating back several years. Jones stated, under oath, he could not clearly recall the events surrounding the old charges. He also pointed out these problems were apparently resolved, as evidenced by the School Board's continued renewal of his employment contract.
Although no statute limits a school board's power to consider past conduct in a current charge of willful neglect of duty, the lapse of time may bar prosecution when it would render a resulting conviction fundamentally unfair. Wiley v. Richland Parish School Board, 476 So.2d 439 (La.App. 2nd Cir.1985). The district court found Jones was prejudiced and impaired in defending himself against some of the "older charges." Thus, the court reasoned the resulting conviction based on these charges was fundamentally unfair. The court further found the record was devoid of evidence showing Jones was provided with a written list of charges required by LSA R.S. 17:443. LSA R.S. 17:443(A) provides in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added)
After reviewing the record, we find the district court did not err in reaching its conclusions. Jones was substantially prejudiced in having to defend against stale charges which he answered in the past to the Board's satisfaction. Furthermore, he did not receive adequate and timely notice of the prior charges.
The district court found plaintiff was entitled to know which charges resulted in his termination. In support of this conclusion, the district court cited Franceski, supra. In Franceski, a supervisor for the Plaquemines Parish School Board, faced sixteen (16) charges which allegedly demonstrated her incompetence and/or willful neglect of duty. At the close of the disciplinary hearing, the School Board voted to dismiss Franceski, who then petitioned the district court for review of the School Board's decision under LSA-R.S. 17:443. The court of appeal affirmed the district court's ruling that the School Board violated the Louisiana Teacher's Tenure Law in dismissing Franceski without first voting on individual specific charges. Franceski was reinstated with back pay.
The School Board attempts to distinguish Franceski. However, the language in that case is clear. To meaningfully review a tenure case, the court must know the charge or charges which supports a board's guilty finding. Counsel for Jones timely objected to the School Board's failure to vote on the individual charges. We conclude, as did the district court, the Board was obligated to vote on the specific charges and its failure to do so violated Jones' rights under LSA-R.S. 17:443.
The School Board contends on appeal sufficient evidence was presented on the current charge of showing the improper movie. We are not inclined to agree with the School Board's assessment of the evidence. The critical question remains whether Jones' dismissal, was based on "substantial evidence." We are unable to properly evaluate and segregate the evidence to determine which charge or charges were substantially proven by the Board, if any. All the charges were not established by "substantial evidence."
At the hearing, Jones disputed the charge that he allowed two (2) students to remain in his classroom when they were assigned to be in another teacher's classroom. No proof was offered to contradict his contrary...
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