King v. Caesar Rodney School District

• Decision Date: 26 August 1974
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 4607.
• Citation: 380 F. Supp. 1112
• Parties: Dennis P. KING, Plaintiff, v. CAESAR RODNEY SCHOOL DISTRICT et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

380 F. Supp. 1112

Dennis P. KING, Plaintiff, v. CAESAR RODNEY SCHOOL DISTRICT et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 4607.

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

August 26, 1974.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Sheldon N. Sandler and Jacob Kreshtool of Bader, Dorsey & Kreshtool, Wilmington, Del., for plaintiff.

Roger Sanders of Prickett, Ward, Burt & Sanders, Wilmington, Del., for defendants.

OPINION

CALEB M. WRIGHT, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff Dennis P. King is a certified public school teacher whose tenure was terminated in April, 1973 by defendants, the Caesar Rodney School District; its Board of Education, individually and in their official capacities; and its Superintendent. Plaintiff brings this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983¹ and the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution seeking a declaratory judgment that his dismissal was invalid. He initially sought reinstatement, incidental equitable relief, and compensatory and punitive damages. A two-day trial to the Court was held, during which plaintiff withdrew his demand for compensatory and punitive damages. Jurisdiction is asserted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, 2201, and 2202. Because plaintiff has withdrawn his demand for compensatory and punitive damages, the matter in controversy no longer "exceeds the sum or value of $10,000, exclusive of interest and costs," and jurisdiction is not conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 1331.² Jurisdiction is proper under the remaining statutory provisions asserted.

Factual Background

Plaintiff was a teacher in the defendant school district from September, 1967, until his mid-term dismissal, which was effective April 10, 1973. At the time of dismissal, plaintiff had attained tenure and was employed by defendant Board of Education pursuant to a contract which extended to June 30, 1973. Plaintiff taught physical education and health at Caesar Rodney Junior High School. On February 21, 1973, while participating in a game called "stingball", which combines elements of kickball, dodge ball, and other playground games, plaintiff unintentionally injured one of his students. The parents of the student complained to the school administration, and defendant Neil Postlethwait, the District Superintendent, scheduled a special meeting of the School Board for the evening of March 6, 1973, to discuss the incident and other aspects of plaintiff's performance. In a letter dated March 1, 1973, Superintendent Postlethwait notified the plaintiff of the forthcoming Board meeting "for the purpose of discussing your teaching problems and determining whether or not you should continue in your teaching position", directed plaintiff to attend, and suspended him with pay. PX 1.³

Prior to the March 6 meeting, members of the Board received from the school administration a packet of documents, DX 4, concerning King's teaching performance spanning a period of four years. The packet was a selection, perhaps unrepresentative, of materials from King's personnel file, and much of the information contained therein reflects unfavorably on King's performance. Although King had access to all the materials in his personnel file, before the scheduled hearing he did not know which materials, if any, would be available to the Board. Nor, at the hearing itself, was plaintiff allowed to learn precisely what information from his file had been submitted to the Board.

At the outset of the March 6 meeting, defendant Postlethwait stated that the purpose of the meeting was "to provide the Board the opportunity to consider whether or not there is a just cause to terminate the services of Mr. Dennis King under Delaware Code, Title 14, Section 1420." DX 2A, p. 1. Larry Hutchins, a representative of the Delaware State Education Association who assisted plaintiff at the hearing, objected that there had been inadequate notice that the Board would consider any charges beyond the stingball incident, but after some discussion, the Board proceeded to consider a wide range of evidence relating to King's professional performance.

At the March 6 meeting, the Board first examined the stingball incident in detail. The father of the injured student expressed his concern that the plaintiff improperly conducted the game and that the plaintiff failed to care for the student properly after the injury. Kenneth Roberts, the principal of Caesar Rodney Junior High School, also made statements about the nature of the game and the facts surrounding the February 21 incident. King then gave his version of these issues. Thereafter, Roberts made an extended review of the inadequacies, in his judgment, of King's professional performance, including, inter alia: (1) several incidents in which King "laid hands on" students; (2) student complaints about group discipline by King; (3) King's failure to supervise a detention period he had arranged for one child; (4) poor handling of parental complaints; (5) poor rapport with students; (6) failure to follow school policy regarding mid-day absences; (7) statements indicating an unenthusiastic attitude toward teaching and extracurricular activities; (8) irreverent comments on a sign-in sheet; (9) improper maintenance and security of the gym locker room; (10) the large number of grievances and complaints against the school administration raised by King. DX 2A, pp. 43-59. Superintendent Postlethwait called to the attention of the Board several negative evaluations found in King's personnel file. DX 2A, pp. 59-60. After a short period of discussion, it was decided that King would present a response to the several charges at a continuation of the hearing on the evening of March 8, at which time he would also answer further questions of the Board.⁴

At the March 8 meeting, Hutchins and King presented a detailed defense to virtually all of the charges, as the Board expected them to do. DX 2B, pp. 2-40. This defense criticized Roberts' supervisory performance, observed that favorable evaluations of King were not presented to the Board, and stressed that student complaints about King's performance referred to by Roberts were isolated, unrepresentative and, as far as the hearing was concerned, hearsay. King and Hutchins also emphasized King's achievements during the course of his teaching career. There followed an extensive colloquy during which the Board developed certain of the evidence in even greater detail. At the conclusion of this discussion, the Board and Postlethwait retired to executive session. After this recess, Postlethwait summarized the position of the school administration and stated, "Because of his disregard for the safety of his pupils and the poor quality of the instructional program which he maintains for his classes, I therefore recommend that his services be terminated as provided for under Section 1420 of the Delaware Code." DX 2B, p. 119. The Board voted 4-1 to accept this recommendation. Joshua West, the sole dissenting member, stated for the record:

Due to the environment in which Mr. King works, I believe that it is probable that Mr. King has at times demonstrated poor judgment and that his behavior in the classroom has not always been conducive to a well-operated classroom, and that his behavior at times relative to administrative policy has not been of professional status; however, I do not believe that just cause has been established that is great enough to terminate Mr. King's services under Delaware Code, Title 14, Section 1420, as now constituted. DX 2B, p. 120.

In all, the two-day hearing lasted seven or eight hours and consumed 190 pages of transcript. Plaintiff and defendants agree that a mid-term dismissal is a serious matter, for a teacher so dismissed has little opportunity for other teaching employment. At trial the Board members testified that they wanted to obtain all relevant facts before rendering a decision. According to Earl Clinton, the Board Chairman, the Board members agreed with Postlethwait's opening statement of purpose: to determine whether there was "just cause" to terminate King's services. There is no evidence that any Board member had any malice towards the plaintiff. This Court finds, based on the hearing transcript and the testimony of the Board members in Court, that the Board attempted to discharge its obligation fairly and in good faith. The Board members testified that if the same facts were presented to them at a later hearing, they would vote the same way.

On March 9, 1973, Postlethwait sent King a formal notice of the Board's intention to terminate his services, effective April 10, 1973. Rather than avail himself of the formal termination hearing provided by Delaware law,⁵ plaintiff filed suit in this Court on March 16, 1973.

Plaintiff contends that the Board reached, at the end of this preliminary meeting or hearing, a decision on the ultimate issue reserved under Delaware law for a subsequent statutory hearing. Plaintiff argues that having inquired into virtually every aspect of plaintiff's teaching career before the statutory hearing, the Board fatally prejudged his case and could not have given him the impartial hearing to which he was entitled under Delaware law and the United States Constitution. Defendants contend that this preliminary hearing was fair, that it was required by state law and by the teacher employment contract, that a procedurally adequate statutory hearing could subsequently have been provided had plaintiff requested one, and that, in any event, plaintiff waived his due process claim by failing to contest the Board action through the procedures established by state law.

The Delaware Statutory Scheme

Plaintiff does not challenge the constitutionality of Delaware's statutory scheme for termination of a teacher's services. The statutes provide that a school board may terminate the services of a teacher during the school year on the grounds of immorality, misconduct in office, incompetency, disloyalty, neglect of duty, or willful and...