Lane v. Ocosta School Dist. No. 172

• Decision Date: 24 June 1975
• Docket Number: No. 1359--II,1359--II
• Citation: 537 P.2d 1052,13 Wn.App. 697
• Parties: William LANE and Judy Lane, husband and wife, Respondents, v. OCOSTA SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 172, Appellant.
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals

Page 697

13 Wn.App. 697

537 P.2d 1052

William LANE and Judy Lane, husband and wife, Respondents, v. OCOSTA SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 172, Appellant.

No. 1359--II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

June 24, 1975.

Elvin J. Vandeberg of Kane, Vandeberg & Hartinger, Tacoma, for appellant.

John D. Schumacher of Charette & Brown, Aberdeen, for respondents.

ARMSTRONG, Chief Judge.

This is an appeal from a superior court judgment requiring a school district to maintain a particular bus stop for the school children of a family in the district. The school district contends (1) that the superior court did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter de novo, and (2) that the school district's refusal to reinstate the original bus stops was not an arbitrary or capricious action affecting fundamental rights. We agree with these contentions and therefore reverse.

During the 1972--1973 school year, the five oldest children of William and Judy Lane were transported to school by busses operated by Ocosta School District No. 172. They were picked up and dropped off by the school bus in the following manner. The Lanes live on the south side of State Route 105, known as the Aberdeen-Westport highway, where the speed limit is now 55 miles per hour, and was 60 miles per hour when this action was commenced. In the morning the bus, traveling toward Westport, would stop in the westbound lane of traffic across from the entrance to the Lane driveway, put on its flashing lights, and the children would cross the highway and board the bus. The bus would then proceed approximately 637 feet farther west, cross over the eastbound lane to the south side of the highway to make its stop at a neighborhood store, where it would pull onto the shoulder and pick up about 13 to 15 children. It would then reenter the westbound lane and proceed to the school complex. In the afternoon, the bus, driving east, would first stop at the store to discharge a group of children and then proceed to the end of the Lanes' driveway where it would pull off onto a 21-foot wide shoulder and discharge the Lane children. No other children used either the morning or the afternoon stop used by the Lane children.

In the summer of 1973, the superintendent of the school district Robert V. Hill, received a bulletin from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction requesting that because of the energy crisis, efforts be made to decrease the cost of bus transportation, including the elimination and consolidation of bus stops where pupil safety would not be jeopardized. Hill consulted Gerald Nicewonger, transportation supervisor for the district, who contacted the bus drivers for their recommendations on stops which were unsafe or could be eliminated without hardship. Some of those contacted had, at the end of the 1972--1973 school year, recommended stops which should be eliminated as unsafe. Included in this group was Norma Browning, the bus driver for the Lane children in the 1972--1973 school year who stated that the morning stop was unsafe because at times drivers would not heed the flashing lights, but rather would continue on through. As a result of the Superintendent of Public Instruction's bulletin and these consultations, for the 1973--1974 school year, approximately 41 stops were eliminated in Ocosta School District No. 172, including the two stops for the Lane children. They were required to use the bus stop at the neighborhood store 637 feet down the highway on the same side of the road as their home. This stretch of shoulder on the south side varies in width from 9 1/2 feet to 21 feet. It appears that the youngest Lane child, who began attending kindergarten in this school year, would walk with his siblings to the store in the morning, but would ride a different bus home at midday, which bus would discharge him at the end of the Lane driveway.

During the beginning of the 1973--1974 school year, Mrs. Lane drove the children to school each day rather than have them utilize the bus stop at the store. For a period of time later that fall when Mrs. Lane was ill or her car did not function, the two oldest children walked to the store bus stop, but the other children did not attend school, missing approximately 30 days. When daylight saving time went into effect in 1974 the school district located a morning stop at the end of the Lanes' driveway on the Lanes' side of the road because of the morning darkness. Prior to the fall of 1973, the children were permitted to walk to the store other than to catch the bus, at times chosen by the Lanes and in twos and threes. Later only the two oldest children were permitted to walk to the store.

At a school board meeting held on October 11, 1973, Mr. Lane requested the board to reinstate the original bus stops. The school board was provided with information that State Trooper Marty Eliason considered the area between the Lanes' driveway and the store a safe area for pedestrian travel. After discussion, the board denied Mr. Lane's request. He was also denied a second hearing, which he requested after instituting this lawfuit.

By an amended complaint the Lanes sought injunctive relief in superior court compelling the school district to maintain its original school bus stops and also appealed the decision of the school board. In January, 1974, a trial de novo was had on the matter. The minutes of the school board meeting and other exhibits, including pictures of the bus stop areas, were admitted. Several witnesses, including Mr. Hill, Mr. Nicewonger, Ms. Browning, Lieutenant Olson of the Washington State Patrol, and neighbors testified. The trial court reversed the decision of the school board not to reinstate the Lanes' old bus stops and ordered it to maintain a bus stop at the end of the Lanes' driveway on the south side of the road in both the afternoon and morning all year around, until a change in circumstances warranted eliminating it in light of the findings made by the court. The trial court also entered findings of fact and conclusions of law. Specifically it found that the revised bus stops established by the school board were unsafe for the Lane children, primarily because it was unsafe for them to walk along the shoulder of the road to the store. It found that the stops it ordered were the safest for the Lane children. It concluded that the school board had acted arbitrarily and capriciously in refusing to reinstate the stops at the end of the Lanes' driveway and that in exercising its discretion in establishing the bus stops, the board must utilize the highest degree of care practical under the circumstances to avoid causing injury to transported students.

The school district first contends that since the school board's action was purely nonjudicial, RCW 28A.88.010 and RCW 28.a,88.015, which purport to...