Lompoc Federation of Teachers v. Lompoc Unified Sch. Dist., AFL-CI

• Decision Date: 26 May 1976
• Docket Number: P,AFL-CI
• Parties: LOMPOC FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, LOCAL 3151, AFT,etitioner and Appellant. v. LOMPOC UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT and Governing Board of the Lompoc Unified School District, Respondents. Civ. 47313.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

Page 70

130 Cal.Rptr. 70

58 Cal.App.3d 701

LOMPOC FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, LOCAL 3151, AFT, AFL-CIO, Petitioner and Appellant. v. LOMPOC UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT and Governing Board of the Lompoc Unified School District, Respondents.

Civ. 47313.

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 3, California.

May 26, 1976.

Hearing Denied July 21, 1976.

Van Bourg, Allen, Weinberg, Williams & Roger and Stewart Weinberg, San Francisco, for petitioner and appellant.

George P. Kading, County Counsel of Santa Barbara County, Dana D. Smith, Asst. County Counsel, Santa Barbara, for respondents.

POTTER, Associate Justice.

Petitioner Lompoc Federation of Teachers, Local 3151, AFT, AFL-CIO (hereinafter 'petitioner') appeals from a judgment denying its petition for writ of mandate. The petition sought a writ directing respondents Lompoc Unified School District and Governing Board of the Lompoc Unified School District (hereinafter 'District' and 'Board') to pay teachers in grades 4, 5 and 6 (hereinafter 'intermediate teachers') an additional 1/6 of their salary, by virtue of the fact they are regularly required to spend 325 minutes per day in classroom instruction, whereas teachers in grades 1 through 3 (hereinafter 'primary teachers') and teachers in grades 7 through 12 (hereinafter 'secondary teachers') are required to spend only a total of 280 minutes per day in classroom instruction for the same salary.

At the trial the court received in evidence the District's various rules, regulations and policy memoranda covering the salary schedule for certificated personnel, the length of the school day and teachers' hours of service, and the daily schedules of class activities for primary and intermediate grades. Oral testimony of four witnesses was received. Declarations of three of these witnesses were also received pursuant to stipulation that the witness be deemed to have so testified.

Most of the operative facts were not in dispute. The regular salary of all teachers in respondent District with equal academic training and experience was the same, regardless of the grade level taught. The working day for all teachers was the same; that is, all teachers were required to be present at school for approximately the same period of time. ¹

However, the hours of class instruction were different for the three categories of teachers. This came about as the result of the length of school day established for the various grade levels by the District. The school day is the time during which students are in attendance in class. ² Under the regulations of respondent Board, the school day for primary grades was set at 280 minutes, for the intermediate grades at 325 minutes, and for the secondary grades at 280 minutes. As a result, the intermediate teachers, though not required to be present at school for a longer period were called upon to devote a greater portion of the time they were required to be at school to classroom instruction.

Further undisputed facts related to the practice of respondent Board, during the nine-year period immediately prior to trial, of permitting certain secondary teachers to receive 1/6 additional compensation by teaching an additional 45-minute period. In the secondary schools in respondent District, the school day was divided into seven instructional periods of 45 minutes each. The secondary teachers normally taught six out of the seven periods and had one 'free' period available for classroom preparation and conferences with parents and students. Under special circumstances, certain teachers were requested by respondent Board to undertake a seventh class and forego the preparation period. These circumstances were that certain elective courses in the area of the industrial arts, such as photography and wood shop, were taught by a single teacher in most of the secondary schools. When more students elected the course than could be accommodated in six periods, respondent Board from time to time asked the teacher to teach an additional class and be compensated for it. It was difficult to employ a teacher to teach the additional one period per day, and the alternative was to deny the students the opportunity to take the elective class. During the 9-year period, there was an average of 1.2 teachers being so compensated in the entire district. ³ The record does not disclose the total number of secondary teachers in the District. There is evidence, however, from which it may be inferred that there were approximately 80 such teachers.

The remaining evidence bore upon the respective parties' contentions regarding the reasonableness of the District's establishment of shorter normal periods of classroom instruction for primary and secondary teachers in comparison to intermediate teachers. John McCoy, an intermediate teacher called as a witness by petitioner, testified that in addition to the time consumed in classroom teaching, intermediate grade teachers engaged in daily class preparation at school after the school day ended or at home. McCoy also described extracurricular activity done by intermediate teachers on a voluntary basis, including acting as student council sponsor, intramural sports supervision and club activities. He did not, however, engage in any such activities during the school year 1975--1976. McCoy also described intermediate teachers' participation in conferences with parents, in part during two one-week periods per year when reduced class schedules were in effect and when the need occurred at other times, before school, during recess, lunch periods or after school. McCoy also described the assigned supervisory duties of intermediate school teachers; though normally, supervision of the students during recess and lunch periods for both primary and intermediate students was handled by teachers' aides, each teacher performed four weeks per year recess supervision and four weeks per year supervision for the 15 minutes before class began. In addition, on rainy days when recess and lunch periods were spent in the classrooms, the primary and intermediate teachers performed supervision. However, on the days when the primary and intermediate teachers were required to supervise during recess or lunch, they were permitted to leave the school at 3:00 p.m. McCoy described past experience as a secondary teacher in which he taught six classes with two different subject matters and stated that in his present employment as intermediate teacher he had eight subjects to prepare on a daily basis. Comparing the preparation required for primary teachers with that required of secondary teachers, McCoy stated that he 'would not think' that they needed more time to prepare, that he knew of no study within the District showing the length of time required in preparation for the various grade levels. He also pointed out that the subject matter for grades 4 through 6 was more difficult and complex than the subject matter of the primary grades. McCoy acknowledged the use of commercially prepared lesson materials in the intermediate grades. He was unable, however, to compare the volume of such material available for primary grades.

Witnesses in behalf of respondent District included Alice Milligan, Assistant Superintendent in Charge of Personnel; Robert Mott, Principal of Lompoc Junior High School; and Don Hart, Principal of West Wings Elementary School, both schools being a part of the District.

Milligan testified that she was familiar with the duties and duty hours of teachers within the District. She explained that the one-hour 'free' periods were for secondary teachers to prepare for their daily class work and for conferences with students in light of the fact that such teachers were required to spend more time outside the classroom in extracurricular activities and in supervision than is required of primary and intermediate teachers. She described the supervision duties as including lunch hour supervision on a rotation basis by all secondary teachers.

On cross-examination, Milligan testified that certain extracurricular activities, referred to in the salary schedule as 'Co-Curricular Assignments,' resulted in an additional $350 per year pay. ⁴ Other than for the four specific assignments, no additional stipend was payable. Milligan referred to the non-paid extracurricular activities of secondary teachers, of which there are at least 50 for students in grades 7 through 12, as being the subject of subdivision IV(A) of the rules and regulations of the teachers' salary schedule which provides: 'A reasonable amount of extracurricular activities, and other types of work done outside of school is considered part of the normal load of the instructor.' Traditionally, extracurricular activities existed only in the secondary level; primary and intermediate teachers were not required to supervise extracurricular activities. She stated, however, that 'at the secondary level, we do require that teachers supervise extracurricular activities.' Though direct assignments had not been made, the teachers were asked to sign up 'for their areas of interest,' and 'those that don't sign it will be assigned.'

Milligan also testified that the District considers that a primary teacher 'requires more preparation time than a teacher in four through six,' because of the age level of the children and the extra amount of 'parent conferencing involved.'

The witness Mott testified to the approximate hours per school year required for extracurricular duties of a secondary teacher. He computed a total of 8,041 hours of student contact and preparation which was approximately 100 hours per school year for each teacher. Though this was not equally divided among the teachers, an effort was made to see that teachers 'generally do equal service' by pointing out to those who were not carrying their share that 'someone else is picking it up for them.' These extracurricular duties for secondary teachers greatly exceed those required of primary and...