Newman v. Board of Ed. of Mt. Pleasant School Dist.

• Decision Date: 09 September 1974
• Citation: 325 A.2d 387
• Parties: 87 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2978 Linda L. NEWMAN, Plaintiff, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the MT. PLEASANT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.
• Court: Court of Chancery of Delaware

Page 387

325 A.2d 387

87 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2978

Linda L. NEWMAN, Plaintiff, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the MT. PLEASANT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.

Court of Chancery of Delaware, New Castle County.

Argued May 29, 1974.

Decided Sept. 9, 1974.

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

F. Alton Tybout, of Tybout, Redfearn § Schnee, Wilmington, for defendant.

BROWN, Vice Chancellor.

Plaintiff has brought this suit to compel performance by the defendant school board of the final step in the grievance procedure set forth in what is alleged to be a collective bargaining agreement between the school board and the Mount Pleasant Education Association, the recognized bargaining agent for the employees of the school district. Plaintiff was a nontenured teacher in the Mt. Pleasant district and a member of the bargaining unit at the time that this controversy was spawned. The defendant board has moved for summary judgment on the theory that the matter complained of by plaintiff does not fall within the scope of a grievance as contemplated by the terms of the agreement. The board questions whether or not the agreement itself is really a collective bargaining agreement, but, for the purpose of its motion, it concedes that it is bound by the grievance remedies set forth therein.

In the document, a 'grievance' is rather loosely defined as

'. . . a claim by an employee, employees, or the Association that the established policy of the Mount Pleasant Board of Education or the Mount Pleasant School District has been ignored, overlooked, misinterpreted, or misapplied, or that the right to fair treatment has been violated.'

The grievance procedure includes four levels, the first two of which contemplate an informal discussion with the supervising principal and a hearing before the school superintendent or his designee. Level 3 provides for a hearing before the defendant school board and, finally, Level 4 provides that the aggrieved person, if still not satisfied, may request that his grievance be referred to a three-member Advisory Committee composed of one member named by the school board, one by the Association and a third member named by the other two. The function of this Advisory Committee is 'to report recommendations for settlement within fifteen days.'

The basis for this action is related to the teacher-tenure statutes, 14 Del.C. Ch. 14, which, among other things, provide that once a teacher has completed three years of service within the State, and two years with a particular school district, termination of his services by such school district can only be accomplished for certain specific reasons, and then only after proper notice and a hearing before the school board in the event the teacher demands one.

During the school year 1972--73, plaintiff was a nontenured teacher in her third year of teaching at the Mt. Pleasant School District. During her time of employment she received periodic evaluations as to her work, some of which were unfavorable in part. Finally, by a teacher evaluation report dated March 2, 1973, plaintiff's principal concluded that she had not shown enough improvement as a classroom teacher to warrant a recommendation of tenure. He therefore did not recommend her for tenure.

On March 16, plaintiff attempted to invoke Level 1 of the grievance procedure by seeking informal discussion. This was rejected on the grounds that there was no basis for a grievance to be filed. On March 29, plaintiff attempted to invoke Level 12 by writing to the district superintendent, but this request was also denied for the stated reason that non-recommendation for tenure was not a grievance matter. On April 19, plaintiff was formally notified that her teaching services would be terminated at the end of the school year. Specific reasons were given in her letter of termination.

Thereafter, plaintiff requested, and was given, a hearing before the defendant school board. Prior to the hearing the board made known its position that it did not consider non-recommendation for tenure to be subject to the grievance procedures. Nonetheless, the board proceeded to consider the matter on the merits and as a consequence it affirmed its previous determination not to rehire plaintiff. She then attempted to invoke Level 4 so as to convene the Advisory Committee, but the board refused to cooperate with this request. Thus this suit was instituted to compel it to do so.

Since the plaintiff had not acquired tenure as a teacher under Chapter 14, the strength of her complaint must lie in the rights accorded her by the agreement between the Education Association and the board. If she has a right to the relief she seeks, then it must be under the grievance procedure of the agreement. Thus, the sole question of the case is whether her dissatisfaction with the reasons relied upon by the board and its representatives in not recommending her for tenure constitutes a 'grievance' under the agreement.

In seeking the answer to this question, it would seem that the starting point is the teacher-tenure statutes themselves. The purpose of Chapter 14 is to furnish protection to public school teachers by according them notice and reasons if their services are intended to be terminated, and the right to a hearing if they are unwilling to accept the intention to terminate as final. Board of Public Education in Wilmington v. Delaney, Del.Supr., 2 Storey 213, 155 A.2d 51 (1959). However, this protection is...