Reynolds v. Abbeville County School Dist. No. 60, 60

Citation554 F.2d 638
Decision Date11 May 1977
Docket NumberW,No. 60,No. 76-1565,60,76-1565
Parties30 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1680, 14 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 7576 Cornell REYNOLDS, Appellant, v. ABBEVILLE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 60, Robert H. Gettys, Administrative Superintendent of Abbeville County School Districtalter R. Hilley, C. H. Hawthorne, Duncan Carmichael, Sam Ferguson, James B. Jones, Jr., William M. Kay, Wallace Scott, S. F. Shepard and Charles W. Williams, Individually and as members of the Board of Trustees of Abbeville County School District, and John McDill, Erskine Link, James Ferguson, H. M. Laboon, David Dunlap, Perrin Anderson, Ronald Moss, William Brown and John Brickle, Individually and as members of the Abbeville County Board of Education, jointly and severally and the successors in the offices of each, Appellees.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)

H. Christopher Coates, Columbia, S. C. (Laughlin McDonald, Neil Bradley, Atlanta, Ga., David Rubin, Nat. Ed. Ass'n, Washington, D. C., on brief), for appellant.

Walter A. Reiser, Jr., Columbia, S. C. (Robert L. Hawthorne, Jr., Abbeville, S. C., on brief), for appellees.

Before HAYNSWORTH, Chief Judge, and BUTZNER and FIELD, Circuit Judges.

BUTZNER, Circuit Judge:

Cornell Reynolds appeals the judgment of the district court in favor of the superintendent and board of the Abbeville County School District. He claims that his demotion from a principalship during the desegregation of the school system in 1970 and his discharge from an administrative assistant position the following year were motivated by racial discrimination in violation of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983. He seeks reinstatement as principal, backpay, attorney's fees, and other relief. We reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case for further proceedings.

I

Abbeville County maintained a segregated school system until the Attorney General of the United States brought an action for compliance with the civil rights laws. Prior to desegregation, the school system employed Reynolds and three other black principals in the black schools and nine white principals in the white schools. Employed by the school system for sixteen years, Reynolds had twenty-five years' experience as a principal, teaching principal, and teacher. He held bachelors and masters degrees, pursued post-graduate studies, received an A on the National Teachers Examination, and was qualified to teach in both elementary and secondary schools. His experience, education, and examination grade determined his level of certification in the school system.

When the system was desegregated, two of the black elementary schools were closed. Reynolds, the principal of one, was transferred to a newly-created position as administrative assistant to the superintendent. Tharp, the principal of the other, was assigned an assistant principalship. During the same school year, a white man replaced a white high school principal who had been discharged for cause.

The following year, Reynolds was discharged. Another black principal, Moore, succeeded him as administrative assistant, and a white man replaced Moore as principal. Thus, within a year after desegregation, the number of black principals decreased from four to one (75%), while the number of white principals increased from nine to ten (11%). The percentage of black principals in the school system was reduced from 31% to 9%. 1

The superintendent, whose recommendations to the board determined the assignment of principals, testified that Reynolds was never considered for a principalship after the school system was integrated. To avoid dislocation of the faculty, he transferred Reynolds and Tharp to other positions solely because their schools had been closed. Consequently, he never compared their qualifications with those of other principals, and, indeed, he acknowledged that Reynolds has better credentials than several principals who were retained.

The superintendent also testified that Reynolds was not considered for the vacant position previously held by the white high school principal. Although Reynolds had been a principal and teacher for twenty-five years, a white man from another school system, with three years' experience as a high school classroom teacher, was hired to fill the vacancy. When Moore became the administrative assistant the following year, a white man with six years' teaching experience and less education than Reynolds was hired as principal. In support of these practices, the superintendent explained that he made a subjective judgment about the best person for the job. He said that other qualities might be more important than level of certification, but that he had no articulated, objective standards to guide his selections.

The superintendent furthermore testified that Reynolds and Moore were hired for the administrative assistant position because the administration needed the aid of a black person. Explaining that the black community distrusted the administration, he defined the assistant's primary role as helping members of his race by gaining their confidence. The position was retained for only two years. It was created when Reynolds' school was closed and abolished for economic reasons when Moore, who was disillusioned with the job, retired because of his health. 2

Despite his request, Reynolds was never given a description of the administrative assistant's duties, and, eventually, he wrote his own job description. After a period without any responsibilities, his first assignment was to accompany the attendance teacher and locate the homes of black students. His second assignment was to evaluate fourteen teachers whom the administration considered weak. All but two or three of these teachers were black. Although Reynolds accepted this assignment, he also observed other teachers, visiting approximately 75 classrooms. He thought that concentrating solely on the weak teachers would reinforce their sense of inferiority. The superintendent conceded that Reynolds' concern about creating a sense of inferiority was sound from an educational perspective. He nevertheless cited these differences over whom to evaluate as a reason for Reynolds' discharge.

Near the end of the school year, Reynolds met with the superintendent to discuss his work as an administrative assistant. In a post-conference memorandum, the superintendent noted that Reynolds did not believe he was suited for his present job and that he thought the administration wanted him to spy on black teachers and to support its criticism of them. The superintendent also noted that Reynolds had not filed visitation reports. He added that Reynolds "doesn't seem to be able to realize that it is his responsibility to support the release of a black when that person is incompetent. If he does, he is not willing, or so it seems, to do it." Shortly after the conference, Reynolds was discharged for failure to "properly carry out assigned supervisory duties."

Before Reynolds accepted the administrative assistant position the superintendent had told him that if he worked for a year and found that he did not wish to continue in that position, he would be considered for a principalship. 3 Contrary to this assurance, he was not considered for a principal's position when he was relieved of his duties as administrative assistant.

After unsuccessfully appealing his dismissal administratively, Reynolds obtained an appointment as a high school science teacher in another school district.

II

Reynolds claims that, when his school was closed because of desegregation, the board was required to consider him objectively along with all other black and white principals for the remaining principalships. He also contends that the history of segregation in the school system, together with the disproportionate displacement of black principals, establishes a prima facie case of racial discrimination. He asserts that the school officials did not rebut this prima facie case because they did not establish that his assignment and discharge were based on racially neutral considerations.

The school officials claim that they were not required to consider Reynolds for a principalship unless they proposed to discharge a disproportionate number of black personnel. Since only one black principal and one white principal were discharged, they contend that Reynolds had the burden of proving racial discrimination. They argue that the evidence supports the district court's finding that Reynolds failed to carry this burden.

We have consistently stated that the fourteenth amendment forbids discrimination in the selection, retention, and assignment of faculty in the public schools. Wall v. Stanly County Board of Education, 378 F.2d 275, 276 (4th Cir. 1967). 4 Consequently, a school system cannot displace black faculty members merely because the black schools are closed or integrated as part of a plan for desegregation. If the plan reduces the number of positions, the school system must consider all of the faculty on the basis of objective, racially neutral criteria for the remaining positions. Chambers v. Hendersonville City Board of Education, 364 F.2d 189, 192 (4th Cir. 1966). Moreover, the displaced faculty, absent good cause for refusal to rehire, must be placed in any positions which later become vacant without comparing their qualifications to those of new applicants, unless all teachers are annually considered for re-employment in comparison with new applicants. North Carolina Teachers Association v. Asheboro City Board of Education, 393 F.2d 736, 743-44 (4th Cir. 1968). The same standards are applicable to principals. Campbell v. Gadsden County District School Board, 534 F.2d 650, 657 (5th Cir. 1976).

It is also well established that, in a school system with a history of segregation, terminating a disproportionate number of black faculty raises an inference of...

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