Ririe v. Board of Trustees of School Dist. No. One, Crook County, Wyo.

• Decision Date: 09 December 1983
• Docket Number: No. 83-40,83-40
• Citation: 674 P.2d 214
• Parties: 15 Ed. Law Rep. 573 Rogers RIRIE, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. ONE, CROOK COUNTY, WYOMING; Clell Claar; Kelly Dennis; Dan Vore; Donald Anderson; Roxanne Peters; Dan Neiman; Gerald Popham; Linda McAmis; R. Reynard Mills; and Ottlin Wegner, (individually), Appellees (Defendants).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

Page 214

674 P.2d 214

15 Ed. Law Rep. 573

Rogers RIRIE, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. ONE, CROOK COUNTY, WYOMING; Clell Claar; Kelly Dennis; Dan Vore; Donald Anderson; Roxanne Peters; Dan Neiman; Gerald Popham; Linda McAmis; R. Reynard Mills; and Ottlin Wegner, (individually), Appellees (Defendants).

No. 83-40.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

Dec. 9, 1983.

Richard S. Dumbrill of Jones, Dumbrill & Hansen, Newcastle, for appellant.

Mark L. Hughes of Hughes & Dumbrill, Sundance, for appellees.

A.G. McClintock, Atty. Gen., Edgar Young, Asst. Atty. Gen., Herbert K. Doby, Legal Intern, Cheyenne, for the State of Wyo.

Before ROONEY, C.J., and THOMAS, ROSE, BROWN and CARDINE, JJ.

ROSE, Justice.

Rogers Ririe appeals from the judgment of the district court affirming the decision of the Board of Trustees of School District No. One, Crook County, Wyoming, to terminate his contract after five years of employment with the school district. We will affirm.

In the fall of 1977, Mr. Ririe was hired as an Educational Resource Center (ERC) facilitator to implement and monitor the instructional programs for handicapped children throughout the Crook County School District. He held a continuing contract in that position at the time of his discharge in 1982.

The position of ERC facilitator is a relatively recent innovation in this state, having originated in the 1970's along with the concept of locally-based resource centers. According to the position description prepared by the Wyoming Department of Education, ¹ the facilitator is expected to promote the development and implementation of the ERC program, to assist the ERC staff and to organize educational services to meet their needs, to aid in the identification of children with learning disabilities, and to participate in the development of appropriate curricula for these children. The position description specifies the educational background and prior experience required of an ERC facilitator and lists as additional qualifications the ability to relate to others and to communicate effectively.

In the summer of 1980 the school board hired Dr. Ottlin Wegner as district superintendent. Dr. Wegner conducted his first administrative evaluation of Rogers Ririe in November, 1980, at which time he rated appellant's performance level as satisfactory or better. He noted, however, that his opportunity for observation had been inadequate. A second evaluation of appellant was made in January, 1982. At this time Dr. Wegner provided written comments concerning deficiencies in Mr. Ririe's professional relationship with the ERC staff and the administration. He noted that no improvements had been made in these areas since their discussion the previous spring. Dr. Wegner recommended that appellant be placed on probationary status and not retained on the staff.

At a school board meeting conducted March 8, 1982, Dr. Wegner recommended that appellant's contract be terminated. The board accepted his recommendation by a vote of seven to two, and a timely notice, specifying the reasons for termination, was subsequently given to Mr. Ririe. At appellant's request, a hearing was held before the board. Pursuant to agreement of the Prior to the presentation of evidence at the hearing, an extensive voir dire of the members of the school board took place. The board was questioned first as a group and then individually, in chambers, to determine whether they could function as an impartial tribunal in appellant's case. Counsel for appellant challenged the entire board on the ground that their previously recorded vote to accept the superintendent's recommendation of termination precluded a fair and impartial decision based on the evidence presented at the hearing. The hearing examiner denied appellant's request to disqualify the board as a whole and refused to appoint himself as final decision maker.

parties, the proceedings were conducted by an independent hearing examiner.

Counsel for appellant then challenged three board members on the ground that they were biased as a result of their knowledge of an alleged agreement between Dr. Wegner and the board to hire Dr. Wegner's wife and their awareness of Mr. Ririe's refusal to hire Mrs. Wegner in the ERC program. The hearing examiner again denied appellant's requested relief, asserting that while such an agreement might reflect on the motive of Dr. Wegner in recommending termination, it did not indicate prejudice on the part of the board members.

Finally, the appellant's attorney subpoenaed the three challenged board members and advised that they would be called to testify concerning the alleged agreement to employ Mrs. Wegner in the school district. The hearing examiner refused to permit the board members to testify along these lines, ruling that such evidence was irrelevant.

At the close of the hearing the school board voted to support the termination of Rogers Ririe as ERC facilitator. In its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law the board determined that Mr. Ririe was incompetent to continue in his position and sustained the superintendent's recommendation of termination on the following grounds:

"a) Rogers Ririe has a demonstrated inability to communicate effectively with the professional staff with whom he must work as facilitator including building principals, special education staff, and specialized staff to the special education program. This demonstrated inability to communicate effectively has caused Rogers Ririe to lose the trust of many staff members and this lack of trust in him and his communication problems inhibit his proper functioning and capacity to perform his duties. Rogers Ririe's inability to effectively communicate as demonstrated to the Board of Trustees at the hearing in this matter has caused the Board of Trustees to lack confidence in Rogers Ririe's ability to perform his job.

"b) Rogers Ririe's failure to communicate registration procedures to the special education staff for the State Department Of Education Computerized Registration plan in a timely and precise manner and allowing the registration to be forwarded with two major errors which could have been costly to the School District.

"c) Rogers Ririe is lacking in those qualities of leadership which are necessary to facilitate the program staff he must work with on a continuing basis. The leadership problems stem from Rogers Ririe's inability to communicate effectively, loss of trust by many staff members and his few contacts with the Hulett Center, Sundance Center and country schools.

"d) Rogers Ririe has provided a divisive influence in contacts with staff members and many of his actions have been detrimental to establishment of a harmonious relationship with and among the staff."

The district court affirmed the board's order of termination. The court ruled that the school board had observed all statutory and procedural requirements of law, that no constitutional rights of appellant had been denied and that the board's finding of incompetency was supported by substantial evidence. With respect to this last ruling, the judgment of the court provides:

"The Board of Trustee's decision to terminate the employment of Rogers Ririe for incompetency in that Rogers Ririe has a demonstrated inability to communicate

effectively with the professional staff with whom he must work including building principals, special education staff, and specialized staff involved with the special education program and that Rogers Ririe lacks those qualities of leadership necessary to facilitate the program staff he must work with on a continuing basis is supported by substantial evidence and is good cause for termination."

THE ISSUES

The appellant raises in his brief the following issues for our consideration on appeal:

"I. Can a School District Board or members of that Board act as fair and impartial examiners of the evidence at an administrative hearing to retain or terminate a 'continuing contract teacher' after having voted, by recorded vote at a previous meeting, to fire the teacher?

"II. Is the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act unconstitutional in that the act fails to provide a means by which a fair and impartial hearing officer or tribunal can be provided when the administrative board is shown to be biased or prejudiced, or does W.S.1977 § 16-3-112(e) allow for the appointment of a hearing examiner to try the final issue in such a case?

"III. Did the hearing examiner err in refusing to disqualify three board members from hearing the case, members who were parties to an agreement with Superintendent Wegner that his wife would be given a job in the School District if one were available, and did the hearing examiner err in refusing to allow Mr. Ririe's attorney to call the same three board members as witnesses to show that Dr. Wegner's motive in firing the Appellant was that the Appellant had refused to hire Dr. Wegner's wife to fill a vacant position in the Appellant's department?

"IV. Is W.S.1977, 16-3-107(h) unconstitutional because it provides that no member of an administrative body can be compelled to testify as a witness in a hearing before that agency when the member is a material witness to an element of the defense of the person whose rights are being determined?

"V. As a matter of law, did Dr. Wegner, the superintendent, and the Board take the steps and observe the procedures that are necessary under the Administrative Procedures Act and the Wyoming laws dealing with continuing contract teachers, or did they act arbitrarily and capriciously in terminating his contract in which he had a property right?

"VI. As a matter of law does the charge or allegation of an 'inability to communicate effectively with the professional staff' present a standard of conduct that is sufficiently clear so that a teacher can be expected to conform to a standard, or is such a standard impossible for one person to control since communication takes action...