Singleton v. Horry County School Dist., 0741

• Decision Date: 21 April 1986
• Docket Number: No. 0741,0741
• Citation: 345 S.E.2d 751,289 S.C. 223
• Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: , 33 Ed. Law Rep. 894 H.H. SINGLETON, on behalf of himself and all other teachers and employees of the Horry County School District similarly situated, Appellant, v. HORRY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, a body politic: Franklin C. Blanton, Chairman; Henry C. Hester, George G. Cooper, E.M. Henry, James Barnett, Helen Smith and Rupert Stalvey, Trustees of the Horry County School District, Respondents. . Heard

Page 751

345 S.E.2d 751

289 S.C. 223, 33 Ed. Law Rep. 894

H.H. SINGLETON, on behalf of himself and all other teachers

and employees of the Horry County School District

similarly situated, Appellant, v. HORRY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, a body politic: Franklin C.

Blanton, Chairman; Henry C. Hester, George G. Cooper, E.M.

Henry, James Barnett, Helen Smith and Rupert Stalvey,

Trustees of the Horry County School District, Respondents.

No. 0741.

Court of Appeals of South Carolina.

Heard April 21, 1986.

Decided June 30, 1986.

Franklin R. DeWitt, Conway, for appellant.

Bruce E. Davis, Camden, and James B. Richardson, Jr., Columbia, for respondents.

PER CURIAM:

Respondent Horry County School District suspended appellant H.H. Singleton (Singleton) from employment for two days because his teaching certificate had expired. Singleton initiated this action to expunge the suspension from his records and to collect the two days lost pay. On cross- motions for summary judgment, the circuit court ordered judgment for the school board. Singleton appeals. We affirm.

Singleton's teaching certificate was set to expire on June 30, 1983. On April 15, 1983, Singleton and the school board entered into an employment contract for the 1983-84 school year. The contract stated: "Contract conditional upon certificate renewal." It also contained the following provision:

The Employee will, where required by law, possess throughout the term of this agreement a valid and appropriate credential(s) license(s) for the Employee's assigned position in the schools of Horry County School District.

In order to acquire the necessary credentials to renew his certificate, Singleton enrolled in summer courses at the University of South Carolina's Conway Campus (U.S.C.). He successfully completed the courses in July 1983 and on August 23, 1983, requested that U.S.C. forward his grades to the South Carolina Department of Education (Department of Education), the agency which issued teaching certificates. On September 9, 1983, U.S.C. sent a transcript to the Department of Education but the transcript was incomplete and did not contain Singleton's grades. On October 20, 1983, the Department of Education wrote to Singleton advising him of the deficiency in the transcript and suggesting that he contact U.S.C. and request another transcript. The next day Singleton contacted U.S.C. and requested that a transcript be sent to the Department of Education.

The school board permitted Singleton to teach for the first two months of the 1983-84 school year pending receipt of his renewed certificate. The policy of the school district regarding interim employment, as taken from the Statement of the Case, is as follows:

If a teacher's certificate is set to expire before the beginning of the next school year, the District allows the teacher two months after the beginning of the school year in which to furnish to the District's personnel office the required certificate. Failure to do so makes the teacher subject to suspension without pay until the required certificate is presented. Respondent School District will not impose the suspension, and will lift the suspension once imposed, upon telephone assurance from the Department of Education that a valid certificate has been issued.

On November 1, 1983, when Singleton's extension ended, the school district gave him until November 7, 1983 to obtain a renewed certificate from the Department of Education. On November 7, 1983, because the school district had not been advised by the Department of Education that a new certificate had been issued, it suspended Singleton from employment with the district. On November 9, 1983, the district received notice by telephone from the Department of Education that Singleton's grades had been received from U.S.C. and immediately lifted his suspension. Pursuant to its regulations, the Department of Education thereafter issued Singleton a renewed teaching certificate with an effective date of November 9, 1983. ¹

Singleton commenced this action in February 1984 seeking expungement of the suspension action from his record and collection of two days lost wages. Subsequently, during the summer of 1984 and after the 1983-84 teaching year had ended, the Department of Education amended his teaching certificate to show an effective date of July 1, 1983. According to the affidavit of the Chief Supervisor of the Teacher Certification Section of the Department of Education, the amendment of the certificate occurred after Singleton and his attorney visited his office and because U.S.C. documented that "it was not Mr. Singleton's error that the transcript received in the Teacher Certification Section of the South Carolina Department of Education on September 9, 1983, was incomplete...."

The trial judge concluded that there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding either the validity of the school district's regulations or the fact that the school district had properly followed the Department of Education's regulations in suspending Singleton from work. He further found that the school district had not abused its discretion in refusing both to expunge Singleton's records and to pay him for lost wages. We agree.

Singleton argues on appeal that the school district abused its discretion in refusing to accept as sufficient evidence of his recertification his representation to it that he had completed the courses at U.S.C. He argues that the proviso in his contract and the district's policies that require evidence or proof of his qualifications to be filed in the...