State ex rel. Weaver v. Ayers

• Decision Date: 18 July 1988
• Citation: 49 Ed.LawRep. 1010,756 S.W.2d 217
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee, on Relation of Roger WEAVER, and the Wynn Community, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Tony AYERS, Melvin Boshears, Roger Byrge, Mack Dilbeck, Johnny Joe Dower, Whit Goins, Herbert Hackler, Kenneth Johnson, Lucy Lobertini, Calvin Morton, Paul Muse, Carl Teague, Jerry Wells, and Ray Wilson, constituting the Board of Commissioners of Campbell County, Tennessee, Defendants-Appellants. 756 S.W.2d 217, 49 Ed. Law Rep. 1010
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Page 217

756 S.W.2d 217

STATE of Tennessee, on Relation of Roger WEAVER, and the

Wynn Community, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Tony AYERS, Melvin Boshears, Roger Byrge, Mack Dilbeck, Johnny Joe Dower, Whit Goins, Herbert Hackler, Kenneth

Johnson, Lucy Lobertini, Calvin Morton, Paul Muse, Carl

Teague, Jerry Wells, and Ray Wilson, constituting the Board

of Commissioners of Campbell County, Tennessee,

Defendants-Appellants.

756 S.W.2d 217, 49 Ed. Law Rep. 1010

Supreme Court of Tennessee,

at Knoxville.

July 18, 1988.

William S. Cooper, III, Thomas W. Phillips, Phillips & Williams, P.C., Oneida, for defendants-appellants.

Philip P. Durand, Stephen W. Gibson, Ambrose, Wilson, Grimm & Durand, Knoxville, for plaintiffs-appellees.

OPINION

DROWOTA, Justice.

This direct appeal involves the issue of whether a Writ of Mandamus should have been issued by the Chancery Court for Campbell County to compel the Campbell County Board of Commissioners (the Board of Commissioners or Defendants) to appropriate funds to construct a new school at a site selected by the Campbell County Board of Education (the Board) to replace the school in the Relators' community (the Wynn Community; hereinafter, the Relators). At some point prior to August, 1985, the State Fire Marshall's Office issued a cease and desist order regarding the use of this school (the Wynn School) due to fire code violations in the structure, which was originally built in 1930 and to which several subsequent additions had been made. At the time of its condemnation, the Wynn School housed kindergarten through twelfth grades (K-12) and had a total attendance of approximately 379 students.

I.

Following the Fire Marshall's cease and desist order, the Board held meetings in August, 1985, at which residents of the Wynn community requested the Board seek funding for a new school. The Board discussed the site proposals and continued to obtain site evaluations during the subsequent months. ¹ The best proposed site that could be found, which did not comply with State regulations for school sites, presented some construction obstacles. Nevertheless, the Board adopted a resolution on December 12, 1985, requesting the Defendants to fund a new Wynn School at this proposed site; this resolution was transmitted to Defendants for action at the December 16, 1985, meeting of the Board of Commissioners. The Defendants did not, however, take any action on the Board's request at this meeting. During the following months, the office of the State Commissioner of Education (the Commissioner), who was monitoring the predicament with the Wynn School, evaluated the problems of relocating the Wynn School at the proposed site. On March 14, 1986, the Superintendent of Campbell County Schools (the Superintendent) wrote a letter to the Commissioner to inform him that Defendants had refused to fund a new Wynn School until the proposed school had the State's approval. The Commissioner replied on March 21, 1986, and extended the deadline for the Board's submission of a school plan to deal with the Wynn problem until May 15, 1986. ² On April 10, 1986, the Board met to consider a comprehensive plan for the Wynn School.

On May 5, 1986, the Commissioner wrote to the Superintendent concerning the situation with the Wynn School. He specifically observed that the proposed site for the new school was inadequate and that the Wynn high school program did not sufficiently prepare students for college or entry into the labor force. A larger school was required to expand the curriculum offerings and the elementary and middle schools needed to be separated from the high school for consolidation with other schools of the same types. He suggested that the Wynn situation should not be considered in isolation to the requirements of the county-wide education program, noting that

"[t]he inadequate curriculum, and the financial circumstances in Campbell County make it imperative that you, the school board and county commission carefully review the options ..., consider the observations in this letter and take the action necessary to insure the best possible program for the children in a cost effective manner for the taxpaying citizens of Campbell County."

The Commissioner then outlined the steps necessary to obtain State approval for a proposed plan, which was due by May 15, 1986. On May 22, 1986, a special meeting of the Board was called after the Board of Commissioners again refused to fund a new school for the Wynn community. Shortly thereafter, the Commissioner wrote to the Superintendent on June 3, 1986; the Commissioner first commented that

"[w]e understand that, on at least two occasions, the County Commission has been asked to provide the funds necessary to construct a new facility for grades K-12. We further understand that in each instance the Commission rejected the board's request. I share the Commission's concern about an expenditure of that magnitude and in my opinion the Commission acted in a wise manner." ³

Then in unequivocal language, the Commissioner stated that "[i]n view of the number of children at [Wynn], the limited course offerings and the importance of considering the educational needs and the funds necessary to implement a county-wide program, I am advising you that the board's plan for a new K-12 grade school is unacceptable." (Emphasis added.)

In August, 1986, the Board held two meetings regarding the Wynn School proposal but decided to defer any action until after the next county commission meeting, despite the fact that submission of a plan to the State was overdue. On August 18, 1986, the Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution approving the funding of the new Wynn School at the proposed site. The Superintendent received a letter from the Commissioner, dated August 22, 1986, in which the Commissioner noted that the plan submission was overdue and reiterated that the proposed Wynn School plan had previously been rejected by the State. The Commissioner also stated his opinion that the August 18, 1986, resolution of the county commissioners did not constitute an approved bond resolution and could not be considered funding of the plan. He suggested that the Board formally request the State to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Campbell County Public Schools to obtain the State's recommendations for "a comprehensive, cost-effective, educational improvement program." At a special meeting the following month, the Board adopted a resolution, dated September 4, 1986, in which it formally requested the State to conduct a comprehensive survey of county schools.

During the months of September and October, 1986, the Commissioner's office conducted an expedited survey. In the report of the survey results, the survey team noted that "[t]he board is fiscally dependent upon the 14-member county commission which must approve the operating budget of the school system." In its general observations regarding the operation of the Board, the team commented that the Board tended to function more as a representative body than as an administrative board serving the best interests of the county school system as a whole. The special problems presented by Campbell County's mountainous terrain were clearly recognized by the survey team; nevertheless, the report observed that many Campbell County students were transported to schools outside their attendance areas, passing schools closer to their residences to reach the schools they attended. In addition, secondary school services were not being equitably provided to all students, particularly referring to the Wynn and Jellico high school situations. ⁴ The survey team made a number of recommendations for the reorganization of the county schools. To make better utilization of available funds, the survey recommended that the Wynn high school students be consolidated with the Jellico high school students to form a new high school to be located and built in the northern section of the county. This solution to the problems with both schools would create a conveniently located high school with about 500 students, approximately enough to provide a comprehensive high school curriculum.

Following the August 18, 1986, meeting of the county commission, at which the resolution approving the funding proposal for the new Wynn School was adopted, a county commission election was held. A majority of the county commissioners were replaced and no appropriation was subsequently made by the newly elected Board of Commissioners to fund the proposed school project. Consequently, on January 7, 1987, the Petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed by the Relators in this case to compel the Defendants to fund the new Wynn School at the proposed site. The following month, on February 16, 1987, a bond resolution to fund the new Wynn School failed in the county commission. On April 3, 1987, Defendants filed their first Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment; the Relators filed their Response on May 14, 1987, opposing the Defendants' Motion. On May 18, 1987, the Chancellor filed a Memorandum Opinion that found that the August 18, 1986, resolution of the Board of Commissioners was invalid for a number of reasons. Regardless, the trial court did not dismiss the Petition because it found that an enforceable legal duty existed on the part of Defendants to fund the proposed project once the Board had made the determination that the new school project was needed. The Petition for a Writ of Mandamus was amended on June 22, 1987, after the county commission again refused to approve a bond resolution for the new Wynn School on June 15, 1987. Following the filing of the Amended Petition, the trial court reopened the proceedings by an order of June 24, 1987. On July 23, 1987, Defendants filed a second Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment.

During the pendency of the Petition, the Superintendent continued to receive letters from the State concerning the unresolved situation with the Wynn...