James Rodney BYRD v. GREENE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
No. 91-CC-0938.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
February 3, 1994.
633 So. 2d 1018
McRAE, Justice
Perry Sansing, Brunini Grantham Grower & Hewes, Jackson, for appellee.
Before DAN M. LEE, P.J., and McRAE and SMITH, JJ.
McRAE, Justice, for the court:
This appeal arises from a July 30, 1991, award of damages by the Greene County Chancery Court in an appeal from an employee “reduction in force” proceeding conducted pursuant to the School Employment Procedures Law of 1977,
I.
James Rodney Byrd was employed by the Greene County School District from 1983 through 1988. He worked first as a teacher and coach. In 1985, after completing his Master‘s Degree in counseling and psychology, he was hired as an elementаry and junior high school guidance counselor.
In March, 1986, the Greene County School District adopted its Reduction in Force Policy (RIF) in an attempt to comply with the State‘s Minimum Foundation Program funding levels. The procedures developed for the RIF were intended to balance the need for fairness to the teachers with the best interests of the school children when reductions were necessary.
The District had a long-standing practice of cutting timber from its Sixteenth Section land to meet any budget shortfalls or expenses not covered by ad valorem tax revenues. Since 1984, timber valued at $1,327,532.00 had been cut at the School Board‘s request, an average of $331,883.00 per year. In March 1988, the District began its annual negotiations with the Forestry Commission. In late May, the Forestry Commission completed its evaluation of the District‘s timberlands and recommended that timber sales should slow down to an average annual rate of $50,000.00.
At its February 12, 1988, meeting, the Greene County School Board acknowledged that a reduction in staff would be necessary to effect a cut in the District‘s budget over the next three years. The recommendations considered by the Board included a decrease in the number of guidance counselors. At that meeting, it was recоmmended that Byrd and another guidance counselor be hired instead as teachers.1 The minutes of the February 12, 1988, Executive Meeting, indicate that the decision was made to rehire Byrd as a Guidance Counselor. On February 29, 1988, the Board held a hearing and unanimously voted to re-employ Byrd and seven other teachers and counselors in their present positions for the 1988-1989 school year.
On June 12, 1988, the Superintendent informеd the Board that there existed a $401,095.00 shortfall in the District Maintenance budget. Because of the immediate need for deep cuts in the budget as well as the District‘s RIF policy, the Board voted not to
Byrd and his colleagues were sent written notice of the Board‘s decision on June 29, 1988. The letters stated that the аction was not a reflection of past performance, but “was necessitated by the lack of funds in our district” and that the reduction in staff was “intended to get the school district operating at or about the funding level provided by the State of Mississippi in the Minimum Foundation Program.”
Due process hearings for Byrd and others affected by the Board‘s decision were held during August, 1988. Ben J. Piazza, Jr., a Jackson attorney who represented the Hinds County School Board, served as the hearing officer. He was retained to serve in this capacity by the law firm of Brunini, Grantham, Grower and Hewes, which represented the Greene County School District in the proceedings. He had served as a hearing officer at the request of the Brunini firm on four or five other occasions when the firm was representing a school board. Because of the alleged relationship between Piazza and the Brunini firm, Tom Matthews, counsel for Byrd and five other teachers, conducted a voir dire to determine whether Piazza could function as a fair and impartial hearing officer. Piazza then denied Matthews’ request to recuse himself.
In his written “Findings and Recommended Decision,” the Hearing Officer found that pursuant to Greene County‘s RIF Policy and
Byrd appealed the Board‘s decision to the Chancery Court of Greene County on October 5, 1988.2 The chancellor found that a reasonable person would have doubted the impartiality of the hearing officer and ruled that Piazza should have recused himself. He further found that the District‘s financial crisis did not constitute “other good cause” for dismissal. Moreover, he found that the Boаrd‘s action in terminating Byrd was not supported by substantial evidence and was, therefore, arbitrary. On November 27, 1990, the chancellor entered a judgment ordering the Board to pay damages in the amount of $32,564.50, plus legal interest, based on the sum Byrd would have received under a twelve month contract with the District for the 1988-1989 school year.
The District filed a Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment on November 19, 1990, requesting clarification of the method used to calculate damages. Further, it asserted that Byrd‘s employment contract with the Wayne County School District for the 1988-1989 school year served to mitigate his damages. Pursuant to
The Board held a hearing on July 16, 1991. The transcript of those proceedings reflects that neither Byrd nor his attorney were present at the hearing.3 Comparing the salary Byrd actually earned under his 1988-1989 contract with the Wayne County School District with what he would have earned under a ten-month contract with Greene County, the Board found that Byrd was entitled to actual damages of $1996.00. The chancellor entered a final judgment on July
II.
When considering teacher termination cases, this Court‘s scope of review is quite limited. In Hoffman v. Board of Trustees, 567 So. 2d 838 (Miss. 1990), we explained that:
We accept our duty of deference to the hearing officials and this is no different when those officials are the ultimate legal authority for the schоol district. We look to see whether the decision of the Board is supported by substantial evidence, was arbitrary or capricious, was beyond the power of the Board to make, or violated some statutory or constitutional right of the complaining party. See, e.g. Harrison County School Board v. Morreale, 538 So.2d 1196, 1203 (Miss. 1989). Most assuredly, by way of contrast, the test is not what we would have decided had we been the trier of the issues in dispute.
Hoffman, 567 So.2d at 842. Pursuant to
III.
Although the parties have raised numerous arguments on appeal and cross-appeal, we limit our discussion only to the questions of whether the hearing officer should have recused himself and whether implementation of a school district‘s reduction in force policy constitutes “good cause” for the termination or recision of a teacher‘s contract.
Citing Art. 6, Sec. 165 of the Mississippi Constitution, Canon 3(C) of the Code of Judicial Conduct and Jenkins v. Forrest County Hospital, 542 So. 2d 1180 (Miss. 1989), the chancellor applied standards of judicial conduct and ruled that Piazza should have recused himself because “a reasonable person would certainly harbor doubts about the impartiality of the Hearing Officer in this case.” On cross-appeal, the District correctly argues that the chancellor applied the wrong standard for determining whether recusal was proper.
This Court has recognized that administrative hearings “are not trials and ... аre not governed by the same rules which apply in
By applying the standard applicable to judges, the chancellor applied the wrong standard in making his determination that the hearing officer should have recused himself. Utilizing the proper standard, however, we find that the presumption of the hearing officer‘s fairness and honesty has not been overcome. During voir dirе, Piazza stated that he had acted as a hearing officer four or five times over a ten year period in cases where, as in the case sub judice, the Brunini firm represented the school board. He further stated that he could be fair and impartial in making a decision in this case. There is no evidence that he had any personal or financial interest in the outcome of the case or that he had any feelings of personal animosity toward Byrd. Accordingly, the chancellor erred in finding that Piazza should have recused himself.
IV.
Whether a school district has “good cause” to rescind a teacher‘s already-renewed contract because its financial woes warrant implementation of an established Reduction in Force Policy is a question of first impression before this Court. It points out a void in our stаtutory framework between the release of a teacher from his contract for conduct-related “good cause” pursuant to
We find that
By not addressing RIF terminations, our existing statutory framework leaves a void in those instances where a school district does not discover until after April 8 that insufficient funds are available to cover teacher contracts. This Court has implicitly allowed factors such as a district‘s financial exigencies and declining student enrollment to stand as a basis for nonrenewal of teacher contracts. In Stone County School Board v. McMaster, 573 So. 2d 753 (Miss. 1990), we determined that hearsay evidenсe of declining enrollment in a learning disabilities program and a lack of district funds to pay for teachers was sufficient to reverse a chancellor‘s reversal of a school board‘s decision to not renew the contract of a learning disabilities teacher. McMaster, 573 So. 2d at 754. In Claiborne County Board of Education v. Martin, 500 So. 2d 981 (Miss. 1986), we found that the School Board‘s “reduction in force” argument for the nonrenewal of a counselor‘s contract was a sham, but did nоt refute the idea that a bona fide financial crisis could warrant non-reemployment decisions. Where, as in Martin, there was evidence that a teacher‘s political activity was the real reason for the nonrenewal of his contract, “we recognized that, where a teacher has engaged in constitutionally protected political activity, and where the superintendent‘s reason for non-reemployment is shown to be false or a sham, the teacher gains the benefit of a rebuttable presumption that non-reemployment was for constitutionally impermissible reasons.” Id. at 985-86. These cases, however, do not address the impact of budgetary concerns upon rescission of teacher contracts.
In the State of Washington, the statutory framework, like that in Mississippi, distinguishes between teacher discharges and non-renewals of contracts. However, while a teacher may not be terminated because of the school district‘s financial problems under the discharge statute (analogous to
In those jurisdictions where, as distinguished from Mississippi, the statutes do not differentiate between teacher termination and non-renewal, courts have found that a school district‘s finances may warrant the rescission or non-renewal of teacher contracts. In Iowa, the court ruled that budgetary constraints and declining student enrollment may serve as “just cause” for the termination of a teacher‘s contract. Lee v. Giangreco, 490 N.W.2d 814, 818 (Iowa 1992); Smith v. Board of Education of Mediapolis School District, 334 N.W.2d 150, 152 (Iowa 1983). It cautioned that reductions in force for “`cause‘” are not necessarily free from “arbitrary decisiоn-making,” and “school administrators may be called upon to articulate an objective basis for the selection, specifically for the purpose of verifying that the decision was based on rational and legitimate criteria.” Lee, 490 N.W.2d at 818; In re Waterloo Community School District, 338 N.W.2d 153 (Iowa 1983). In Massachusetts, when there is an “actual need” for a reduction in force, school boards may even dismiss teachers without complying with statutory notice and hearing requirements. Martin v. School Committee of Natick, 395 Mass 461, 464, 480 N.E.2d 625, 627 (1985). See also Boston Teachers Local 66 v. School Committee of Boston, 386 Mass. 197, 216, 434 N.E.2d 1258 (1982) (requirements do not apply to dismissals based solely on budgetary factors provided that “such reasons are not proffered by the committee as a sham or subterfuge“).
The premises underlying a contract between a school district and a teacher are indistinguishable from any other employment contract. The district promises to employ the teacher for a given term, subject to the terms of that contract. As consideration, the
Although the chancellor applied the incorrect standard in making his determination that the hearing officer should have recused himself, we affirm his award of actual damages in the amount of $1,996.00, based on the difference between Byrd‘s salary under the terms of the Greene County contract and the new agreement he reached with the Wayne County School District. In the absence of any statutory or contractual authority to so act, we find that the School District‘s eleventh hour realization of its financial predicament was not good cause for the rescission of Byrd‘s contract for the 1988-1989 school year. However, we recognize the need for legislation to make provisions for reductions in force arising after April 8.
Accordingly, we find that the chancellor‘s еrror was harmless and affirm the amended award of damages to Byrd.
AFFIRMED ON DIRECT APPEAL; AFFIRMED ON CROSS-APPEAL.
HAWKINS, C.J., and SULLIVAN, PITTMAN, BANKS, JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., and SMITH, JJ., concur.
DAN M. LEE, P.J., concurs in results only.
PRATHER, P.J., not participating.