24 A.D.2d 628 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1965
Proceeding pursuant to article 78 of the CPLR, to review and. annul the determination of the respondent Board of Education, made November 12, 1963, after a public hearing on written charges under section 3012 of the Education Law, which: (1) suspended petitioner from his position of teacher in the Bethpage Senior High School from the date of the determination until the end of the then current school year, June 30, 1964; and (2) directed petitioner to cease and desist from activities similar to those complained of in the charges, with notice that a recurrence of such activities will be treated as offenses warranting dismissal. By order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County, entered December 7, 1964 pursuant to statute (CPLR 7804, subd. [g]), the proceeding has been transferred to this court for disposition. Determination confirmed, with coste. The charges against petitioner were (1) conduct unbecoming a teacher and (2) insubordination. The specifications under the first charge were: (a) that petitioner authored a certain letter dated June 18, 1963 addressed to the respondent board, with respect to the subject of a certain probationary teacher not being re-engaged for the next school year, and caused the letter to be sent to the board and copies to be circulated to members of the administrative and teaching staffs within the school district; (b) that the letter defamed the administration of the school district as to professional matters, particularly the principal of the school in which the probationary teacher was serving; (e) that the probationary teacher did not consent to the circulation of the letter; and (d) that the circulation of the letter could endanger the probationary teacher’s professional standing and advancement. Petitioner’s signature on the letter was under the designation of president of a certain organization of teachers. The specifications under the second charge were the same as those of the first, plus the claim that on June 21, 1963 the petitioner refused to answer questions put to him by the. Superintendent of the school district concerning his activities in connection with the letter. Petitioner informed the Superintendent that he wanted to consult with counsel before answering the questions and he also claimed the right to refuse to answer them on the ground that they related to union activities. In our opinion, all the findings and conclusions of the board have substantial support in the record. However, we do not pass on the findings as to the issues with respect to the specifications designated (e) and (d) under the first charge, including the findings that the testimony of the witnesses, Mrs. Vredenburgh and Mr. Martin, was unworthy of belief. It is not necessary for us to pass on those findings in order to reach our decision. Although a public employee may, with impunity, express himself freely in general, such expression is subject to the proviso that he shall not impair the administration of the services in which he is engaged, thereby impairing his own usefulness and fitness to carry on his duties (Matter of Sausbier v. Wheeler, 276 N. Y. 246; Matter of Kern v. La Guardia, 264 App. Div. 627, affd. 289 N. Y. 776; Jepsen v. Board of Educ., 19 Ill. App. 2d 204). This limitation applies particularly to a school teacher, for he “works in a sensitive area in a schoolroom” and the authorities “must preserve the integ