Clayton Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Wilmer. Clayton Cnty. Bd. of Educ.

325 Ga.App. 637

753 S.E.2d 459

CLAYTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

v.WILMER.

Clayton County Board of Education

v.Rachele.

Nos. A13A2088, A13A2094.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Jan. 24, 2014.

Reconsideration Denied Feb. 5, 2014.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair, Marquetta J. Bryan, Thomas Alan Cox, Atlanta, for Appellant.

Orr & Brown, Kristine O. Brown, Cerrone Geron Coker, Borquaye A. Thomas, for Appellees.

ELLINGTON, Presiding Judge.

In each of these cases, the Clayton County Board of Education (“the Local Board”) decided not to renew a tenured teacher's contract, the Georgia Board of Education (“the State Board”) reversed the decision of the Local Board, and the Superior Court of Clayton County affirmed the decision of the State Board. The Local Board appeals,¹ contending, inter alia, that the State Board erred in reversing the Local Board's decisions based on its failure to notify the teachers in writing of the decision and of their right to appeal to the State Board in the time and manner required by law and, therefore, that the superior court erred in affirming the decisions of the State Board. Because the substantive issues in these cases are identical, we have consolidated them for decision. For the reasons explained below, we affirm.

Georgia's Fair Dismissal Act

Under Georgia's Fair Dismissal Act, OCGA §§ 20–2–940 through 20–2–948, after a teacher's fourth consecutive contract with a local board of education, the teacher enjoys what are commonly referred to as “tenure rights.” (Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Patrick v. Huff, 296 Ga.App. 343, 345(1), 674 S.E.2d 398 (2009).² Under the Act, a local board may demote or fail to renew the contract of a tenured teacher only for cause and after providing specified procedural safeguards.³West v. Dooly County School Dist., 316 Ga.App. 330, 331, 729 S.E.2d 469 (2012); see also Oates v. Coffee County Bd. of Ed., 198 Ga.App. 77, 79, 400 S.E.2d 355 (1990) (“The significance of tenure is that a tenured teacher's contract may be non-renewed only for one of the reasons specified in OCGA § 20–2–940.”). Absent non-renewal in compliance with OCGA § 20–2–942, a tenured teacher's contract is automatically renewed for the following school year.⁴

Under Georgia's Education Code every local board “shall constitute a tribunal for hearing and determining any matter of local controversy in reference to the construction or administration of the school law[,]” and, as such a matter, a dispute under the Fair Dismissal Act is committed to that administrative process. See Day v. Brantley County School Dist., 298 Ga.App. 717, 680 S.E.2d 496 (2009). Thus, a teacher with a dispute regarding his or her employment contract generally must first seek redress before the local board of education. OCGA § 20–2–1160(a); Day v. Brantley County School Dist., 298 Ga.App. at 717, 680 S.E.2d 496 (A complaint against a local board for breach of contract was properly dismissed where the plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies before filing suit.).

The Fair Dismissal Act requires the local board to give a tenured teacher written notice of its intention not to renew the teacher's contract, as well as notice of the teacher's procedural rights. OCGA § 20–2–942(b)⁵; see OCGA § 20–2–940(b) through (f) (procedures); Patrick v. Huff, 296 Ga.App. at 345(1), 674 S.E.2d 398. If the teacher serves written notice within 20 days that he or she requests a hearing, the local board then has 14 days to furnish the teacher a notice that complies with the requirements of OCGA § 20–2–940(b), which includes the charges or grounds for non-renewal under the provisions of the Fair Dismissal Act. OCGA § 20–2–942(b).⁶ Furthermore, the teacher is entitledto an evidentiary hearing to contest the reasons for non-renewal before the local school board or, if designated by the local board, before a specialized tribunal, which submits findings and recommendations to the local board for its decision. OCGA § 20–2–940(e). The Fair Dismissal Act provides that

[t]he local board shall render its decision at the hearing or within five days thereafter. Where the hearing is before a tribunal, the tribunal shall file its findings and recommendations with the local board within five days of the conclusion of the hearing, and the local board shall render its decision thereon within ten days after the receipt of the transcript.

OCGA § 20–2–940(f).

The State Board is the primary appellate body for reviewing non-renewal decisions of local boards. OCGA §§ 20–2–940(f) (In cases of non-renewal, “[a]ppeals may be taken to the [S]tate [B]oard in accordance with [OCGA § ] 20–2–1160 ... and the rules and regulations of the [S]tate [B]oard governing appeals.”); 20–2–1160(b) (“Any party aggrieved by a decision of the local board rendered on a contested issue after a hearing shall have the right to appeal therefrom to the State Board of Education.”). Under OCGA § 20–2–1160(a), the decision of a local board in its capacity as a tribunal

shall be binding on the parties; provided, however, that the [local] board shall notify the parties in writing of the decision and of their right to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education and shall clearly describe the procedure and requirements for such an appeal[.]

See Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 160–1–3–.04(3)(a)6. (“At the conclusion of the hearing [before a local board of education acting as a school law tribunal], or within 15 days thereafter, the [local board] shall notify the parties of its decision in writing and shall notify the parties of their right to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education.”).

“Any party aggrieved [by a decision of the State Board] may appeal to the superior court of the county wherein the local board of education is situated.” OCGA § 20–2–1160(c). An appeal to this Court from a decision of a superior court reviewing a decision of the State Board of Education shall be by application for a discretionary appeal, as provided in OCGA § 5–6–35.

With the interplay of the relevant statutes in mind, we turn to the specific facts of the cases at bar.

Case No. A13A2088

On April 20, 2011, the superintendent of Clayton County Public Schools notified Burnedetta Wilmer, a tenured kindergarten teacher, that he would be recommending to the Local Board that her employment contract not be renewed for the 2011–2012 school year. Wilmer requested an evidentiary hearing, which took place on September 20, 2011, before a tribunal designated by the Local Board. The tribunal recommended non-renewal of Wilmer's contract and submitted written findings to the Local Board. The Local Board voted, at its meeting on November 7, 2011, to accept the tribunal's non-renewal recommendation. The Local Board informed Wilmer that it had accepted the tribunal's non-renewal recommendation, but it did not provide her with the written findings of the tribunal until December 12, 2011. After repeated requests from Wilmer's attorney for the Local Board's decision, the Local Board's attorney notified Wilmer's attorney, via e-mail sent on February 8, 2012, that the Local Board “ issued its decision ... within the time frame” required by statute, but the Local Board did not issue a written decision setting forth the basis for non-renewal (or expressly adopting the findings and recommendation of the tribunal), and it provided Wilmer no formal notice of her right to appeal its decision and the procedure and requirements for such an appeal.

On February 14, 2012, Wilmer appealed to the State Board, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and arguing that the Local Board had failed to provide her with a written explanation of its decision and notice of her right to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education, as required. The State Board found that the Local Board violated OCGA § 20–2–940(f), in failing to serve the tribunal's findings and recommendation upon Wilmer, and OCGA § 20–2–1160(a), in failing to notify Wilmer in writing of its decision and of her right to appeal. The State Board found that Wilmer was harmed by the Local Board's procedural faults, in that the Local Board's “fail[ure] to render a written decision in accordance with OCGA § 20–2–1160” giving the basis for its decision made it impossible for the State Board to “ascertain if the decision was mistaken[.]” In addition, noting that the time limitations in the Fair Dismissal Act exist in order to expeditiously provide teachers with a hearing, including the right to appeal, the State Board found that Wilmer was harmed by the Local Board's conduct, which had caused the matter to be delayed for over a year since the issuance of the non-renewal letter. Based on these findings, the State Board reversed the Local Board's decision. The Local Board then appealed to the superior court.

The superior court agreed with the State Board that the Local Board had violated OCGA § 20–2–1160(a) by failing to provide timely written notice to Wilmer of its decision not to renew her contract. Further, the superior court found that Wilmer was injured by the Local Board's late notice. Specifically, it found that the time for her to appeal to the State Board began running on November 7, 2011, the day that the Local Board met and voted to accept the tribunal's recommendation, and therefore expired on December 7, 2011. The superior court found that, because Wilmer did not appeal until February 14, 2012, the State Board was without jurisdiction to consider her appeal and that the Local Board's actions deprived Wilmer of an appeal. Because Wilmer was injured by the Local Board's violation of OCGA § 20–2–1160(a), the superior court concluded that the requirements of that Code section are mandatory, rather than directory, under Georgia law. Based on these findings and conclusions, the superior court affirmed the decision of the State Board.

Case No. A13A2094

On April 20, 2011, the superintendent of Clayton County Public Schools notified Gala Rachele, a tenured...