Smith v. Jefferson County School Bd. of Com'Rs

549 F.3d 641

Steve B. SMITH, David Kucera, Vickie F. Forgety, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS; Douglas R. Moody, Lana Leckie, Bill Powell, David Lockhart, Anne M. Potts, Greg Sharpe, Louise Snodderly, Individually and in their official capacity as members of the Jefferson County Board of Education; Kingswood School Inc., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-6533.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: January 31, 2008.

Decided and Filed: November 24, 2008.

ARGUED:

George F. Legg, Stone & Hinds, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellants. Arthur F. Knight III, Becker, Fleishman & Knight, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellees.

ON BRIEF:

George F. Legg, Eric J. Morrison, Stone & Hinds, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellants. Arthur F. Knight III, Becker, Fleishman & Knight, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellees.

Before: MOORE, CLAY, and ROGERS, Circuit Judges.

MOORE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which CLAY, J., joined. ROGERS, J. (pp. 661-66), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

The former principal of Jefferson County, Tennessee's alternative school and two former teachers at the school (collectively referred to as "the teachers"), allege that, by closing the county's public alternative school and contracting with Kingswood Academy ("Kingswood") to provide alternative-school services for public-school students, the Jefferson County School Board of Commissioners and its members (collectively referred to as "the Board") violated the teachers' (1) First Amendment Establishment Clause rights under the United States Constitution and similar rights under article I, section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution; and (2) procedural and substantive due-process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution. The teachers appeal the grant of summary judgment to the Board and its members on all of the teachers' claims, and the denial of the teachers' motion for partial summary judgment.

We hold that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Board violated the Establishment Clause. In addition, we hold that the Board did not violate the teachers' procedural and substantive due-process rights, and that the individual Board members are entitled to legislative immunity. Therefore, we REVERSE the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Board on the teachers' Establishment Clause claims and the district court's denial of legislative immunity to the Board members, and REMAND to the district court for further proceedings. We AFFIRM the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Board on the teachers' procedural and substantive due-process claims. Finally, because we hold that the individual Board members are entitled to legislative immunity, we need not address whether they are entitled to qualified immunity.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The Board employed all of the teachers in this case during the 2002-2003 school year. Vickie F. Forgety ("Forgety") and Steve B. Smith ("Smith") were tenured teachers. Forgety served as the principal of the alternative school. David Kucera ("Kucera") taught under a contract that entitled him to continue in his position for another year unless he was notified by April 15, 2003 of the nonrenewal of his contract.

1. Budget Cuts

After discussion of the budget on June 26, 2003, the Board voted to eliminate several programs, including the alternative school and the positions of the teachers and principal working there. It voted again to "officially delete" the alternative school at its July 10, 2003 meeting. Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 351 (July 10, 2003 Minutes of the Regular Meeting). In addition, the Board voted at the July meeting to contract with Kingswood to provide alternative-school services for public-school students for the 2003-2004 academic year. The contract between the Board and Kingswood specifically stated that Kingswood personnel would not be considered employees of the Board. In fact, Director of Schools for the county, Douglas Moody ("Moody"), was not authorized to hire or fire the Kingswood employees who provided the alternative-school services, nor did he supervise or evaluate those individuals. Counsel for the Board, Chuck Cagle ("Cagle"), approved the contract.

Moody submitted a "Request for Closing a School" to the Tennessee Department of Education on July 23, 2003, indicating that "[b]udget constraints for FY 2003-2004 led to a School Board decision to outsource Alternative school services on contract." J.A. at 361. He stated that he had only one reason for recommending the Kingswood contract to the Board: "it was entirely a financial consideration that would fit in with other budget cuts." J.A. at 159 (Moody Dep. at 46). Similarly, the Chair of the Board, Lana Leckie ("Leckie"), stated in her deposition that finances were "the primary reason to enter into the contract" and that it would save them $171,423. J.A. at 378 (Leckie Dep. at 34).

Moody informed Forgety, Smith, and Kucera of the abolishment of their positions after the Board's decision. Each of the teachers eventually found a new position, though only one continued her employment with the Board. As tenured teachers, Forgety and Smith were placed on a "Preferred List for Re-employment of Tenured Teachers." J.A. at 243. Forgety declined to accept the positions the Board initially offered to her because she considered them to be inferior in pay and rank to her previous position at the alternative school; she drew unemployment for the 2003-2004 school year. When the Board offered Forgety a principalship in the spring of 2004, she accepted. Smith, however, did not respond to the Board's offer of a history position in the fall of 2003; he had accepted a history position in Georgia in late July 2003. Kucera, a non-tenured teacher, drew unemployment pay for two months; by November 2003, he had not received any offers of employment from the Board in areas in which he was certified. Eventually, he took a job with Mountain View Youth Development Center as a case manager.

2. Kingswood

In a sworn statement, the "Administrator" of Kingswood, Darrell M. Helton ("Helton"), stated that the school is an accredited private school, providing "day treatment programs for children and adolescents who have behavioral and/or emotional problems." J.A. at 178 (Sworn Statement of Helton). Helton noted that the school is licensed by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. Also, he noted that an April 2005 study of Tennessee's alternative schools by "the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office of Education Accountability ... specifically identified as [sic] Kingswood School, Inc. [as] a private contract provider of alternative school services that local education agencies could explore to provide alternative schooling to their students." J.A. at 178 (Sworn Statement of Helton); J.A. 327 (Tennessee's Alternative Schools at 37). In addition, Helton stated that Kingswood had contracted with Jefferson, Grainger, Hancock, and Claiborne counties in Tennessee to provide alternative-school services.

Kingswood's promotional materials state that "[f]or over 60 years Kingswood School and Home for Children has helped children who have been abused, abandoned and neglected. Kingswood School is unique because we offer children a Christian environment of love and encouragement." J.A. at 454 (Happy Easter, 2006 letter from Kingswood). The school's 2005 Annual Report states that "Kingswood was founded with the intent to insure that each child placed in its care receives Christian religious training. A unique feature of the Kingswood program is the emphasis that is placed upon instilling in each child a personal faith in God, and the assurance of the saving grace of Jesus Christ while remaining unaffiliated with any specific denomination or Church." J.A. at 457 (Annual Report). The 2005 Annual Report also states that Kingswood's "ministry" can be supported in many ways. J.A. at 456 (Annual Report). Although the residential-care description states that there is an "emphasis" on "spiritual" growth, the day-treatment description does not include that statement. J.A. at 456 (Annual Report).

B. Procedural Background

The district court consolidated cases brought by Forgety, Smith, and Kucera.¹ Together the teachers brought suit against the Jefferson County School Board of Commissioners and its members in their official and individual capacities² under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Establishment Clause, and Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Also, they brought suit under various provisions of the Tennessee Constitution and Code. The teachers sought declaratory relief and damages. Specifically, their third amended complaint requested 1. That this Court issue a judgment declaring that the acts of School Defendants in eliminating the Jefferson County Alternative School Program were illegal and ultra vires acts, and thus were void acts. Further, and accordingly, that this Court further declare that any procedural due process which attached to those void acts was likewise void. Further, that this Court directly evaluate the challenged procedures to ensure that they comport with due process, and that this Court declare that the procedures invoked by School Defendants did not so comport with due process.

That this Court issue a judgment declaring that the acts of School Defendants hereinbefore complained of violated the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, and the Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 49-2-203, 49-5-501 et seq., and 49-6-3402, and further denied Plaintiffs equal protection of the law. Further that this Court issue a judgment declaring that the acts of School De...