Case Name: Gene FLEMING, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CONCORDIA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, Defendant-Appellee
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1973-03-12
Citations: 275 So. 2d 795
Docket Number: No. 4053
Parties: Gene FLEMING, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CONCORDIA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, Defendant-Appellee.
Judges: Before FRUGÉ, HOOD and DOMEN-GEAUX, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 275
Pages: 795–806

Head Matter:
Gene FLEMING, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CONCORDIA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, Defendant-Appellee.
No. 4053.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.
March 12, 1973.
Dissenting Opinion April 9, 1973.
Rehearing Denied April 19, 1973.
William Koerber, Vidalia, for plaintiff-appellant.
W. C. Falkenheiner, Vidalia, for defendant-appellee.
Before FRUGÉ, HOOD and DOMEN-GEAUX, JJ.

Opinion:
DOMENGEAUX, Judge.
This is a mandamus suit instituted by Miss Gene Fleming against the Concordia Parish School Board. Plaintiff seeks a judgment, requiring that defendant reinstate her as a teacher in the Concordia Parish school system, and that it compensate her from the date of her discharge to the date of her reinstatement. Judgment was rendered by the trial court rejecting plaintiff's demands and dismissing her suit. Plaintiff appealed.
The sole issue presented is whether the defendant school board performed the ministerial duties required of it by law, and particularly by LSA-R.S. 17:442 or by LSA-R.S. 17:443, in discharging plaintiff as a teacher.
Miss Fleming was employed by defendant on or about September 1, 1970, to serve as a third grade teacher in Concordia Parish during the 1970-71 school session. She was assigned to the Clayton Elementary School, in that parish, and she taught there from September 1, 1970, until September 2, 1971. The School Board discharged her on the last mentioned date, but paid her salary through September 30, 1971.
Plaintiff received a college degree in 1940, and since that year she has held a regular teachers certificate, issued by the State Department of Education, certifying that she is qualified to teach in elementary grades in the schools of Louisiana. She taught school in Concordia Parish from 1942 until 1944. She resigned in 1944, however, and did not resume teaching until September 1, 1970. Both parties apparently agree, and the trial court held, that while plaintiff was teaching in Concordia Parish in 1970 and 1971, she was a "probationary teacher", as that term is used in LSA-R.S. 17:442.
Edward Jackson was the principal of Clayton Elementary School while plaintiff taught there. On May 17, 1971, Mr. Jackson wrote to Ben L. Green, Jr., Superintendent of Schools in Concordia Parish, recommending that Miss Fleming not be re-employed at Clayton Elementary School, and assigning reasons for his recommendation. His letter reads as follows:
"Mr. Ben L. Green, Jr., Superintendent Concordia Parish School Board
Vidalia, Louisiana May 17, 1971
Dear Mr. Green:
Miss Gene Fleming, a first year teacher having come back to the teaching profession after several years absence, is a third grade teacher at Clayton Elementary School.
Miss Fleming has not found the method of ability grouping of students within groups for instruction to her liking and prefers a class situation where all of the students are about on the same level. Working with more than one group within a class may possibly be a burden to her as many of her students are not interested or challenged to the extent that they have become somewhat of a discipline problem. Much of her time is spent during the day getting them quiet for instruction.
As principal, I made suggestions as to how the discipline problem might possibly be resolved through more challenging classwork but my suggestions were not accepted. In fact, none of the observation forms of observations I made of her class was ever signed by her acknowledging the evaluation or suggestions that I made.
I do not recommend that Miss Fleming be reemployed at her present position at Clayton Elementary School.
Sincerely,
/s/ Edward Jackson
Edward Jackson, Principal"
At a meeting of the School Board held on August 5, 1971, a motion was made, seconded and carried that "the School Board will hold hearings regarding personnel problems on August 27, 1971, at the School Board office, . for Sammy Davis, Jr., Joyce Smith and Gene Fleming," and that the staff was to "prepare and forward proper notice as required by law to the above named parties." On August 9, 1971, the Superintendent of Schools for Concordia Parish wrote the following letter to Miss Fleming:
"Miss Gene Fleming
221 North 2nd Street
Ferriday, Louisiana 71334
August 9, 1971
Dear Miss Fleming:
Written and signed charges of wilful neglect of duty and incompetency have been preferred against you by Edward Jackson, Principal' of the Clayton Elementary School where you were employed last year. A copy of these charges is attached to this letter as required by law.
You are further advised that a hearing will be held at two (2:00) o'clock p. m. on the 27th day of August, 1971, at the Concordia Parish School Board Office in Vidalia, Louisiana. This hearing may be public or private, at your option, and you will have the right to appear with witnesses and counsel according to law.
For your further information, I am furnishing you herewith a copy of R.S. 17:442 pursuant to which these proceedings will be conducted.
Yours truly,
/s/ Ben L. Green, Jr.
Ben L. Green, Jr. Superintendent"
A copy of the letter which Mr. Jackson had written to the' Parish Superintendent of Schools, and a copy of the first paragraph of LSA-R.S. 17:442, were attached to the letter which the Superintendent wrote to Miss Fleming on August 9, 1971.
Plaintiff received the above quoted letter from Superintendent Green shortly after August 9, 1971. Prior to that time she did not know that Mr. Jackson, the principal of her school, had written to the Superintendent recommending that she not be reemployed.
The hearing scheduled to be held in the School Board office on August 27 was postponed until August 30, 1971, at which time plaintiff was present for the hearing. She was asked at the outset whether she had any objections to the procedure, whether she had received "enough notice" and whether she would like to have a lawyer present. Her answer was, "No, sir. Not at this time. I would rather present my case." The School Board then proceeded to hear witnesses, some of whom were cross-examined by plaintiff, and plaintiff also testified in her own behalf.
At the conclusion of that hearing the School Board took the matter under advisement. The Board reconvened on September 2, 1971, and on that date a motion was made, seconded and carried "that Miss Jean Fleming be found incompetent to teach under the current conditions without further training; that her one year temporary employment be terminated immediately, but that she be paid for the month of September, 1971."
It is clear that plaintiff is correct in asserting that defendant did not comply with the provisions of LSA-R.S. 17:442. In pertinent part, that statute provides that :
Each teacher shall serve a probationary term of three years to be reckoned from the date of his first appointment in the parish or city in which the teacher is serving his probation. During the probationary term the parish or city school board, as the case may be, may dismiss or discharge any probationary teacher upon the written recommendation of the parish or city superintendent of schools, as the case may be, accompanied by valid reasons therefor.
The record is devoid of any document that can reasonably be construed as a written recommendation of the superintendent of schools that plaintiff be discharged. We are not persuaded by defendant's argument that the aforequoted letter of Superintendent Green to plaintiff, dated August 9, 1971, constitutes such a recommendation. Not only does the letter contain no language indicating the Superintendent's opinion regarding a discharge, but the testimony of its author clearly negates any intention on his part to recommend plaintiff's dismissal therein. Thus he testified that, "I did not make a written recommendation. No, sir." He emphasized this by stating, "No, sir. I never do make a written recommendation in fact to the board on a teacher being employed or discharged."
There being no written recommendation by the Superintendent for plaintiff's discharge, her dismissal under LSA-R.S. 17:442 would certainly be invalid. State v. Vernon Parish School Board, 222 La. 91, 62 So.2d 111; State v. Bienville Parish School Board, 198 La. 688, 4 So.2d 649; State v. Red River Parish School Board, La.App., 193 So. 225; Andrews v. Claiborne Parish School Board, La.App., 189 So. 355.
We find, however, that plaintiff's dismissal was in full compliance with LSA-R.S. 17:443. In relevant part that statute provides that:
A permanent teacher shall not be removed from office except upon written and signed charges of wilful neglect of duty, or incompetency or dishonesty, and then only if found guilty after a hearing by the school board of the parish or city, as the case may be, which hearing may be private or public, at the option of the teacher. At least fifteen days in advance of the date of the hearing, the school board shall furnish the teacher with a copy of the written charges. The teacher shall have the right to appear before the board with witnesses in his behalf and with counsel of his selection, all of whom shall be heard by the board at the said hearing. Nothing herein contained shall impair the right of appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction.
Clearly each of the requirements set out in that statute were met. Plaintiff's principal, Mr. Jackson, made written and signed charges of willful neglect of duty and incompetency on plaintiff's part. These were communicated to her on August 9, 1971, by Superintendent Green in a letter in which he also gave her notice that a hearing would be held on August 27, 1971, and advised her of her rights under LSA-R.S. 17:443 as set out above. True, the Superintendent said in his letter that the hearing would be held pursuant to R.S. 17:442, but we find this to be of no consequence.
All of the procedures followed, from the initial preference of charges to the final verdict of the School Board, were in compliance with LSA-R.S. 17:443. It has long been the opinion of our courts that the name given to an action or instrument will be disregarded when it is in fact something other than what it is called. Thus the fact that the Superintendent said he was proceeding under LSA-R.S. 17:442 does not alter the fact that the proceedings were actually being had pursuant to LSA-R.S. 17:443. Indeed a reading of Mr. Green's letter of August 9, 1971, immediately reveals that his language in writing the letter is taken directly from LSA-R.S. 17:443 as above quoted. This alone was sufficient to give plaintiff, an educated member of the teaching profession and a citizen presumed to know the law, notice that the statute being applied was LSA-R.S. 17:443 and not LSA-R.S. 17:442, which does not even mention a hearing, and a copy of which she was furnished.
In 2 Am.Jur.2d Administrative Law, § 364 and 365, is found the following:
§ 364. Waiver.
Since notice goes to jurisdiction of the person rather than of the subject matter, the cases recognize that generally the right to notice in an administrative proceeding may be waived. At least defects in the notice actually given, such as being for less than the full period of required notice, may be waived and are waived by appearing and participating in the proceeding without obj ection.
§ 36S. Appearance.
A failure to comply with the requirements as to notice and process may result in a failure to acquire jurisdiction, but if a general appearance is entered, jurisdiction of the person is conferred even though it was not acquired by proper service of notice or process. This rule covers the case where notice was given but was defective, as where the notice was unduly short or for less than the full period required by statute. A general appearance without objection waives all irregularities preceding the hearing. (Emphasis mine).
The above-stated rule of administrative law was clearly applied in Brahy v. Federal Radio Commission, 61 App.D.C. 204, 59 F.2d 879, wherein notice was sent to plaintiff stating that a hearing was to be held in order to consider renewal of his broadcasting license. The applicant complained that he was inadequately notified and, therefore, misled. The notice he received informed him that he was to be prepared to defend himself as to allegations that he had been- using excess power on a particular day; however, it was shown that the hearing was much broader in scope than originally stated in his notification. The court noted that the plaintiff "is entitled to reasonable notice of the specific issues to be determined at the hearing. But in the present case appellant elected to proceed with his defense, thereby waiving the lack of notice."
In Williams, et al. v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, La.App., 36 So.2d 832, the court held that where certain school bus operators were given written notice of the hearing of charges of willful neglect of duty and were actually present at the hearing, they waived the statutory requirement that notice be given to them 15 days in advance of any hearing. In effect, the First Circuit held that actual notice, followed by the presence of the parties at the hearing, is sufficient under the applicable statutory provisions. See Reed v. Ville Platte Fire and Police Municipal Board, La.App., 263 So.2d 924, wherein this Court cited the Williams case.
It may be argued that the Revised Statute controlling the dismissal of school bus drivers, has no application to the instant case, however, in Stewart v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, La.App., 251 So.2d 487, another case wherein there was a question as to the proper dismissal of school bus drivers, the court stated the following :
The bus operator's tenure law is very similar to the teacher tenure law except that the section involved here, section 493, . . . provides several additional grounds for dismissal.
Therefore, it seems that an analogy with the school bus driver's statute would be valid when deciding (1) whether or not the notice was sufficient or (2) whether it was waived when the plaintiff voluntarily appeared at the hearing and, in response to questions by the board, answered that she waived all rights regarding the sufficiency and specificity of the notice. We opine that it was.
The intent of the Legislature in enacting the two statutes with which we deal herein, was obviously to protect teachers, giving them greater security in their employment. It was decided by that body that teachers having tenure, i. e. those who had taught for three years, should have considerably more protection than those who were merely teaching on a probationary basis until their skill and adaptability to the profession could be measured. Hence the far more burdensome proce dures for dismissal contained in LSA-R.S. 17:443, dealing with permanent, or tenured, teachers.
The record reveals that at all times pertinent to this case, the Concordia Parish School Board was in the throes of a most exasperating situation brought on by some rather cumbersome orders from a Federal District Court and the reaction thereto of a number of its employees. Under such circumstances we cannot fault the School Board for attempting to "play it safe" by giving plaintiff the benefits provided for in LSA-R.S. 17:443, even though she was merely a probationary teacher and was not entitled thereto.
By the same token we think that it would be manifestly unfair, to hold that plaintiff has in any way been injured in this case. She was entitled only to the scant protection of LSA-R.S. 17:442 but she was given the far broader protection of LSA-R.S. 17:443. The inequity of punishing this defendant School Board for doing more than was required of it is unquestionable, and we are not prepared to hold that plaintiff may complain of having received more than she was legally entitled to.
Cases from other states have considered whether a slight departure from the prescribed standards of similar statutes prejudiced or harmed the employee in any way. In Fahl v. School District No. 1 in City and County of Denver, 116 Colo. 277, 180 P.2d 532, the Supreme Court of Colorado held that where charges filed by the school superintendent against a teacher were general and vague and not in compliance with the state statute, but later were particularized in a subsequent communication from the superintendent to the teacher and an opportunity to be.heard was given at a full hearing, the teacher was not prejudiced by lack of specifications. Finding no prejudice, the dismissal of the teacher was affirmed.
In Van Peursem v. Consolidated Independent School District of Laurens et al., 240 Iowa 1100, 38 N.W.2d 615, the Supreme Court of Iowa held that failure to give a teacher notice of a meeting did not invalidate the teacher's discharge. The court found that the defect of notice was not material where the teacher and all board members were present, complaints before the board were considered, and the teacher participated in the meeting.
In School District No. 1 in Arapahoe County v. Thompson, 121 Colo. 275, 214 P.2d 1020, the Supreme Court of Colorado considered a situation where the procedure set forth in the state's teacher's permanent tenure act was followed, except that no oath or affirmation was administered to the witnesses. The court found that the proceeding was fair and that due process had been preserved.
It was also alleged in that case that the notice to the teacher of the charges for dismissal lacked definite specifications and was therefore prejudicial. After stating that the type of notice was incorrect, the court held that "the record indicates that the hearing was conducted in the proper manner, . the notice was sufficient to advise that the hearing was to be had and that Thompson was not prejudiced by the lack of additional specifications in the notice itself."
There are numerous cases in our jurisprudence stating the view that there is a presumption of validity of administrative pronouncements and that the courts are loath to interfere and override actions of School Boards. Williams v. Kimbrough, D.C., 295 F.Supp. 578; Chantlin v. Acadia Parish School Board, La.App., 100 So.2d 908. Inasmuch as the plaintiff received far more protection than the bare-boned requirements of the law, we opine that she has no cause for complaint and that the lower court's ruling should therefore be maintained.
For the above and foregoing reasons the judgment of the District Court is affirmed at the costs of plaintiff-appellant.
Affirmed.