Case Name: GEORGE I. THOMAS, PETITIONER-APPELLANT, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MORRIS, IN THE COUNTY OF MORRIS, RESPONDENT
Court: New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Decision Date: 1965-11-16
Citations: 89 N.J. Super. 327
Docket Number: 
Parties: GEORGE I. THOMAS, PETITIONER-APPELLANT, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MORRIS, IN THE COUNTY OF MORRIS, RESPONDENT.
Judges: 
Reporter: New Jersey Superior Court Reports
Volume: 89
Pages: 327–341

Head Matter:
GEORGE I. THOMAS, PETITIONER-APPELLANT, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MORRIS, IN THE COUNTY OF MORRIS, RESPONDENT.
Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division
Argued October 11, 1965
Decided November 16, 1965.
Kolovsky, J. A. D., dissented.
Before Judges Sullivan, Lewis and Kolovsky.
Mr. Abraham, Natovitz argued the cause for appellant.
Mr. Bertram Polow argued the cause for respondent.

Opinion:
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Sullivan, S. J. A. D.
This is an appeal by Dr. George I. Thomas, petitioner herein, under R. R. 4:88-8, from a final decision of the State Board of Education upholding the action of the respondent Board of Education of the Township of Morris (board) terminating petitioner's employment as superintendent of schools.
On December 34, 3960 the board, after the careful screening of some 40 applicants, by unanimous vote selected Dr. Thomas as its superintendent of schools and entered into a two-year contract of employment with him commencing February 1, 1961. The contract provided that either party could terminate it prior to expiration by giving 90 days' notice in writing. This contract did not give Dr. Thomas tenure, the two-year term thereof in effect being a probationary period.
On October 18, 1961, at a regular meeting of the board, the majority bloc of five members adopted a resolution under which the two-year contract was cancelled, and Dr. Thomas was given a three-year contract of employment from said date without any termination provision. The effect of the new contract was to clothe Dr. Thomas with tenure.
Said action was taken without prior notice to the four other board members or the public. It appears, however, that the matter had been privately discussed in advance by the members of the majority bloc and by Ur. Thomas. Indeed, a statement extolling Dr. Thomas' accomplishments as superintendent of schools, which statement was read at the meeting, the resolution cancelling the old two-year contract and providing for a new three-year contract, and the three-year contract itself, were all prepared in advance of the October 18 meeting.
At said meeting, after the statement praising Dr. Thomas' accomplishments had been read and the resolution introduced, the two minority bloc members of the board who were present (two others were absent) protested strongly against the proposed contract. One said:
"This action is premature. We are not well enough acquainted with Dr. Thomas, with his attitudes or abilities in relation to this community. We should not jump to conclusions. Every employee should have a full trial period."
The other added:
"This is a high-handed way to tie us up. It is most premature. It should have been discussed prior to this with all Board members. I certainly have some unanswered questions regarding Dr. Thomas. This gives him automatic tenure."
Without further discussion the question was moved and adopted by a 5-2 vote.
During the course of the meeting another member of the board arrived, and when informed of what had transpired with regard to Dr. Thomas, said :
"It would have been a courtesy for the Board to have had an opportunity to discuss this matter in a conference session, as I was not aware it was coming. I believe it was wrong to do it at this time and I am absolutely opposed to it."
The three-year contract which, as heretofore noted, had been prepared in advance, was signed by Dr. Thomas and the president and secretary of the board during the meeting.
A few months later, in February 1962, the terms of office of three members of the majority bloc expired. They stood for reelection but were defeated, whereupon the two remaining members of the former majority bloc resigned from the board. At its regular meeting on March 21, 1962 the new board unanimously adopted a resolution which, after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the October 18, 1961 action cancelling Dr. Thomas' original two-year contract and entering into a three-year contract with him, declared said action to be against public policy, invalid and of no force and effect. The resolution further stated that the new hoard recognized the original two-year contract with Dr. Thomas, expiring February 1, 1963, as the only valid and subsisting contract. Dr. Thomas, who was present at the meeting, made a statement that he had accepted the three-year contract in good faith because of the protection it afforded him, and he expected the board to 'live up to" the new contract.
On Jnne 21, 1962, at a regular meeting of respondent board, a resolution was unanimously adopted exercising the 90-day clause contained in the original two-year contract and terminating Dr. Thomas' employment as superintendent of schools.
Dr. Thomas appealed from respondent board's action to the Commissioner of Education. The matter was presented on petition, answer and stipulation, no oral testimony being offered. The Commissioner upheld the board's position that Dr. Thomas' three-year contract was invalid and that the only legal contract between the parties was the original two-year contract. In so ruling, the Commissioner found in the action taken by the board at the October 18, 1961 meeting "clear indication of the kind of private, final action, without full and open consideration and discussion, with timely opportunity for all members of the board and the public to be heard, which the Court condemned in Cullum [Cullum v. Board of Education of North Bergen Township, 15 N. J. 285 (1954)]."
A further appeal was taken by Dr. Thomas to the State Board of Education, which affirmed the Commissioner's de- cisión, holding that under the circumstances presented the October 18, 1961 action of the board was shown to be an abuse of discretion, arbitrary and contrary to public policy. The instant appeal followed.
The sole contention by Dr. Thomas on this appeal is that all of the evidence shows that the three-year contract of October 18, 1961 was a valid contract, validly entered into, so that the decision of the State Board of Education upholding respondent board's termination of petitioner's employment must be reversed.
We are here concerned with a determination made by an administrative agencjr duly created and empowered by legislative fiat. When such a bodjr acts within its authorit}r, its decision is entitled to a presumption of correctness and will not be upset unless there is an affirmative showing that such decision was arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable. The agency's factual determinations must be accepted if supported by substantial credible evidence. Quinlan v. Board of Ed. of North Bergen Tp., 73 N. J. Super. 40 (App. Div. 1962); Schinck v. Board of Ed. of Westwood Consol. School Dist., 60 N. J. Super. 448 (App. Div. 1960).
In the instant case our review of the entire record leads us to conclude that the State Board's determination as to the invalidity of the October 18, 1961 three-year contract is amply supported by substantial credible evidence.
A review of the essential facts and the inferences reasonably to be drawn therefrom is in order.
The selection of Dr. Thomas as superintendent of schools was the result of six months of investigation and deliberation by respondent board. Some 40 applications were screened and personal interviews had with those considered the most qualified. After careful consideration of all of the information collected, Dr. Thomas was selected. Even then, the board was unwilling to enter into a contract of emplojnnent with Dr. Thomas which would have given him tenure, but rather employed him on a probationary basis of two years. Un doubtedly, tlie board wanted to reserve to itself the right to consider Dr. Thomas' actual performance as superintendent of schools during the probationary period before committing itself to a tenure appointment. This arrangement was in effect a policy decision made by unanimous vote of all board members.
The action taken by the board on October 18, 1961 represented a dramatic change in that policy by reducing the probationary period to 8% months. No prior notice of the proposed change was given to hoard members or to the public, which likewise had been led to believe that a decision as to whether or not Dr. Thomas should be given tenure employment would be made only after a two-year probationary period.
The resolution of October 18, 1961, which gave Dr. Thomas tenure employment, manifestly had been privately discussed in advance by at least some of the members of the majority bloc and by Dr. Thomas. The preparation in advance of the meeting of the statement extolling Dr. Thomas' accomplishments, the resolution in question and the three-vear contract of employment, indicate that the matter had been carefully planned.
The impact that the resolution had on the other board members present can best be judged by the comments made. One member said that the action was premature because the board was not well enough acquainted with Dr. Thomas' attitudes and abilities, and that the full trial period should expire before a decision was made giving tenure to Dr. Thomas. Another member echoed the same sentiments, adding that he had some unanswered questions regarding Dr. Thomas.
Despite the foregoing and, so far as the minutes of the meeting show, without affording an opportunity to the minority to even state what their unanswered questions regarding Dr. Thomas were, the motion was adopted by majority vote.
The modus operandi suggests that the real reason for the October 18, 1961 resolution was that the members of the majority bloc, mindful of the coining election, decided to give Dr. Thomas tenure while they could, even though it meant shortening his probationary period by almost two-thirds.
True, the action was taken at a regular public meeting of the board. It is also true that no statute, administrative rule or regulation requires the giving of notice to board members, or to the public, of matters to be considered at such a meeting. It may even be assumed that the members of the majority bloc acted in the honest belief that it was in the best interests of the educational system to give Dr. Thomas tenure employment.
However, as heretofore noted, the fact is that the action taken represented a drastic modification of a policy decision which had been previously made by the board after the most careful and deliberate consideration. The change was effected by a majority bloc of five members, three of whom were serving terms that were to expire within a few months. The matter was privately discussed and planned in advance, but notice thereof was withheld from the other board members and the public. When the proposal was unveiled at the meeting, although the members of the minority bloc present objected and stated that they had some unanswered questions regarding Dr. Thomas, it does not appear that they were even allowed to state what those questions were before the resolution was put to a vote and adopted.
The controversy here concerns the legality of the tenure employment of a superintendent of schools. This is one of the most vital and responsible duties that a board of education can perform. Cullum v. Board of Education of North Bergen Township, supra, 15 N. J., at p. 292. The original selection of Dr. Thomas in December 1960 indicates that the board recognized the importance of its action and acted accordingly. On the other hand, the October 18, 1961 episode, no matter how well intentioned, inasmuch as it involved a change in board policy in such a vital matter, lacked the essential elements of notice, deliberation and fair opportunity to be heard. In short, the action was not taken in good faith. As noted in Cullum, at p. 294, "if a public meeting is to have any meaning or value, final decision must be reserved until fair opportunity to be hoard thereat has been afforded."
We conclude that there was substantial credible evidence in the totality of facts and circumstances from which the State Board could have reasonably found that the October 18, 1981 action taken by the board was an abuse of discretion, arbitrary and contrary to public policy.
Our dissenting colleague questions the procedure whereby the October 18, 1961 resolution and contract were declared invalid. This issue has not been raised by Dr. Thomas on appeal to this court. However, we conclude that, under the circumstances presented, the new board acted promptly and expediently to clarify Dr. Thomas' employment status and that no legal prejudice to him resulted. He was told by the new board that it recognized the original two-year contract, which still had almost a year to run, as the only valid and subsisting contract. It is his challenge of that declaration of status that necessarily involves the issue of the validity of the October 18, 1961 resolution and contract.
Affirmed.