Opinion ID: 1864926
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: During the summer of 1990, Dalton Williams, superintendent of the Oldham-Ramona School District, filed an application so the District could receive a grant from the State to fund the necessary staff to instruct children with special education needs in Chapter 1 classes. On page 5 of the application, Ed Buys was listed as the certified instructor who would teach Chapter 1 Mathematics half-time for the 1990-91 school year. District claims that Buys was merely offered an aide position; however, the salary listed was commensurate with a certified teacher, not an aide. ARSD 24:03:05:06 dictates that an aide may only support the basic instruction of a classroom teacher and may not supplant the teacher. A teacher aide must be supervised by a certified person. The record further reveals that aides in the Oldham-Ramona School District are paid on an hourly, rather than salary, basis. Eide, who began teaching for the District during the 1988-89 term and was certified to teach Chapter 1 Math, informed Diane Spilde, principal at Eide's elementary school, that she was interested in the Chapter 1 position should Buys reject it. Spilde replied that the position had already been promised to Paula Stevens. Soon thereafter, Buys did reject the offer, and Stevens got the job. Neither Eide nor Stevens had been listed on the Chapter 1 application as possibilities to teach this half-time class. At the August 14, 1990, school board meeting, board member Jim Carmody expressed doubt about Stevens' certification to teach the class, so he phrased his motion to accept Stevens' signed contract as a part-time Chapter 1 Aide. Stevens' contract was not on the form normally used for aides; rather, she signed a standard certified teacher contract with aide status noted thereon. Additionally, the salary specified on the contract was for a certified teacher, not an aide. For the same school year, Eide was hired as a 2/5 computer teacher at a salary of $6,436 and a kindergarten aide for 24 hours per week at $5.00 per hour. After the school employees' salaries were published in the local newspaper, Eide's husband, Roger Eide, made inquiries at a November 1990 school board meeting. Roger testified that superintendent Williams assured him that Stevens was certified to teach Chapter 1 Math. But, Carmody later verified that Stevens was not certified for that subject. In response, Williams filed an Authority to Act with the South Dakota Division of Education, Office of School Standards, seeking permission for Stevens to teach the course for the 1990-91 school year. According to the form Williams signed, Stevens was not qualified to teach Chapter 1 Mathematics. Nevertheless, the state superintendent of schools approved Stevens to finish out the year teaching a class she was not qualified to teach. However, District did not reduce her certified salary to aide wages. Thereafter, Eide filed a grievance with District claiming she should have been chosen to teach the Chapter 1 class because she was the only certified teacher to express interest in the job after Buys turned down the position. District denied her claim contending that the position created was for an aide, not a certified teacher; therefore, Stevens' hiring was appropriate. Contrary to District's personnel policy manual, Eide's name was thereafter published in the minutes and newspaper as a grievant. For the subsequent school year, 1991-92, Stevens signed an aide contract to be a Chapter 1 Mathematics aide, compensating her by the hour, rather than salary. However, the position was returned to certified status and awarded to a certified teacher for the 1992-93 term. On review, the Department of Labor disagreed with District and held that Eide should have been the Chapter 1 teacher for 1990-91 and 1991-92. Eide was awarded damages and the teaching position for 1992-93. District was also ordered to apologize to Eide in the newspaper. District admitted to improperly publishing Eide's name.