Opinion ID: 2369484
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: does the board have an inherent right to appeal absent an express statutory provision granting a right to appeal?

Text: Because Section 2 of the Kentucky Constitution, as interpreted by American Beauty Homes, supra , grants the Board an inherent right to appeal the three-member tribunal's decision not to terminate appellant's contract with the Campbell Circuit Court based upon the arbitrariness of that decision, we finally must determine if the express language of KRS 161.790(8) extinguishes the Board's right. The relevant language of the statute regarding the express right of a teacher to appeal is as follows: The teacher shall have the right to make an appeal to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in the county where the school district is located. The appeal shall be commenced by filing a petition against the local board of education and the superintendent. The petition shall state the grounds upon which the teacher relies for a reversal or modification of the order of termination of contract. Upon service or waiver of summons in the appeal, the tribunal, with the assistance of the chief state school officer, shall transmit to the clerk of the court for filing a transcript of all the evidence considered at the hearing before the tribunal. The local board of education shall be responsible for the costs of the transcript. The court shall hear the appeal upon the record as certified by the tribunal and shall dispose of the appeal in a summary manner. Either the teacher or the superintendent and local board of education may appeal the action of the court to the Court of Appeals. If the appeal is not made within thirty (30) days following the final decision of the tribunal, the decision shall be final. KRS 161.790(8). Appellant contends that because KRS 161.790(8) is silent regarding the right of the Board to appeal the tribunal's decision, the statute, as a matter of law, precludes the Board from utilizing its inherent right to judicial review. Relying upon Bailey v. Reeves, Ky., 662 S.W.2d 832 (1984), appellant maintains that courts have a duty to construe a statute literally unless to do so would lead to an absurd or wholly unreasonable conclusion. When the General Assembly amended KRS 161.790(8) by replacing the board of education with the three-member tribunal in the teacher termination procedure, it apparently failed to include language in the statute allowing a board of education a right to appeal a tribunal's decision to the circuit court. This is illustrated by the statute's retention of language in KRS 161.790(8) which states, [e]ither the teacher or the superintendent and local board of education may appeal the action of the circuit to the Court of Appeals. We agree with the Court of Appeals that we cannot add language to a particular statute to make it constitutional. As we stated in Hatchett v. City of Glasgow, Ky., 340 S.W.2d 248, 251 (1960): To insert or supply by construction the [board's right of appeal] would be an act of legislation and not an act of judicial construction. The statute by construction cannot be extended or enlarged beyond its fair import. Likewise, we held in Diemer v. Commonwealth, Transportation Cabinet, Ky., 786 S.W.2d 861, 863-64 (1990) that: It is our responsibility to read the statutes of the General Assembly so as to save their constitutionality whenever such can be done consistent with reason and common sense . . . Thus, we are able to save the constitutionality of KRS 161.790(8) without judicially adding words which grant the board of education a right to appeal the tribunal's decision by utilizing our holding in American Beauty Homes, supra . As we stated in American Beauty Homes : Basically, judicial review of administrative action is concerned with the question of arbitrariness. On this ground the courts will assume jurisdiction even in the absence of statutory authorization of an appeal. There is an inherent right of appeal from orders of administrative agencies where constitutional rights are involved, and Section (2) of the Constitution prohibits the exercise of arbitrary power. 379 S.W.2d 450, 456 (1964) (citations and footnotes omitted). To put it more precisely, the Board has the right to seek judicial review in circuit court of the tribunal's decision on the grounds that the decision was arbitrary, despite the express language of KRS 161.790(8). Any additional language in KRS 161.790(8) granting a right of appeal to the Board is superfluous as it merely restates a right which already exists pursuant to American Beauty Homes . The real significance of KRS 161.790(8) is in the procedural and time requirements it provides for both appeals to the circuit court and to the Court of Appeals, not in the right of appeal it purports to convey. As a teacher who appeals from the tribunal must already adhere to these requirements, so must a board of education also abide by these requirements as applicable.