Opinion ID: 766381
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Municipal School Districts v. City School Districts

Text: 38 Plaintiffs first argue that H.B. 269 unconstitutionally differentiates between those residents who reside in municipal school districts and those who do not by implementing an appointive system for school boards in municipal school districts while other school districts may elect their school boards. Plaintiffs also challengethe elimination of licensing, educational and experiential requirements within municipal school districts as a violation of equal protection because all school districts in Ohio other than municipal school districts must abide by these requirements. These violations, Plaintiffs argue, infringe on their right to vote and require us to apply strict scrutiny to H.B. 269, which would require the state to provide a compelling state interest for enacting H.B. 269. 39 Plaintiffs, however, misconstrue the law. Although Plaintiffs have a fundamental right to vote in elections before them, there is no fundamental right to elect an administrative body such as a school board, even if other cities in the state may do so. See Sailors, 387 U.S. at 108, 87 S.Ct. at 1552; Welch v. Bd. of Educ., 477 F. Supp. 959, 964 (D. Md. 1979). Further, the licensing requirements at issue do not impinge on the right to vote and H.B. 269 does not infringe on a suspect class. Nor may we subject the statute to strict scrutiny solely because it relates to education or because H.B. 269 denies children access to education. See Rodriguez, 411 U.S. at 33-37, 93 S.Ct. at 1297-98 (education is not a fundamental right). We thus find rational basis review appropriate and, granting the state statute a strong presumption of validity, we examine whether there is any reasonably conceivable state of facts that could provide a rational basis for the classification. Heller, 509 U.S. at 319-20, 113 S.Ct. at 2642-43. 40 As a means to prove that the statute rationally relates to a legitimate governmental purpose, we note the exhaustive study done by the Cleveland Summit on Education, which determined that the Cleveland School District faced financial and operational woes. The Summit appointed an advisory committee, which recommended an appointive system because the elected school board members were often inadequately qualified and there was a high turnover rate. The committee also noted that appointed school boards had proven successful in other large cities in the country. The Ohio Legislature took note of this study and accepted the recommendation of the advisory committee when enacting H.B. 269. 41 In Irby v. Virginia State Bd. of Elections, 889 F.2d 1352, 1355 (4th Cir. 1989), the Fourth Circuit listed a number of reasons in favor of appointed school boards in upholding the state's decision to appoint school board members: 42
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45 (iv) promoting diversity in viewpoints which otherwise may not achieve representation on an elected school board; 46 (v) avoiding the division of fiscal authority among multiple elected bodies; (vi) avoiding the fragmentation of local political authority; 47 (vii) avoiding the problem of single issue campaigns which frequently occur with elected school boards. 48 Irby, 889 F.2d at 1355. Like the district court, we agree that appointed school boards may provide significant benefits in a State's attempt to improve local schools. State legislatures need the freedom to experiment with different techniques to advance public education and this need to experiment alone satisfies the rational basis test. Sailors, 387 U.S. at 110-11, 87 S.Ct. at 1553. 49 With respect to the licensing requirements, the district court determined that H.B. 269 bears a rational relationship to the state's interest in regenerating a municipal school district and ultimately benefitting the children attending the schools in the district because the school district may benefit from a more flexible hiring plan. We agree. By having less restrictive hiring procedures, the school boardcan hire diverse individuals who can add insight and experience to the school board and propose new solutions for resolving the current school crisis. Were we to limit a State's ability to determine licensing requirements, we would tie the hands of state legislators who must try innovative solutions for fixing public education. Given the Supreme Court's own deference to the States in this educational arena and Ohio's admirable goal of improving the quality of public schools, we hold that the statute rationally relates to a legitimate governmental purpose and Plaintiffs' equal protection arguments on these two bases must fail. 50