Opinion ID: 2438116
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Sham Hearing

Text: Finally, Cypert argues the entire hearing was a sham because, in actuality, the District was not facing a financial crisis. Indeed, the District ended the year with a carryover of $330,000, well in excess of the recommended minimum, and every other employee targeted for possible reduction in force for the 2009-2010 school year was retained. Her analysis, however, relies heavily on hindsight. The District's financial situation had been an issue of concern to the Board since the late fall of 2008. At the time of the hearing in June 2009, Jones had told the Superintendent the District likely would have insufficient carryover funds for the 2009-2010 school year. Nothing of record even remotely suggests Jones harbored a bias against Cypert or deliberately manipulated his figures to support a nonexistent financial crisis. At most, his analysis turned out to be wrong, but errors, by themselves, do not show that the hearings were shams. Salas v. Wis. Dep't of Corr., 493 F.3d 913, 928 (7th Cir.2007). Cypert notes the Board did not offer to re-hire her in the high school secretary position even though it ultimately kept the position. This fact is somewhat troubling. But it stands alone, with the record containing little to no evidence regarding the decision-making process. Thus, it is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the hearing was a sham. Cypert also relies on Tarrant's admission that her contract was not renewed because she availed herself of her right to a hearing, thus requiring the Board to make a decision before it had all the necessary information. Because this admission simply states an inference evident from the hearing testimony, it does not create a genuine issue of material fact as to a sham hearing, either alone or in combination with the later failure to re-hire.