Opinion ID: 2193135
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Plaintiff's Qualifications.

Text: The real issue in this case had always been whether plaintiff is entitled to preference in hiring. This, in turn, depends on whether he is qualified as that term is defined in section 11, Acts of 65th G.A., ch. 1172, which has been partially set out earlier in this opinion. The dispute between plaintiff and Keystone as to what qualified means was considered andwe thoughtresolved in Bishop I. Nevertheless plaintiff continues to argue for his own interpretation of the term. We reiterate what we said in Bishop I: [Mr. Bishop] believes an individual has an absolute preference who (1) is a county staff member, (2) has the requisite academic credentials, and (3) holds a proper certificate from the State Department of Public Instruction. This view is too restrictive. Certification is of course essential and it is evidence of qualification. Collins v. Wakonda Independent School Dist. No. 1, 252 N.W.2d 646 (S.D.). But the record shows that AEA staff members work with various local school administrators and with local teachers who minister to children needing special help. Moreover, the area staff functions in teams. AEA boards could reasonably conclude that a certain amount of cooperation and coordination among its staff members is essential for proper functioning, and that these characteristics may be considered in determining whether an applicant is qualified. See Hibbs v. Board of Education of Iowa Central Community College, 392 F.Supp. 1202 (N.D.Iowa). .... Because of the necessary teamwork among AEA staff members and the continual contact with administrators and teachers of local school systems, we conclude that boards may consider cooperation and coordination in determining whether an individual is qualified to be a staff member. 275 N.W.2d 750-51 (Emphasis added). No one has ever contended plaintiff is not technically qualified and possessed of all necessary mechanical and educational skills. Indeed, he is a superior hearing clinician judged by those standards. However, he lacks the ability to work with others in a cooperative way and to coordinate his program with others who must work with him. Independently of others, he excels; as a team member he failed miserably. The long and acrimonious record abounds with testimony concerning this characteristic. Not all of it is unfavorable to plaintiff. He had his friends and his protagonists as well as his enemies and his adversaries. We have read all the testimony and it would serve no purpose to review it at length. The situation, dating back to 1974, has been an impossible one. Conceding that all the blame cannot be laid at plaintiff's door, we hold he is primarily responsible for making a shambles of the special education program in the Fayette-Chickasaw school system. When placed in a position requiring cooperation with others, plaintiff became, over and over again, totally disruptive. He was resentful of authority, disdainful of his associates and his superiors, and insulting and abusive in his professional relationships. He reduced staff meetings to discord and dissidence. Some teachers stayed away entirely to avoid conflict with him; others attended but agreed with virtually any proposal simply to prevent endless conflict. At least one teacher resigned to get away from associating with him. There is a wealth of evidence that the special education program suffered because of his overall conduct. We are convinced plaintiff was rejected by Keystone because he had made the Fayette-Chickasaw special education program almost unworkable. His prior performance in the joint county system was undeniably relevant in determining whether he was qualified to assume even greater responsibilities for Keystone. Furthermore, in Youel we held lack of cooperation could amount to just cause for termination. 275 N.W.2d at 682. cf. Van de Vate v. Boling, 379 F.Supp. 925, 929 (D.C.Tenn.1974) (respecting schools right to not hire person who could not harmoniously perform his or her duties). It can also be good reason to find plaintiff not qualified for employment under the standard we outlined in Bishop I. There comes a time when parties responsible for educational programs must have discretion to weed out fairly those who affect the program adversely. We said as much in Youel, 282 N.W.2d at 684. These unfortunate situations must be resolved without undermining a significant part of an educational program simply to vindicate one party or the other. We do not say plaintiff was totally at fault nor that others were totally blameless. We do say the record discloses an irreconcilable conflict between plaintiff and others in the system which made it unlikely he could successfully perform the duties of an audiologist for Keystone. We hold plaintiff is not entitled to a writ of mandamus unless the action taken violated plaintiff's constitutional rights, a matter we now consider.