Opinion ID: 1202759
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: application of political subdivision tort claims act

Text: The parents' first assignment of error is that sovereign immunity does not confer any immunity to the school district because the operation of a public school and the maintenance of a hot water heater are proprietary functions of government. We noted in Williams v. State, 678 P.2d 259 (Okl. 1984), that the doctrine of sovereign immunity remained undisturbed by our decision in Vanderpool v. State, 672 P.2d 1153 (Okl. 1983), until October 1, 1985. Id. 678 P.2d at 260 N. 1. The case before us is governed by the applicable law prior to Vanderpool v. State, supra. An analysis of proprietary and governmental functions is ordinarily not necessary because the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, 51 O.S. 1981 §§ 151 et seq., applied to both governmental and proprietary functions. 51 O.S. 1981 § 166; Black v. Ball Janitorial Service Inc., 730 P.2d 510, 513-514 (Okl. 1986). The Act provides that a school district is a political subdivision in applying the Act, and its application in the case before us is appropriate. 51 O.S. 1981 § 152(6)(b). The issue of whether the maintenance of a public school hot water heater is a proprietary function is considered below with the parents' claims based on the Oklahoma Constitution.