Opinion ID: 1988266
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Amendment of Contract

Text: Finally, Daily asserts that the board lacked the statutory authority to unilaterally order Daily to obtain adequate professional counseling as a part of the amendment to his teaching contract. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 79-826 (Reissue 1996) provides in relevant part: The superintendent or the superintendent's designee may take action with regard to a certificated employee's performance or conduct which is deemed reasonably necessary to assist the certificated employee and further school purposes, including: (1) Counseling; (2) oral reprimand; (3) written reprimand; and (4) suspension without pay for not to exceed thirty working days. .... Prior to taking any action under subdivision (4) of this section, the certificated employee shall be advised in writing of the alleged reasons for the proposed action and provided the opportunity to present the certificated employee's version of the facts. The board's power to order additional sanctions is set forth and limited by Neb. Rev.Stat. § 79-836 (Reissue 1996), in part, as follows: (1) After providing the opportunity for a hearing on cancellation, termination, or nonrenewal as provided for in sections 79-828, 79-829, and 79-832, and except when reduction in force is the reason given for possible termination, and when just cause can be shown, the school board may impose such other sanctions, other than termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal of the contract, as may be agreed upon by the parties. Daily claims that the record is devoid of any agreement by Daily that he obtain adequate professional counseling. While there may be certain additional or extraordinary sanctions that call for an agreement by the parties, a school district has the authority, pursuant to § 79-826, to suspend a certificated employee without pay for up to 30 working days and to order counseling which is deemed reasonably necessary to assist the employee and further school purposes, so long as the statutory notice and hearing requirements are met. In the instant case, Daily received all necessary notice and due process before his contract was amended, pursuant to § 79-826; however, that portion of the board's order requiring that Daily obtain adequate professional counseling is so vague as to be virtually unenforceable. Without a minimum of objective standards setting forth the duration of the counseling, or the payment provisions or nature of the mandatory counseling, this portion of the order is subject to the most arbitrary kind of enforcement by the board. Therefore, upon remand, the district court shall be directed to strike that portion of the board's order which amended Daily's contract to provide that he obtain adequate professional counseling. In all other respects, the final order of the board amending Daily's contract is proper and within the board's jurisdiction to act.