Opinion ID: 2369484
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: is the tribunal an agent of the board in a teacher termination proceeding?

Text: Appellant argues that the Court of Appeals has circumvented the clear language of KRS 161.790(8). He further maintains that the Court of Appeals erroneously held that an agency relationship did not exist between the tribunal and the Board. Appellant contends that the tribunal is an agent of the Board simply because the Board provides for the tribunal's travel expenses and provides a court reporter for the hearing. We agree with the Court of Appeals that appellant did not meet his burden of proving an agency relationship between the tribunal and the Board before the circuit court. Wright v. Sullivan Payne Co., Ky., 839 S.W.2d 250, 252 (1992). The passage of the KERA, the legislative response to our decision in Rose v. Council for Better Education, Inc., supra , which declared Kentucky's common school system unconstitutional, resulted in the amendment of KRS 161.790, a statute relating to the termination of a contract by a school board. Before the amendment to KRS 161.790, the local board of education was cast into and occupie[d] the roles of employer, investigator, accuser, prosecutor, jury and judge . . . . Board of Education of Pulaski Co. v. Burkett, Ky., 525 S.W.2d 747, 747 (1975). See Osborne v. Bullitt County Board of Education, Ky., 415 S.W.2d 607 (1967). Moreover, prior to its amendment, KRS 161.790 vested sole authority to terminate tenured teachers in local boards of education. KRS 161.790(3)-(4) (1988). Under the current version of KRS 161.790, the Board retains only three responsibilities in the teacher termination process. First, the Board must provide for a tape and stenographic report of the proceedings and furnish the teacher with a copy. KRS 161.790(5). Second, the Board must pay each member of the tribunal a per diem of one hundred dollars ($100) and travel expenses. Id. Finally, the Board must pay for the costs of the transcript of the hearing before the tribunal. KRS 161.790(8). Furthermore, the superintendent is now given authority to initiate termination of a teacher's contract by furnish[ing] the teacher with a written statement specifying in detail the charge against the teacher, prior to notifying the board of education of termination of the teacher's contract. KRS 161.790(3). The superintendent has also been given the authority to suspend the teacher pending final action to terminate the contract, if, in his judgment, the character of the charge warrants the action. KRS 161.790(7). The remaining powers of hearing the teacher's answer to the charge and terminating the teacher's contract by a majority vote, for so long within the sole province of the board of education, now reside in the three-member tribunal appointed by the chief state school officer. KRS 161.790(4)-(6). Basically, KERA's new composition of KRS 161.790 removes all control from a board of education when passing upon the recommendation of the superintendent to terminate a teacher. Specifically, the current version of KRS 161.790(4) states: Upon receiving the teacher's notice of his intention to answer the charge, the chief state school officer shall appoint a three (3) member tribunal, consisting of one (1) teacher, one (1) administrator, and one (1) lay person, none of whom reside in the district, to conduct an impartial hearing within the district. The chief state school officer shall name the chairman and set the date and time for the hearing. The hearing shall take place no less than twenty (20) days nor more than thirty (30) days after the teacher receives the statement of charges. Under Kentucky law the right to control is considered to be the most critical element in determining whether an agency relationship exists. Grant v. Bill Walker Pontiac-GMC, Inc., 523 F.2d 1301 (6th Cir. 1975). As is evident in KRS 161.790(4), the composition and control of the tribunal is vested in the chief state school officer who appoints its members. The Board has no right of control over the tribunal. As the Court of Appeals appropriately pointed out, the tribunal's three members are appointed by the chief state school officer, reside outside the school district in which the termination proceeding takes place, conduct an impartial hearing at which the Board is a party that may be represented by counsel and may present evidence and testimony, and render independent decisions by a majority vote. Thus, we conclude that the essence of the amended version of KRS 161.790(4) negates the circuit court's opinion that the tribunal is only an agent of the board of education in termination proceedings. The three-member tribunal created in KRS 161.790(4) is a separate and distinguishable entity from the Board. Since the tribunal is not an agent of the Board, the Board is not barred from appealing the tribunal's decision.