Opinion ID: 1649667
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Telephone Access

Text: As noted previously, the plaintiffs' theory for the School Board's liability is premised in part on the assertion that C.C. was unable to use the school telephone in the principal's office to call home because the door to the office was locked, and that Gladys Marie Reed, the Behavior Clinic supervising teacher, denied C.C.'s subsequent request to use Ms. Reed's personal cell phone to call home. In its reasons for judgment, the trial court concluded [t]he evidence is overwhelming that ... the use of a telephone was made available to the juvenile on the day in question. The trial court further concluded the [s]tudents were also questioned and confirmed the phone could be accessed. In reaching these factual conclusions, the trial court clearly made credibility determinations on the issue of telephone availability, as evidenced by the trial court's own questioning of C.C. and other witnesses, and resolved this issue in favor of the School Board. The record supports that conclusion. C.C. testified that immediately after the Behavior Clinic, she went to the principal's office on the first floor of the school to telephone her mother, but when she reached the office, she found the office door locked. According to C.C., she returned to the Behavior Clinic room, which is located on the third floor of the school, to ask Ms. Reed for the use of Ms. Reed's cell phone to call her mother. She testified that after Ms. Reed refused to allow her to use the phone, she went outside and met with her friend, S.R.C. Although the tutoring student school bus was still in front of the school, she walked with S.R.C. to a nearby fast food restaurant. C.C.'s testimony was the only evidence presented by the plaintiffs on the issue of the availability of a telephone, and they assert her testimony was not contradicted. However, there was ample evidence that a telephone was available to the Behavior Clinic students. Moreover, the suggestion by the plaintiffs and in the lead opinion below that C.C. reasonably believed the doors were locked simply because they were closed is belied by her own testimony, in which she unequivocally stated she physically checked the doors and found them locked. The School Board called a number of witnesses who disputed C.C.'s version of the facts on the issue of the locked doors and telephone access. Ms. Reed testified that at the end of each Behavior Clinic session, she requires all the participating students to properly stack the material they have been working on, instructs them to exit the building but not to use the bathroom or get water, and instructs them to use the telephone in the office immediately before leaving the building if needed. According to Ms. Reed, the principal's office is open after dismissal of the Behavior Clinic to accommodate those students who must make arrangements for transportation. She affirmatively testified the office was open on November 4, 2004, stating that, as she left the building, she observed several children using the telephone in the principal's office. When she left the premises approximately ten minutes later, the tutoring bus was still parked in front of the school and there were still children waiting for rides. However, she did not see C.C. Ms. Reed specifically denied C.C. ever asked to use her cell phone, and testified that, had C.C. asked, she would certainly have allowed her to telephone her mother. In fact, according to Ms. Reed, a few days after this incident, C.C. apologized for having lied to others about Ms. Reed's alleged denial of the use of her cell phone. Christopher Ferrill testified that after school on November 4, 2004, he made a number of copies at the office near the principal's office and observed that the principal's office was open. In fact, during that afternoon, he had used the office telephone to call his wife and was around the office when the tutoring and Behavior Clinic classes ended. Additionally, he testified the office is always open until the janitors lock the building after everyone has left. [6] Monique Boute McGee, the Assistant Principal at Lafayette Middle School, testified C.C. came to her two days after the incident at issue and told her that she never asked Ms. Reed for the use of her cell phone. Ms. McGee is the person who called Ms. Reed in to accept C.C.'s apology. Although Ms. McGee was not present at school after 3:00 p.m. on November 4, 2004, she testified that the principal's office is open every day until the janitor locks up, and that the telephone is available to the students staying after school. On November 5, 2004, after hearing of the alleged attack on C.C., Ms. McGee questioned a number of the Behavior Clinic students who were present the day before and found no complaints concerning the use of the telephone. Brenda Faye Billedeaux, the Behavior Discipline Center facilitator, testified that on November 4, 2004, the Behavior Clinic ended at 4:00 p.m. and the tutoring sessions ended at 4:15 p.m. At approximately 3:55 p.m., Ms. Billedeaux went through the principal's office and made an afternoon announcement, then left through the front door to the office to ensure that the door was propped open and the phone on the counter. She subsequently observed a number of students using the telephone. On that day, she was on the campus until 4:35 p.m., waiting for another student to be picked up. Ronald Pollan, the Principal at Lafayette Middle School, testified that it is school policy for the office to remain open in the afternoon after school to allow children stranded on campus to telephone for transportation. While he was not present on the afternoon of November 4, 2004, he conducted interviews with other students on November 5, 2004, and found no evidence to suggest that the policy was not followed on the day before. Randy Fitzgerald Andrus, the custodian on duty on November 4, 2004, testified that he generally remains on campus from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., he checks the building to make sure everyone has left, he then locks the office and the building, and he is the last to leave each day. According to Mr. Andrus, this procedure was in effect on November 4, 2004, and the office was open that afternoon after school until he left for the day. S.R.C. acknowledged in her testimony that Ms. Reed dismissed the class just as Ms. Reed had explained in her testimony. S.R.C. specifically remembered Ms. Reed instructing any student who needed to call a parent to go directly to the office. She recalled the door to the office being open, the school secretary being present in the office, and other students using the office telephone. Aside from the author of the lead opinion, the remaining four members of the panel below found no manifest error in the trial court's finding that C.C. had had access to the principal's office and a telephone, with which to call her mother to arrange transportation home. Based on the record, we similarly detect no manifest error in the trial court's conclusion.