Opinion ID: 900352
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Arbitrariness of Dismissal on the Basis of Incompetency

Text: [¶ 15.] Ignoring twenty-nine years of faithful service, the Board terminated Collins' teaching contract on the basis that he was incompetent. This determination rested purely on his indiscreet answer with regard to homosexual activitya subject which invariably invokes intense debate and undoubtedly stirred emotions in this case. [¶ 16.] It is undisputed that there is no evidence that the conduct of Collins complained of by Board violated any directive, regulation, rule, or order given to him by any administrator or Board. In fact, the evidence showed that the administration had abdicated total control over the sex education program to the health nurse. Neither the superintendent nor the Board took any steps to personally plan the program or place any limits on it. It is also undisputed that Collins had been asked by the previous health nurse to answer questions after sex education videos in the past, and had done so for the past fifteen years without incident. Even so, the Board terminated Collins' employment on the basis of incompetence for one moment of poor judgment. [¶ 17.] Incompetence has been previously described by this court as a relative term meaning lack of ability or fitness to discharge a required duty. Hartpence v. Youth Forestry Camp, 325 N.W.2d 292, 296 (S.D.1982) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 688 (5thEd. 1979)). Other courts have made it clear, however, that incompetence does not invoke subjective analysis of standards of morality or professionalism which vary from individual to individual dependent on time, circumstances or custom. Belcourt v. Fort Totten Pub. School Dist., 454 N.W.2d 703, 708 (N.D.1990) (quoting Perez v. Commission on Professional Competence, 149 Cal.App.3d 1167, 197 Cal.Rptr. 390, 396 (1983)); but cf. SDCL 13-43-6.1 and its predecessor 13-43-15 (including gross immorality, in addition to incompetence, as grounds for dismissal of a teacher). [¶ 18.] In Hartpence, the Career Services Commission (Commission) had affirmed the dismissal of Hartpence from his position as a youth supervisor after Hartpence had fallen and was rendered unconscious while leading a mountain climb with kids from the Youth Forestry Camp. 325 N.W.2d at 293-94. We cited with approval cases that point to incompetence [as] arising from a course of conduct or a series of incidents. Id. (citing Tichenor v. Orleans Parish Sch. Bd., 144 So.2d 603 (La.App.1962) (teacher fired for incompetence based upon six incidents); Berkan v. State Bd. of Personnel, 61 Wis.2d 644, 213 N.W.2d 354 (1974) (state employee terminated for gross misconduct based upon thirteen charges)); see also Collins v. I owa Liquor Control Comm'n, 252 Iowa 1359, 110 N.W.2d 548 (1961) (holding incompetence arises from habitual failure). In agreeing that incompetence generally arises from habitual failure, we quoted the following from Collins: [A] person who habitually fails to perform his work with the degree of skill or accuracy usually displayed by other persons regularly employed in such work is incompetent. And the same is true of one who usually performs substantially less than others regularly so employed. Hartpence, 325 N.W.2d at 297 (quoting Collins, 110 N.W.2d at 550). For example, Collins involved an employee who consistently made errors over a period of months at an exponentially greater rate than any other employee and also was twice as slow as other employees. 110 N.W.2d at 550. [¶ 19.] In Hartpence, we concluded that the Commission's findings of fact address only the isolated instance of appellee's fall. Since incompetency arises from habitual and on-going actions, this finding does not support the Commission's conclusion of incompetency. 325 N.W.2d at 297. Similarly, the Faith School Board's decision to terminate its contract with Collins on the basis of one ill-advised answer, honestly given, was not the type of habitual and ongoing action that would support Board's conclusion that Collins was incompetent. See McCoy v. Thompson, 677 P.2d 839, 842 (Wyo.1984) (holding a single honest failure in the performance of one's duties does not without more amount to incompetency.). [¶ 20.] Nevertheless, there are times when only one incident may be of such magnitude or of such far reaching consequences that a teacher's ability to perform his or her duties will be permanently impaired and a finding of incompetence would be proper. Id. (holding [a] single transaction or dereliction of duty under certain circumstances might be sufficient to reveal a general lack of ability to perform required duties, thereby supporting a finding of incompetency.). However, there is no evidence that Collins' conduct rose to such a level. There has been no showing that Collins' teaching ability has been or will be impaired, or that any children have been detrimentally affected. See Hartpence, 325 N.W.2d at 296 (defining incompetence as a relative term meaning lack of ability or fitness to discharge a required duty.) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 688 (5thEd. 1979)). Nor has there been a showing that Collins is likely to exercise poor judgment in a similar situation in the future, since he has acknowledged that he used poor judgment in this case and regretted making the statement. [¶ 21.] The Supreme Court of Nebraska has treated this area in similar fashion. In Boss v. Fillmore School District Number 19, the superintendent was dismissed because of incompetency, unprofessional conduct, and neglect of duties. 251 Neb. 669, 559 N.W.2d 448, 450 (1997). The charge of incompetency was made on the basis of what amounted to several small, isolated errors. Id. at 454. The court reiterated that [e]vidence that a particular duty was not competently performed on certain occasions, or evidence of an occasional neglect of some duty of performance, in itself, does not ordinarily establish incompetency or neglect of duty sufficient to constitute just cause for termination. Id. at 453 (quoting Sanders v. Bd. of Educ., 200 Neb. 282, 263 N.W.2d 461, 465 (1978)). Likewise, Collins' inappropriate explicitness on a single occasion can hardly amount to incompetence. [¶ 22.] A situation similar to the present case was confronted by the court in Oakland Unified School District of Alameda County. v. Olicker, 25 Cal.App.3d 1098, 102 Cal.Rptr. 421 (1972). In Olicker, a teacher trying a new method of teaching asked her class of thirteen- and fourteen-year-old students to write a paper on the subject of their choice. Id. at 425. At least four of the students wrote papers describing human anatomy and sex acts in outrageously vulgar language. Id. at 432-33. The teacher decided to make copies of all the class papers and hand them out to facilitate class discussion and reach the students, even though this would include the extremely vulgar, sexually explicit papers. Id. at 429. Because of this distribution, the teacher was dismissed on the basis of her evident unfitness for servicea statutory standard which California courts interpreted at the time to include incompetence. Id. at 427. In overturning the decisions of the school board and trial court, the California Court of Appeals noted: We perceive, moreover, that there is no credible[,] competent evidence supporting any inference of defendant's unfitness to teach. The only basis for the trial court's conclusion is defendant's conduct in reproducing and making available to her students the subject material. This conduct per se does not warrant the inference that defendant is evidently unfit to teach. Before such an inference could be drawn it was necessary that it be shown that there was a relationship between that conduct and the functioning of defendant as a teacher. Id. at 429. [5] [¶ 23.] The question must then be asked: Where is the relationship between Collins' ill-advised answer to the boys and the impairment of his capacity as a teacher? In much the same manner as Olicker, Collins' teaching ability is judged incompetent without more proof than the mere assertions that it is so. While the superintendent makes the bare claim that the incident adversely affected Collins' ability to perform his teaching duties, he admits that he has not bothered to sit in on any of Collins' classes to actually note any problems. There have been no allegations that the students' education has suffered in any way. Absences have not increased. Discipline problems have not increased. Moreover, Board had the ability, pursuant to school policies, to suspend Collins prior to his termination. Instead, they chose to allow him to continue teaching from the April 24th incident to the May 17th board hearing, impliedly admitting they were not worried about Collins' ability to effectively teach his students after the incident. Furthermore, Board voted to extend Collins' contract for another year on the very same night that they discussed Brown's complaint that lead to the hearing to determine if Collins should be dismissed. Our conclusions echo those of the court in Olicker: The record before us contains no evidence that the conduct in question produced any disruption or impairment of discipline or of the teaching process, nor is there any showing by [the school district] that [the teacher's] retention in the teaching profession poses a significant danger of harm to either students, school employees, or others who might be affected by [the teacher's actions]. 102 Cal.Rptr. at 429. The record contains no credible evidence that Collins' teaching ability has been impaired or even that the incident in question has any connection with his continued effectiveness as a teacher. [¶ 24.] Accordingly, the decision of the circuit court is reversed and the case is remanded for reinstatement of Collins' teaching position and for a determination of the amount of back pay that Collins' is entitled, less any offsets. White Man v. Gunnick, 473 N.W.2d 148, 151 (S.D.1991). [¶ 25.] MILLER, C.J., and SABERS, KONENKAMP and GILBERTSON, JJ., concur.