Court Opinion

ID: 9710906
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:20:09.887323+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:00.236184
License: Public Domain

M. F. Cavanagh, J.
(concurring). I concur with the majority’s determination that there is no statutory requirement that a local school board hold a hearing on the qualifications of a teacher before not recalling him from layoff due to necessary staff reduction. This determination, however, does not alleviate the confusion caused by MCLA 38.105; MSA 15.2005 which states that a tenured teacher who has been laid off "shall be appointed to the first vacancy in the school district for which he is certified and qualified”. It is unfortunate that nowhere does the tenure act define the term "qualified” nor does the act indicate the means by which the statutory preference for tenured teachers is to be implemented. While at first glance it might seem appropriate to consider a failure to recall a "discharge or demotion”, requiring a prior board hearing, the statute’s hearing procedures *232are clearly geared to resolution of "charges” against a teacher, not to determining whether a teacher is qualified. Moreover, if a "passed over” teacher were deemed to be "discharged”, presumably that teacher’s tenure would terminate as of the discharge, leaving the teacher unable to assert the preference under the statute when a position opened up for which the teacher would be qualified. Deeming a failure to recall a "demotion” is barred by the specific definition of "demotion” provided by MCLA 38.74; MSA 15.1974, namely, a reduction in compensation.
It would appear that the lack of limitation on the applicability of MCLA 38.121; MSA 15.2021 would allow it to be utilized to resolve a failure to recall situation. Given the initial fact of a layoff for valid economic reasons and, secondly, a hiring or recall of a nontenured teacher "ahead” of a certified tenure teacher, nothing prevents the tenured teacher from requesting the local board to comply with the "tenure preference” section and to recall him in place of the nontenured replacement. Upon receipt of an adverse ruling from the local board, its decision may be appealed to the Tenure Commission as a "decision of the controlling board”. The date of the refusal to recall would operate as the "date of the decision” for purposes of the 30-day appeal period within MCLA 38.121; MSA 15.2021. The teacher would be entitled to a full hearing on the issue of his qualifications before the Tenure Commission. The remedy would be reinstatement with back pay. The Tenure Commission’s decision would be appealable to circuit court.
In this case, the teachers did not ask for a hearing before the Tenure Commission on the subject of their qualifications, indeed, they sought *233to exclude evidence of qualifications on the ground that it was irrelevant to whether or not the tenure statute required the board to furnish a hearing prior to the decision not to recall. By seeking the wrong remedy, they have waived their objections to the board’s decision as to their qualifications. A remand to the Tenure Commission is unavailable for the reason that the Commission has already found these teachers not "qualified” based upon the evidence which the board submitted at the first hearing.
It is for these reasons that I concur with the majority opinion for reversal.