Court Opinion

ID: 9630559
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 10:14:10.766215+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:40.697491
License: Public Domain

Abbott, J.,
dissenting: I would affirm the trial court’s dismissal of appellant’s petition. The prudent course for the school board obviously would have been for it to have suspended appellant with pay, to have held a due process hearing, and then to have taken appropriate action.
The majority agrees, however, that the conduct of the appellant was extraordinary, and the school board was justified in dismissing appellant without such a hearing. The majority then holds that the appellant was not afforded a due process hearing before his wages were terminated and that he did not waive his right to such a hearing. I disagree. The school board offered appellant an opportunity to appear and be heard before his wages were terminated, but appellant chose not to appear. There is no established time period between notice and hearing in order to afford due process. The appellant did not request additional time, nor does he give a valid reason for not requesting additional time or even suggest why additional time was necessary. As I understand applicable law, the burden is on appellant to show a lack of due process. Thus, appellant had an opportunity to participate in a due process hearing but deliberately chose not to do so.
The majority also holds that the school board could not be an impartial tribunal. By the test adopted by the majority, the school board was an impartial tribunal. The school board had not announced its views or exhibited bias as to “the factual questions to be decided at [the] hearing.” Bogart v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 298 of Lincoln Cty., 432 F. Supp. 895, 904 (D. Kan. 1977). The school board had determined that appellant’s conduct was so disruptive *440to the educational process that it would terminate his employment contract and then decide whether it would be with or without pay.
The fact that a school board also has some investigative and prosecutive functions in a hearing of this nature does not ordinarily amount to a denial of due process. Griggs v. Board of Trustees, 61 Cal.2d 93, 37 Cal. Rptr. 194, 389 P.2d 722 (1964).
Obviously a school board has some knowledge of the facts and has reached some conclusion before a hearing is ordered. Morris v. School District, 139 Kan. 268, 279, 30 P.2d 1094 (1934); Million v. Board of Education, 181 Kan. 230, 237, 310 P.2d 917 (1957). That fact standing alone does not indicate bias, which would require disqualification. All that is required is that an appellant be given an opportunity to be heard and present witnesses, and to examine the evidence to test its accuracy. It is the school board’s function to make the ultimate decision, subject only to the requirements of due process of law. The school board normally will have knowledge of the exact reason why it desires to terminate or nonrenew a teacher. Due process requires that the board keep an open mind, that it not become an advocate, and that it give the teacher a fair opportunity to present his or her side of the story and thus prevent the board from acting on erroneous or incomplete information. The trial court did not find the school board to be biased or to be an impartial tribunal, and I am unwilling and unable to do so based on the record before us.
The appellant himself requested that the school board proceed under K.S.A. 72-5436 et seq.; the school board agreed to do so and the appellant participated. The apparent reason for the lack of a decision by the school board before this action was filed was that appellant requested time to file a brief, but he failed to do so. As I view the trial judge’s decision, he is saying the appellant requested that an inapplicable statutory procedure be followed, to which the school board agreed, and that appellant must follow that procedure to a conclusion if he desires to appeal. I see nothing wrong with that holding.
If, in fact, appellant was denied due process, his loss of pay could not exceed that necessary to complete his contract of employment for the school year in which he was terminated.
I would affirm.