Court Opinion

ID: 9763184
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:38:22.67038+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:39.859874
License: Public Domain

ZAPPALA, Justice,
concurring.
“The fundamental public policy, expressed in the Constitution and underlying school laws, is to obtain a better education for the children of the Commonwealth.” Appeal of Walker, 332 Pa. 488, 491, 2 A.2d 770, 772 (1938). “[T]he maintenance of a public school system is primarily for the education and training of our youth and the incidental financial benefit of those participating therein is of secondary concern.” School District of Philadelphia v. Twer, 498 Pa. 429, 435, 447 A.2d 222, 224 (1982). “Any interpretation of legislative pronouncements relating to the public educational system must be reviewed in context with the General Assembly’s responsibility to provide for a ‘thorough and efficient system’ for the benefit of our youth.” Id., 447 A.2d at 225.
Proceeding from these premises, we held in Twer that although the School Code might generally require an individu*345alized hearing prior to demotion, such would not be insisted on “where its application would defeat the primary purposes of the Code.” Id. at 438, 447 A.2d at 226. We determined that in light of the extremely dire financial circumstances under which the school district acted, it was error to require a full predemotion hearing as this “unnecessarily and unwarrantedly circumscribed the discretion of the Board in its good faith effort to discharge its responsibilities.” Id. at 439, 447 A.2d at 227.
To be sure, we have also recognized that it is not the role of the judiciary to “inquire into the reason, wisdom or expediency of the legislative policy with regard to education.” Teachers’ Tenure Act Cases, 329 Pa. 213, 224, 197 A. 344, 352 (1938). See generally, Reichley by Wall v. North Penn School District, 533 Pa. 519, 626 A.2d 123 (1993). “The Constitution ... has placed the educational system in the hands of the legislature, free from any interference by the judiciary save as required by constitutional limitations.” Ehret v. School District of Borough of Kulpmont, 333 Pa. 518, 522, 5 A.2d 188, 190 (1939) (emphasis added). Thus, the legislation that the General Assembly has enacted, being the implementation of the constitutional mandate of Article III, Section 14, is to be interpreted consistent with that mandate and cannot be applied in such a manner as would defeat the purpose of it.
The dissent highlights numerous individual sections of the School Code to support its conclusion that the Code does not authorize the Board’s actions. As we noted in Ehret, however, “[t]he separate sections of the School Code all derive their inspiration from this source [i.e., the fundamental public policy of obtaining a better education for the children of the Commonwealth], Though containing individual policies in themselves, each is subordinate to this cardinal purpose.” 333 Pa. at 522, 5 A.2d at 190.
The appellants suggest that under the circumstances here present, the Public School Code must be interpreted to allow the actions undertaken by the board “in its good faith effort to discharge its responsibilities,” otherwise the very purposes of the Code and the constitutional mandate it follows would be *346defeated. I believe the validity of this assertion can only be tested by allowing them the opportunity to develop a record in support of their arguments. In doing so we do not depart from the usual order of analysis, under which constitutional questions are avoided if a case may be decided on non-constitutional grounds, because we do not “address,” as such, the constitutional issue presented. Rather, we determine only that the appellants have not had a full and fair opportunity to develop their case, as to either the constitutional or the statutory issue.
In my view, the common pleas court committed a manifest abuse of discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction without holding a hearing. The effect of the improper issuance of a preliminary injunction, however, was corrected by the further proceedings in this Court, and the question remains whether the plaintiffs/appellees are entitled to permanent relief on any of the grounds asserted in their Complaint. For the reasons stated, I join in the Order vacating the orders below and remanding for evidentiary hearings.
FLAHERTY, CASTILLE and MONTEMURO *, JJ., join this concurring opinion.