Board of Education of Union Free School District No. 3 v. Associated Teachers of Huntington, Inc.

62 Misc. 2d 906, 310 N.Y.S.2d 929, 74 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2979, 1970 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1657
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMay 4, 1970
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 62 Misc. 2d 906 (Board of Education of Union Free School District No. 3 v. Associated Teachers of Huntington, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Board of Education of Union Free School District No. 3 v. Associated Teachers of Huntington, Inc., 62 Misc. 2d 906, 310 N.Y.S.2d 929, 74 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2979, 1970 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1657 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1970).

Opinion

Thomas M. Stark, J.

This is an action in which the plaintiff (hereinafter called the “ Board ”) seeks a judgment declaring illegal certain provisions of two agreements between the parties dated June 10, 1968 and September 16, 1969. The Board also seeks to enjoin the defendant (hereinafter called the Asso[907]*907ciation ”) from grieving or arbitrating any matters arising out of the contested provisions.

The matter comes before the court on plaintiff’s motion for an injunction pendente lite and defendant’s cross motion for a dismissal of the complaint. There are no issues of fact presented and accordingly both motions will be treated as motions for summary judgment.

On September 1, 1967, there became effective the Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act (Civil Service Law, art. 14), commonly known as the Taylor Law. The Board, as a public employer under this law, recognized and certified the Association as the employee organization representing the school district teachers in negotiations and the settlement of grievances. The Board and the Association thereafter entered into collective negotiations for the purpose of determining the terms and conditions of employment of the teachers for the school year 1968-1969. These negotiations resulted in the written agreement between the Board and the Association dated June 10, 1968. Negotiations were subsequently undertaken for the same purpose for the school year 1969-1970. Disputes arose between the parties and on April 22, 1969, the New York State Public Employment Relations Board appointed a fact-finding panel to inquire into the disputes and to make recommendations for their resolution.

The fact-finding panel made its recommendations on July 22, 1969, and on September 16, 1969, the Board and the Association entered into a written settlement agreement which basically was an acceptance by both parties of the recommendations of the fact-finding panel. The final agreement which determined the terms and conditions of employment for the school year 1969-1970 is basically a combination of the 1968-1969 agreement, the recommendations of the fact-finding panel, and the settlement agreement of September 16, 1969.

The Board in this action raises the question as to its own power to agree and bind itself to certain provisions of the 1968-1969 and 1969-1970 agreements. Four of the questioned provisions relate to the payment of teachers’ monetary benefits in the form of either salary increases or reimbursement of certain expenses. The fifth questioned provision relates to certain actions affecting tenure teachers being made subject to the grievance procedure of the agreement. As to the first four questioned provisions the Board’s position is that it is without legal power or authority to pay these monetary benefits to the teachers. As to the fifth questioned provision the Board’s position is that it is without legal power or authority to subject [908]*908certain actions affecting tenure teachers to the grievance procedure of the agreement.

The first two provisions challenged are the agreements made in sections E and F of article VIII relating to the protection of teachers (the language of these provisions is the same in the 3968-1969 and 1969-1970 agreements). These provisions read as follows:

“ E. The Board will provide protection of teachers by reimbursement for cost of' replacing or repairing dentures, eyeglasses, etc., not covered by Workmen’s Compensation, destroyed or lost as the result of an injury sustained in the course of his or her employment.
“ F. The Board will provide reimbursement for repair or value, whichever is less, of clothing and personal effects damaged or destroyed during the course of and incident to employment, provided loss is not caused by negligence of the claimant. Personal effects do not include automobiles and/or other vehicles. ’ ’

The next provision challenged is section A of article XI relating to professional development. In the 3968-3969 agreement this provision read as follows:

‘1 A. Graduate Courses
“ Any member of the professional staff shall have his salary increased for one year only in the amount of twenty dollars per college or university credit hour up to a maximum of eight hours per year upon presentation of an official transcript of credit. Courses must be approved in advance by Principal and Superintendent. ’ ’

In the 1969-1970 agreement this provision was changed to read as follows:

“A. Graduate Courses
Any member of the professional staff shall, upon presentation of his transcript and a bursar’s receipt, be reimbursed in a lump sum in an amount equal to 50% of the cost per credit hour of such work up to a maximum of ten hours per year; provided the courses are of a content related to the curriculum or course of study taught by the teacher and are approved in advance by the Principal and Superintendent. The benefits provided above may be extended to other courses with the approval of the Superintendent.”

The next provision challenged is article XXI relating to the retirement award (the language of this provision is the same in the 1968-1969 and 1969-1970 agreements). This provision reads as follows:

‘ ‘ Retirement Award
[909]*909Bach teacher who hereafter indicates his intention to retire one year prior to such retirement under the New York State Teachers Retirement System or whose retirement is mandatory under such system shall receive at the start of the last school year of service a salary increase for that year equal to 5/10 of 1% (0.5%) of his current salary multiplied by the number of years of service in this school district, such salary increase not to exceed $1500.”

The remaining provision challenged is section C of article XVIII relating to teacher evaluation (the language of this provision is the same in the 1968-1969 and 1969-1970 agreements). This provision reads as follows:

“ C. No tenure teacher shall be disciplined, reprimanded, reduced in rank or compensation, suspended, demoted, transferred, terminated or otherwise deprived of any professional advantage without just cause. In no case shall this be done publicly unless so requested by the teacher. Any such action, including adverse evaluation of teacher performance or a violation of professional ethics asserted by the Board or any agent thereof, shall be subject to the grievance procedure set forth in this Agreement, provided that in the case of a non-tenure teacher, termination shall not be grievable. ’ ’

The Board initially raised the question of the legality of these provisions during the negotiations leading up to the 1969-1970 agreement, and sought legal opinions from the Division of Legal Services of the New York State Department of Audit and Control (as to the payment of the particular teachers’ monetary benefits) and from the New York State Department of Education (as to the tenure teachers-grievance procedure matter).

On April 17, 1969, the State Comptroller, in answer to the Board’s inquiry, rendered a written opinion (File No.

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Bluebook (online)
62 Misc. 2d 906, 310 N.Y.S.2d 929, 74 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2979, 1970 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1657, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/board-of-education-of-union-free-school-district-no-3-v-associated-nysupct-1970.