Borr v. McKenzie County Public School District No. 1

1997 ND 30, 560 N.W.2d 213, 1997 N.D. LEXIS 31
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 27, 1997
DocketCivil 960157
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1997 ND 30 (Borr v. McKenzie County Public School District No. 1) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Borr v. McKenzie County Public School District No. 1, 1997 ND 30, 560 N.W.2d 213, 1997 N.D. LEXIS 31 (N.D. 1997).

Opinions

[214]*214MESCHKE, Justice.

[¶ 1] David Borr again appeals from a judgment dismissing his claim against the McKenzie County Public School District No. 1 for wrongful nonrenewal of his continuing teaching contract. We agree with the trial court that the school board met its legal and contractual obligations to Borr, and we affirm.

[¶ 2] Borr had been a music teacher for McKenzie County schools for nine years. In the fall of 1993, Borr harshly scolded his junior high marching band during an outdoor practice. Jay Diede, the principal, heard about it November 19 from a parent who complained Borr had once told the band they “suck” and also recently told the band “they were the worst group he had ever had.” Diede visited Borr’s classroom November 23, and the next day met with Borr to discuss his classroom observations and the band incident. Borr insisted he used the word “stunk” instead, and already had given an apology letter to the band members. Diede told Borr either word was inappropriate and indicated Borr must be accountable to parents.

[¶ 3] On March 2, 1994, Diede again observed Borr’s classroom, and saw a class “management problem.” Diede discussed this "with Borr at his annual evaluation on March 11, suggesting Borr’s problem stemmed from the band incident. Diede put Borr’s annual evaluation in Borr’s personnel file on March 11, but did not mention the band incident in it.

[¶ 4] The band incident surfaced again on March 15 when another parent complained to Diede, and two school board members brought him similar complaints from parents. Diede received another parental complaint about Borr on March 18, and he met with Borr that day to discuss the continuing complaints. Diede recommended Borr use upcoming parent-teacher conferences to address parental concerns. Diede also asked Borr to prepare, by the end of the month, an action plan for improvement.

[¶ 5] On March 30, the school board decided that a reduction in the teaching staff had become necessary from declining enrollment. The board asked the school administration to recommend four teachers for nonrenewal. For one, the administration concluded the music department was overstaffed.

[¶ 6] On April 4, Diede received Borr’s action plan explaining how he was addressing his problems with pupils and their parents. On April 11, Diede put documents about the band incident, including a summary of the complaints (without naming complaining parents) and Borr’s action plan, into Borr’s personnel file.

[¶ 7] At an evening board meeting on April 11, Sherman Sylling, the District Superintendent, recommended Borr’s nonrenewal along with nonrenewal of three other teachers in the system. The next day, Diede met with Borr to discuss his plan, and to tell him a 'summary of the band incident had been placed in his personnel file. Diede then delivered an April 12 letter from the school board to notify Borr of his contemplated nonrenewal and hearing scheduled for April 20.

[¶ 8] At the hearing, Superintendent Syll-ing presented to the school board information showing the District’s enrollment had declined from 1,063 pupils in 1982-83 to 765 pupils in 1993-94. Sylling explained Borr had been chosen for nonrenewal for teacher ineffectiveness, the first criterion to be considered in selecting for nonrenewal under the District’s policy on reduction in force (RIF policy).

[¶ 9] Diede explained to the board why he considered Borr ineffective. He reported the parental complaints about the band incident. Diede acknowledged he did not place the parental complaints into Borr’s personnel file right away. Rather, he had noted them only in his Franklin desk planner, an appointment book with space for listing tasks and recording daily events, and had refreshed his memory from the desk planner for this hearing. Diede asserted he had promptly discussed the complaints with Borr, and had told Borr his use of either “suck” or “stunk” was inappropriate. Diede also described the lack of discipline observed in Borr’s classroom during Diede’s last visit there. Diede reported nearly fifty percent of Borr’s current band [215]*215students were planning to drop band in the next school year.

[¶ 10] In his testimony to the school board, Borr acknowledged the band incident and how Diede had discussed it with him in November. Borr said he thought the problem had been resolved at that time, and he had not expected it would appear in his personnel file. Borr displayed a copy of his November letter of apology to the band students.

[¶ 11] The nonrenewal hearing was completed on April 25, and then a majority of the school board voted not to renew Borr’s teaching contract. Borr sued the District, alleging

the McKenzie County Public School District (District) wrongfully nonrenewed his teaching contract because the school board abused its discretion (1) in finding the District’s administration had substantiated the nonrenewal reason of declining enrollment as required under the nonrenewal statute, and (2) in permitting the District’s principal to present evidence supporting the administration’s nonrenewal recommendation under its reduction-in-force policy in violation of the secret personnel file statute.

Borr v. McKenzie County Pub. Sch. Dist No. 1 (Borr I), 541 N.W.2d 681, 681 (N.D. 1995). Both sides moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted the District’s motion and summarily dismissed Borr’s claim for wrongful nonrenewal.

[¶ 12] On appeal, we reversed. Id. We unanimously ruled that, “[b]ecause the trial court did not rule on all the issues necessary to determine Borr’s claim, the school District was not entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.” Id. at 682. We explained:

The trial court determined the District’s administration had substantiated its nonre-newal reason of declining enrollment, but the court also needed to determine whether the District met it[s] contractual obligation under its RIF policy. In determining if the District met this obligation, the court needs to consider Borr’s second issue claiming an abuse of discretion by the school board in permitting evidence at Borr’s nonrenewal hearing that may have violated the secret personnel file statute.

Id. at 684. On remand, both sides moved for judgment on the existing record without offering further evidence. The trial court stated additional conclusions and again dismissed Borr’s claim.

[¶ 13] The trial court concluded Diede’s notations in his desk planner about parental complaints did not violate the statutes prohibiting a “secret personnel file” because he promptly informed Borr about those complaints. For the same reason, the trial court ruled that the school board did not abuse its discretion by permitting Diede’s testimony at the nonrenewal hearing, whether or not Die-de’s notations about parental complaints violated the “secret personnel file” statute. The trial court also concluded the school board had met its obligations to Borr under its RIF policy in deciding not to renew his teaching contract.

[¶ 14] In this second appeal, Borr urges the trial court erred in ruling there was no violation of the “secret personnel file” statutes.

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Borr v. McKenzie County Public School District No. 1
1997 ND 30 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
1997 ND 30, 560 N.W.2d 213, 1997 N.D. LEXIS 31, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/borr-v-mckenzie-county-public-school-district-no-1-nd-1997.