Frank v. St. Landry Parish School Board

225 So. 2d 62, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 6104
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 27, 1969
DocketNo. 2757
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 225 So. 2d 62 (Frank v. St. Landry Parish School Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frank v. St. Landry Parish School Board, 225 So. 2d 62, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 6104 (La. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

FRUGÉ, Judge.

This is an appeal by plaintiff-appellant, Joshua Frank, from a judgment after trial of the district court sustaining the action taken by the St. Landry Parish School Board in dismissing him as a tenured teacher and principal of the Phillis Wheat-ley High School, Melville, Louisiana.

The discharge complained of was based on the finding that plaintiff was guilty of willful neglect of duty, dishonesty, and of incompetence in his position. The procedures employed were in compliance with those set out in the Teachers’ Tenure Act, LSA-R.S. 17:441 et seq.

In his appeal, plaintiff alleges error in three respects. He alleges that there was a lack of evidence upon which the court could affirm the dismissal. He alleges that the court erred in permitting the introduction into evidence of the record of a criminal trial which took place subsequent to the School Board hearing, and was not one of the specific charges in the School Board’s resolution dismissing him. Lastly, he alleges that the court erred when it found that the School Board had sufficient evidence to dismiss him as a tenured teacher when the resolution of the School Board did not charge him in that capacity and no evidence whatsoever was introduced against him as a tenured teacher.

In the resolution charging plaintiff, the school board made numerous allegations, the number of which would not permit us to reproduce them in full. For the purposes of this appeal, we shall summarize the allegations under each of the three specific categories; dishonesty, willful neglect of duty, and incompetence.

Under the heading of dishonesty, the charges included making false reports resulting in unlawful expenditures of school funds in that he failed to report himself and other teachers absent from duty, and falsely reported certain school bus drivers as making two routes daily, whereas in truth, only one route daily was being made by these drivers. Plaintiff was charged with using and failing to report unauthorized persons doing substitute teaching, and with failing to pay local school obligations.

Under the charge of willful neglect of duty, in addition to a repetition of the charges under dishonesty, the Board al[64]*64leged that plaintiff failed to carry out directions and recommendations of the Superintendent and staff of the School Board. It was alleged that plaintiff failed to require the proper supervision of loading and unloading of buses, failed to enforce proper supervision of study hall, failed to present books and accounts for auditing purposes, failed to have books wrapped as directed, failed to provide and care for school property, failed to keep a duty roster, failed to cooperate in repairing equipment, failed to keep track of library books, textbooks and testing materials, failed to see that textbooks were kept clean and usable, and failed to answer or comply with letter^ of the Superintendent and the supervisors. Plaintiff is also alleged to have failed to properly supervise teachers and other school employees, failed to comply with the policies of lunchroom operations of the State Department of Education, failed in carrying out schedules as submitted to and approved by the State Department of Education. In addition, the Board charged plaintiff with lack of proper supervision of teachers, continually absenting himself from duty during school hours, frequent tardiness in arriving at school, and sleeping while on duty at the school during school hours.

Under the heading of incompetency, the resolution alleged plaintiff had a lack of ability to control the teachers, other school employees and students, a lack of the ability to make correct reports, to write and spell commonly used English words, and generally did not possess the type of leadership and feeling of responsibility necessary to the successful administration of a school.

In the trial on the matter much testimony and documentary evidence was presented, including the entirety of the record of the proceedings in the original hearing, and a criminal record. In his excellent written reasons for judgment, the trial court carefully and meticulously set out all of the relevent facts as to each one of the allegations. Our review of the record convinces us that he has correctly analyzed the evidence, and we agree with the conclusions which he has drawn from the facts. We, therefore, adopt as our own opinion the following portions of the reasons for judgment which were assigned by the trial judge:

“The evidence offered by the defendant, the St. Landry Parish School Board, particularly under the willful neglect of duty and incompetency involved a series of detailed charges and events covering a period of over five years. The testimony of the Superintendent, as well as a number of supervisors of the St. Landry Parish School Board, was to the effect that monthly meetings of principals were called and held to explain the duties and obligations of principals and that the plaintiff had been supplied with various bulletins and manuals outlining the various duties of a principal.

“Under the charge of dishonesty, the plaintiff was charged with making false reports. The pay records of the plaintiff from 1953 through 1961 were offered in evidence. In not one instance did the plaintiff report himself absent from duty, although the evidence shows that the plaintiff was absent from the school when visited by various supervisors on at least seven occasions. In one instance the evidence discloses that the plaintiff and his brother, Carlton Frank, were serving as election officials at a poll in Eunice, Louisiana, and according to the testimony of one of the supervisors the plaintiff and his brother were absent from school on that date; although this is denied and the plaintiff offered evidence that a substitute poll official had taken his place during the school hours, the Court is not satisfied with the veracity of the denial and explanation.

“Without going into detail, because all of the exhibits and evidence are in the record, the plaintiff was undoubtedly guilty of the charge of failing to report absence of teachers from duty.

“In the Court’s opinion, it is the duty of the principal to make reports covering the [65]*65operations of the school buses, and that it is not sufficient to attempt to place the blame on someone else. Likewise, the charge of using unauthorized persons to substitute has been proven.

“Under the charge of failing to have the buildings and grounds properly cleaned and maintained, the defendant sought to blame the janitor. This is the responsibility of the principal. The testimony of the superintendent of the St. Landry Parish School Board was to the effect that although the plaintiff made verbal complaints about the janitor’s work, he never once, in filling the reemployment form submitted to the principal each year, recommended that the janitor not be reemployed for not performing his duties.

“From the evidence it was shown that there was more damage to the physical facilities at the Phillis Wheatley School than any other school in the parish system, and there was never received one written report from the principal reporting the damages. This condition persisted for several years.

“Under the charge of failing to keep track of books and materials, there was offered in evidence a box of textbooks taken from the school under the plaintiff’s prin-cipalship which were unfit for use, although within the normal expected period of usefulness. In addition, numerous books were unaccounted for.

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Related

Simon v. Jefferson Davis Parish School Board
289 So. 2d 511 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1974)
Celestine v. Lafayette Parish School Board
284 So. 2d 650 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1973)
Frank v. St. Landry Parish School Board
227 So. 2d 589 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1969)

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Bluebook (online)
225 So. 2d 62, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 6104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frank-v-st-landry-parish-school-board-lactapp-1969.