Nevels v. Board of Education

822 S.W.2d 898, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1717, 1991 WL 238271
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 19, 1991
Docket59796
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 822 S.W.2d 898 (Nevels v. Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nevels v. Board of Education, 822 S.W.2d 898, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1717, 1991 WL 238271 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

STEPHAN, Judge.

Plaintiff Raymond Nevels, a physical education teacher, appeals from the judgment of the circuit court upholding his termination as a teacher by respondent Board of Education of the School District of Maple-wood-Richmond Heights (“school board”). In accordance with the provisions of sections 168.102-168.130, RSMo 1986, the Teacher Tenure Act, the school board afforded Mr. Nevels a hearing in August 1990 on charges following a warning letter to him in February 1990. 1 After the hearing, the school board terminated Mr. Nev-els on grounds of inefficiency, incompetency and insubordination. We affirm.

Our scope of review is limited to a determination whether or not the decision of the school board is supported by competent and substantial evidence upon the record as a whole; whether the decision was arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable; or whether the administrative action constituted an abuse of discretion. Cochran v. Board of Education of Mexico School District No. 59, 815 S.W.2d 55, 58-59 (Mo.App.1991).

Appellant has briefed five points, but essentially raises four issues. These issues are as follows: 1) whether substantial evidence supported the school board’s findings of Nevels’ incompetency, inefficiency and insubordination; 2) whether the school board complied with the “meet and confer” statutory requirement in good faith; 3) whether the school board failed to use statutorily required performance — based evaluations to determine Nevels’ professional competency; and 4) whether the school board relied on matters outside the scope of the warning and charge letters in its decision. We address each issue in turn.

At the outset Nevels claims that the school board’s finding of his incompetency, inefficiency and insubordination is not supported by competent and substantial evidence; is arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable; is an abuse of discretion; and is in excess of statutory authority.

We must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the school board’s decision, together with all reasonable inferences where supported. Cochran, 815 S.W.2d at 58-59. If evidence before an administrative body would warrant either of two opposed findings, we are bound by the administrative determination and it is irrelevant that there is evidence to support a contrary finding. Id. at 59. We may not substitute our judgment of the evidence. Id. at 58-59.

Raymond Nevels received his bachelor of science degree in health, recreation, and physical education and dance in 1963. He later obtained a master’s degree in physical education, recreation and dance and a second master’s degree in education for adult education administration. He began his teaching career at a high school in Arkansas where he was athletic director, head of the physical education department, coach for basketball, football and track, and a biology teacher. In 1966 he began teaching physical education for kindergarten through sixth grade in the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District. Some twenty years later, in January 1986, the school board superintendent transferred him to Valley School in the same school district to teach physical education to seventh and eighth graders.

Mark Engelhardt became principal of Valley School the following October. Apparently the personalities of principal and teacher conflicted from the outset with differing philosophies concerning a physical education program. Principal immediately *901 directed written memos to Nevels calling attention to various problems he perceived.

The first formal evaluation of Nevels’ performance by the principal occurred in February 1988, in accordance with school district guidelines recommending summa-tive evaluations be performed at least once every three years. Nevels’ last review had been in February 1985, before he had been transferred to Valley School. In the 1988 review, principal rated Nevels as meeting performance expectations in all categories; however, principal expressly noted concerns, including misuse of the pay telephone located outside Nevels’ office near the gymnasium. Nevels, dissatisfied with the report, asked for a re-evaluation. Principal again observed Nevels’ classroom and then prepared a second summative evaluation report in June 1988. Like the February evaluation, the June report reflected Nevels met performance expectations, but also listed several concerns, including Nev-els’ use of the pay telephone and his relationships with parents. Nevels refused to sign the report as acknowledgment that the information had been discussed with him.

Following the June 1988 report, the principal issued three job target sheets to Nev-els, one in November 1988, and two in late February 1989. Each of these targeted areas of weakness for Nevels to concentrate on for improvement. The first job target noted Nevels’ unauthorized use of the pay telephone and lack of supervision of his students. Nevels’ own notes reflect that when the principal told him not to answer the phone at all, he responded that he would answer the phone every time it rang. The second target dwelt on inappropriate comments, such as calling students “fat.” Nevels responded that “he always told the truth, and if a child was fat, that he, being a truthful man, would call fat, fat.” The third target sheet focused on selection of appropriate subject matter and on employment of a variety of teaching techniques and activities to maximize student involvement.

Principal also observed Nevels’ classroom in late February 1989 and expressed his dissatisfaction over regimented, militaristic methods Nevels utilized. Apparently, no further reports, target sheets or class observations were conducted during the remainder of the school term.

The next notice concerning Nevels’ performance occurred the following school year when he received a warning letter on February 26, 1990. The warning letter itemized twenty-one incidents constituting incompetency and inefficiency and eight episodes of insubordination. This letter, in accordance with the statutory requirements of section 168.116, further warned that these complaints, if not remedied, could result in the filing of formal charges against Nevels for termination of his employment. The letter from the superintendent also notified Nevels that the superintendent, principal and Dr. Joyce Espíritu, a health and physical education coordinator from another school district, would meet with teacher to resolve the problems. The board had hired Dr. Espíritu as an outside expert to avoid conflict because of the apparent personality clash between the principal and Nevels. The day the warning letter issued, the superintendent met with Nevels to explain it to him. Shortly thereafter, the superintendent also met with Nevels and Dr. Espíritu. After this meeting, the three decided that Dr. Espíritu would observe Nevels’ classroom weekly during the next thirty day period. Dr. Espíritu observed Nevels’ classes on five different occasions, prepared written summaries and discussed her comments and recommendations with him.

The principal and superintendent also met with Nevels on March 1, 1990, to review the warning letter and to offer suggestions. The principal also sat in Nevels’ classroom on seven different occasions and met later with him on three occasions to discuss his observations.

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Bluebook (online)
822 S.W.2d 898, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1717, 1991 WL 238271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nevels-v-board-of-education-moctapp-1991.