Nickerson v. Webster Parish School Board

152 So. 3d 247, 39 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 772, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2785, 2014 WL 6464519
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 19, 2014
DocketNo. 49,435-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 152 So. 3d 247 (Nickerson v. Webster 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
Nickerson v. Webster Parish School Board, 152 So. 3d 247, 39 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 772, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2785, 2014 WL 6464519 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

PITMAN, J.

1 plaintiff Jane S. Nickerson appeals the district court’s granting of a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant Webster Parish School Board (“School Board”). For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

In March 2008, Mrs. Nickerson, a tenured teacher at Shongaloo High School who taught sixth- and seventh-grade students, met with Webster Parish Superintendent Wayne Williams regarding deficiencies in her teaching practices and classroom management skills. Supt. Williams gave Mrs. Nickerson the option to retire or to have formal tenure charges brought against her. On March 20, 2008, Mrs. Nickerson submitted a handwritten letter stating that she “planfned] to retire on June 10, .2008.” Mrs. Nickerson was placed on paid administrative leave for the remainder of the school year.1 On June 6, 2008, Mrs. Nickerson wrote a letter to Supt. Williams stating that she no longer intended to retire and requesting that she have the opportunity to continue teaching. As a result, Supt. Williams initiated a hearing process by recommending to the School Board that formal tenure charges be brought against Mrs. Nickerson. The School Board brought the following charges: Charge 1: Incompetency; Charge 2: Willful Neglect of Duty; [249]*249Charge 3: Willful Neglect of Duty; Charge 4: Willful Neglect of Duty and Incompetency; and Charge 5: Willful Neglect of Duty. The School Board scheduled a tenure hearing, and Supt. Williams | ¡notified Mrs. Nickerson of this hearing and provided her with a written copy of the charges against her.

At the October 20, 2008 tenure hearing, the School Board heard testimony from numerous witnesses and reviewed copious documentary evidence. At the conclusion of the hearing, the School Board found Mrs. Nickerson guilty of Charges 1, 2, 3 and 4 (incompeteney only). At the recommendation of Supt. Williams, the School Board terminated her employment by a unanimous vote of nine to zero.

On August 31, 2009, Mrs. Nickerson filed a petition alleging that her discharge from her teaching position violated La. R.S. 17:443, the Louisiana Teacher Tenure Law.2 She stated that she was entitled to be reinstated with full pay for any loss of time or salary she sustained by reasons of the action of the School Board. Mrs. Nickerson argued that the actions of the School Board were arbitrary, capricious and/or an abuse of discretion and that her dismissal should be reversed.

On October 7, 2010, the School Board filed an answer and stated that Mrs. Nick-erson was afforded all procedural protections to which she was entitled by La. R.S. 17:443. The School Board also noted that Mrs. Nickerson resigned from her position and that she was terminated by a unanimous vote of the School Board. The School Board stated that the | ¡¡matter before the district court was to be an appeal from an administrative hearing and not a trial de novo.

On August 19, 2011, the School Board filed a motion for summary judgment. In support of this motion, it submitted several exhibits, including Mrs. Nickerson’s retirement letter, the School Board’s policy regarding resignation of employees, correspondence from Supt. Williams regarding Mrs. Nickerson’s placement on paid leave, correspondence from the School Board to Mrs. Nickerson regarding the charges against her and a photograph of prescription medication left unsecured on Mrs. Nickerson’s desk. In a memorandum in support of the motion for summary judgment, the School Board stated that the district court was to review the actions of the School Board, specifically whether the statutory formalities were complied with and whether the School Board’s findings were supported by substantial evidence. It argued that a review of its decision was unnecessary because Mrs. Nickerson resigned from her teaching position and could not rescind her resignation. The School Board explained that, after Mrs. Nickerson attempted to rescind her resignation, it initiated the hearing process out of an abundance of caution. The School Board stated that it fully complied with all of the statutory requirements of La. R.S. 17:443 and that its decision was based on substantial evidence and was not arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion.

[250]*250On November 21, 2011, Mrs. Nickerson filed a memorandum in opposition to the motion for summary judgment. She stated that it was improper for the district court to weigh the affidavits and other evidence |4submitted in support or opposition of a motion for summary judgment. In an affidavit, Mrs. Nickerson gave her account of the tenure hearing, stating that it lasted from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. She noted her participation in an intensive assistance program and defended her complained-of actions.

On December 12, 2013, the district court filed an opinion granting the School Board’s motion for summary judgment. The district court stated that the School Board properly followed the procedures set forth in La. R.S. 17:443. The court noted that the School Board presented the necessary paperwork and sufficient evidence to prove that Mrs. Nickerson had been neglectful and deficient in her teaching practices. The district court further found that Mrs. Nickerson failed to prove that the School Board did not comply with proper procedure or present sufficient evidence for her termination. The court also stated that Mrs. Nickerson resigned from her position and that her resignation was accepted by the School Board.

On February 3, 2014’, the trial court filed a judgment granting the School Board’s motion for summary judgment and dismissing the suit at Mrs. Nickerson’s cost.

Mrs. Nickerson appeals.

DISCUSSION

Mrs. Nickerson argues that the district court erred, as a matter of law, in granting the School Board’s motion for summary judgment and dismissing her action with prejudice at her cost. Specifically, she contends that the district court committed the following errors:

1. Affirming a discharge that was in violation of La. R.S. 17:443.
_|2. By affirming a discharge where plaintiff was not provided with “a written statement of recommendation of removal or discipline, which included the exact reasons, offenses, or instances upon which the recommendation was based.”
3. Plaintiff was not “ordered removed from office or disciplined by the board.”
4. By affirming the discharge when the notification in this matter did not indicate any discipline of any nature reference charge 5.
5. By affirming a discharge when the letter dated October 23, 2008, did not correspond with the charges in this matter.
6. By affirming the discharge where defendant school board did not prove the validity of any of the charges in question.

Mrs. Nickerson claims that the district court improperly weighed affidavits and other evidence in this case. She argues that the School Board clearly abused its discretion in terminating her employment. Regarding her letter stating her intent to retire, she differentiates between resigning and planning to resign and suggests that a plan to resign cannot be accepted.

The School Board argues that the district court did not err in granting its motion for summary judgment, that it did not abuse its discretion and that it presented sufficient evidence to support its decision to terminate Mrs. Nickerson’s employment.

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Bluebook (online)
152 So. 3d 247, 39 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 772, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2785, 2014 WL 6464519, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nickerson-v-webster-parish-school-board-lactapp-2014.