Parrish v. Moss

200 Misc. 375, 106 N.Y.S.2d 577, 1951 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2124
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJune 18, 1951
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 200 Misc. 375 (Parrish v. Moss) 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
Parrish v. Moss, 200 Misc. 375, 106 N.Y.S.2d 577, 1951 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2124 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1951).

Opinion

Kleinfeld, J.

Petitioners seek an order directing the board of education of the city of New York to annul the resolutions adopted by the said board at a special meeting on May 24, 1951, and for a further order directing the superintendent of schools to refrain from carrying out or enforcing such resolutions.

On May 18, 1951, a written notice was sent to the members of the board of education informing them of a special meeting to be held on May 24,1951, “ for the purpose of considering the adoption of new salary schedules for teachers, et al. and related matters ”. At such meeting the board approved two resolutions which provided for the adoption of “ Regulations Submitted by the Superintendent of Schools ” and also the suspension of any sections of the by-laws of the board of education which were inconsistent with the regulations as adopted. At its regular meeting on May 31, 1951, the board of education pursuant to section 9 of the by-laws, by unanimous vote of eight members of the board present, added to the calendar Item “ 100 ” which provided for readoption by the board of the “ Regulations Submitted by the Superintendent of Schools.” After this item was added to the calendar, the board, by a seven to zero vote, with one of the board members abstaining from voting, adopted the resolutions which provide as follows:

SUBJECT: READOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS GOVERNING SERVICE OF TEACHERS OUTSIDE OF REGULAR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, ETC.
The Board of Education at the adjourned special meeting on May 24, 1951, adopted the following resolutions submitted by the superintendent of schools:
Resolved, That the following regulations submitted by the superintendent of schools and governing service of teachers outside of regular classroom instruction are hereby approved; and
Resolved, That any inconsistent provisions of the by-laws be, and they are hereby, suspended:
REGULATIONS SUBMITTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
1. Every teacher is required to give service outside of regular classroom instruction in the performance of functions which are the essential duties of every teacher.
2. There is an area of teacher service which is important to the well-rounded educational program of the students, but in which teachers participate in varied ways according to their interests, capabilities and school programs. The prin[378]*378eipal has the responsibility and duty to see to it that these activities are carried on. The principal may assign a teacher to reasonable amounts of such service beyond the specified hours of classroom instruction, and the teacher is required to render such service.
3. In the assignment of teachers to these activities, principals are directed to see to it that insofar as is practicable, such assignments are equitably distributed.
4. Principals are directed to keep records of all assignments and service under Regulation 2, including the type of service, date or dates, and approximate time spent beyond the regular hours of classroom instruction. Such records should be reported at the end of each school year to the associate superintendent in charge of a division with a copy to the assistant superintendent. Each teacher is to be given a copy of the report with respect to her own services. Blanks will be provided for such school and individual reports.
5. Questions as to the interpretation of the above rules and regulations should be referred by principals and teachers to the assistant superintendent for consideration.
Since this special meeting of May 24, 1951, some questions have arisen as to the procedural steps followed in adopting these resolutions. In order to avoid any delay in putting into effect the regulations heretofore adopted, the following resolutions are submitted for amendment and readoption:
Resolved, That the Board of Education hereby amends and readopts the resolutions set forth above; and be it further
Resolved, That sections 90 and 91 of the by-laws to the extent that they may be inconsistent with the foregoing resolutions, as to the time necessary to carry out these regulations or in any other respect, are hereby suspended.

Petitioners argue, first, that the resolutions in question were illegally adopted by the board at its meeting on May 24, 1951, in that neither the nature nor substance of the resolutions was stated in the notice of the meeting as required by section 4 of the board’s by-laws; second, that the resolutions of May 31, 1951, were approved in violation of section 127 of the by-laws, and third, that the regulations are invalid in that they unlawfully delegate to the individual principals of the schools the power to fix the duties and hours of the teachers without providing for adequate protection of the teachers.

As to petitioners’ first contention, when the board of education at its regular meeting on May 31, 1951, by the unanimous consent of the eight members present, voted to add to the calendar the matter of the regulations submitted by the superintendent of schools and then, by a vote of seven to zero, readopted these regulations, the board cured any procedural defects that may have existed in the resolutions adopted on May 24, 1951. In adding the item with respect to the aforementioned regulations to the calendar of May 31, the board followed the procedure outlined in section 9 of the by-laws, which provides that an item not calendared for a regular meeting may be considered [379]*379by the board by unanimous consent. Section 9 reads: “ On the Monday previous to each regular meeting, the Secretary shall prepare a calendar for the meeting and no items shall be considered that are not calendared, except upon the recommendation of the President or the chairman of the appropriate committee and by unanimous consent.”

The purport of section 9 seems clear when we examine section 4 of the by-laws which states that no item which is not mentioned in the written notice of a special meeting may be considered except upon consent of ‘ ‘ all the members of the Board. ’ ’ No such language is used in section 9 and, consequently, when the latter section speaks of “ unanimous consent ” it must mean unanimous consent of those present at a regular meeting if there is a quorum present.

As pointed out, petitioners also urge that the board did not comply with section 127 of the by-laws in adopting the May 31 resolutions.

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Bluebook (online)
200 Misc. 375, 106 N.Y.S.2d 577, 1951 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parrish-v-moss-nysupct-1951.