Rambo v. Webster Parish School Bd.

745 So. 2d 770, 1999 WL 974538
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 27, 1999
Docket32,447-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 745 So. 2d 770 (Rambo v. Webster Parish School Bd.) 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
Rambo v. Webster Parish School Bd., 745 So. 2d 770, 1999 WL 974538 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

745 So.2d 770 (1999)

Alberta Bennett RAMBO, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
WEBSTER PARISH SCHOOL BOARD and Otis Thomas, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 32,447-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 27, 1999.
Rehearing Denied December 2, 1999.
Writ Denied February 18, 2000.

*771 Maldrick Bright, Wolfe, Begoun & Pick by Mark R. Wolfe, Michael J. Begoun, Daniel Pick, New Orleans, Counsel for Appellants.

Cook, Yancy, King & Galloway by Kenneth Mascagni, Shreveport, Charles McConnell, Benton, Counsel for Appellees.

Before BROWN, WILLIAMS and KOSTELKA, JJ.

BROWN, J.,

D.C.'s paternal grandmother/guardian, Alberta Rambo, individually and on behalf of her grandson, filed suit against the Webster Parish School Board, its insurer, Scottsdale Insurance Company, Otis Thomas and Faye Newsom, the principal of Minden High School, seeking damages arising out of D.C.'s sexual assault by a school janitor. Plaintiffs urged two theories of recovery against the school board and the principal: negligent supervision and vicarious liability for the custodian's intentional acts. The trial court found in favor of defendants. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural Background

In October 1993, eight-year-old D.C. was a student at Richardson Elementary School in Minden, Louisiana. To get to school each morning, D.C. and 15-20 other elementary students, whose homes were near Minden High School, would board a bus at the high school. The bus left from the high school at approximately 7:10 a.m. each day to take the children to the elementary school. The youngsters had been told on several occasions that they should arrive at the high school no earlier than *772 7:00 a.m. to board the bus. In addition to the elementary students, two or three parents usually waited at the high school for the bus's arrival.

During the time period at issue, Faye Newsom was the principal at Minden High School, Marvin Jones was the assistant principal and Mr. Riggs was a high school teacher. In accordance with a duty schedule established by Principal Newsom, Asst. Principal Jones would arrive at the high school at 6:30 a.m., Mr. Riggs would arrive at 6:45 a.m. and the principal herself would arrive at 7:00 a.m.

During this same period of time, Otis G. Thomas was a janitor at Minden High School. Thomas had been employed by the Webster Parish School Board for approximately 18-20 years and had an excellent record of service prior to the incident involved in this litigation. On October 25, 1993, Thomas entered a plea of guilty to indecent behavior with a juvenile and was given a five-year hard labor sentence. At the guilty plea hearing, Thomas admitted to inappropriate contact between himself and D.C. This contact occurred sometime during the 1993 school year between the hours of 6:45 a.m. and 7:10 a.m. in a room at the high school commonly referred to as the janitor's washroom. The record does not indicate the number of times that this improper contact occurred, nor is it clear what acts were involved; at the very least, there was inappropriate touching and fondling.

Bench trial was held on July 20-22, 1998 and the matter was taken under advisement. On February 8, 1999, in accordance with its written reasons of October 15, 1998, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of defendants dismissing plaintiffs' claims.[1] Plaintiffs have appealed.

Discussion

Liability for Negligent Supervision

A school board, through its agents and teachers, has a duty to adequately supervise students and thereby protect them from injury. Coleman v. Joyner, 593 So.2d 451 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1992), writ denied, 595 So.2d 657 (La. 1992). This duty to supervise, however, does not make the school board the insurer of the safety of school children. Adams v. Caddo Parish School Board, 25,370 (La. App.2d Cir.01/19/94), 631 So.2d 70, writ denied, 94-0684 (La.04/29/94), 637 So.2d 466; Hunter v. Caddo Parish School Board, 627 So.2d 772 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1993); Coleman, supra. Furthermore, constant supervision of all students is not possible, nor is it required, for educators to discharge their duty to provide reasonable supervision. Adams, supra; Collins v. Bossier Parish School Board, 480 So.2d 846 (La.App. 2d Cir.1985), writ denied, 481 So.2d 1350 (La.1986); Henix v. George, 465 So.2d 906 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1985).

School boards are required to exercise and maintain only the supervision that is expected of a reasonable person under the circumstances of the particular case. As noted by this court in Coleman, supra, they are not required to protect against risks that are unforeseeable. See also Turner v. Caddo Parish School Board, 252 La. 810, 214 So.2d 153 (1968); Henix, supra. While there is generally no duty to supervise the school grounds after school hours or during the summer, the school must provide supervision for children who are waiting on the grounds for the school bus. Hickingbottom v. Orleans Parish School Board, 623 So.2d 1363 (La. App. 4th Cir.1993), writ denied, 629 So.2d 1173 (La.1993); Nash v. Rapides Parish School Board, 188 So.2d 508 (La.App. 3d Cir.1966).

In the instant case, the trial court found that the supervision provided was adequate. Specifically, the court found that the presence on campus of three experienced *773 educators (together with two or three parents who waited with their children) was reasonable supervision. We will examine the evidence to determine whether this conclusion is factually supported by the record.

Faye Newsom, who at the time of trial had retired from a long career of employment with the Webster Parish School Board, was the principal at Minden High School at the time of this incident. In accordance with applicable School Board policies and procedures, the schedule established by Principal Newsom for early morning duty entailed the arrival of Asst. Principal Jones at 6:30 a.m. (30 minutes before the first elementary student was to arrive on campus), Mr. Riggs at 6:45 a.m. and Principal Newsom herself at 7:00 a.m. Their duty included overseeing or supervising the bus stop area. Ms. Newsom's office was at the front of the building near the entrance by the bus stop. Mr. Jones' office provided a view of the bus stop area. Mr. Riggs' classroom was at the end of the hall near the cafeteria.

At 7:00 a.m., the only students on the high school campus were the 15-20 children waiting for the bus to take them to Richardson Elementary and other area schools. Ms. Newsom testified that the bus usually arrived at 7:10 a.m. to pick up the children. It was Minden High School policy that the youngsters were not to arrive on the high school campus until 7:00 a.m. and they were not to enter the buildings on campus unless the temperature was below freezing. When asked whether she ever saw D.C. or other children inside the high school, Ms. Newsom stated that she did not because she was outside. As noted above, Mr. Jones' office windows provided a view of the area in front of the bus stop and he was able to observe students coming up the sidewalk to the waiting area.

A school board has a duty to provide reasonable supervision commensurate with the age of the children and the attendant circumstances. Hickingbottom, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
745 So. 2d 770, 1999 WL 974538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rambo-v-webster-parish-school-bd-lactapp-1999.