Savage Education Ass'n v. Trustees of Richland County Elementary District 7

692 P.2d 1237, 214 Mont. 289, 1984 Mont. LEXIS 1136
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 28, 1984
Docket84-294
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 692 P.2d 1237 (Savage Education Ass'n v. Trustees of Richland County Elementary District 7) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Savage Education Ass'n v. Trustees of Richland County Elementary District 7, 692 P.2d 1237, 214 Mont. 289, 1984 Mont. LEXIS 1136 (Mo. 1984).

Opinions

MR. JUSTICE SHEEHY

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

This is an appeal from an order of the Seventh Judicial District, Richland County by the Trustees of Richland County Elementary District No. 7 and High School District No. 2. The order denied the Trustees’ motion to modify, vacate or correct an arbitration award. The order of the District Court is affirmed.

This action has had a long procedural history; this is the second appeal to this Court by the parties involved in this dispute. In March 1979, Dorothy Tone and Connie Undem, both nontenured teachers in Savage, Montana, were notified that their contracts were not being renewed. Both women filed grievances as provided in their collective bargaining agreement. The Trustees held a hearing on June 29, 1979, denied the grievances, and refused to submit them to arbitration.

The Savage Education Association (the Association) filed a complaint charging unfair labor practices with the Montana Board of Personnel Appeals claiming the Trustees were violating section 39-31-401(5), MCA, by refusing to bargain in good faith. The hearing examiner recommended the Trustees implement the arbitration proceedings to resolve the grievance. The Trustees appealed to the Board of Personnel Appeals.

The Board determined that the collective bargaining agreement provided for arbitration of grievances. A grievance between the Association and the Trustees existed concerning whether the procedure for terminating nontenured [292]*292teachers contained in the collective bargaining agreement had been followed. The Board ordered arbitration to determine whether the termination procedure was followed in the case of Undem and Tone.

The Trustees appealed to the District Court which reversed the Board of Personnel Appeal’s order to arbitrate. The Association appealed to this Court. In Savage v. Savage (Mont. 1982), [199 Mont. 39,] 647 P.2d 833, 39 St.Rep. 1192, (Savage I), we reversed the District Court and reinstated the decision of Board of Personnel Appeals. We held that the issue of whether the grievance procedure had been followed was a matter for arbitration and we ordered the parties to arbitrate. The arbitrator correctly determined the question before him was whether the Trustees complied with the procedural requirements of Article XIII of the collective bargaining agreement entitled, Employment Status of Teachers. The article requires the Trustees to evaluate the teachers and prepare written findings. Evaluators must also point out specific weaknesses in the teachers’ performance and assist them in overcoming such deficiencies. The article also requires that notice of termination or nonrenewal, be given to a nontenured teacher before April 15.

The arbitrator found that the Trustees failed to comply with the terms of Article XIII by neglecting to evaluate Ms. Tone and notify her of any perceived deficiencies in her teaching performance. The arbitrator also found that the Trustees violated Article XIII section (1)(1) of the agreement by not taking remedial steps to help teacher Undem as required by Article XII of the agreement. The arbitrator determined the remedy for these contract violations was to offer full reinstatement of Connie Undem and Dorothy Tone to their former or comparable positions, together with back pay less all interim earnings from the effective date of termination to the date of reinstatement or refusal of reinstatement and the clearing of the grievants’ official personnel files at the School District of notices of termination. The Trustees refused to comply with the arbitrator’s find[293]*293ings. When respondents sought to enforce the arbitrator’s award in District Court, the Trustees moved to modify and vacate the award. The motion was denied and the Trustees appealed.

The Trustees contend that the arbitrator exceeded his authority under the contract; that the School District lacked the statutory and constitutional authority to waive certain rights through negotiation and arbitration; that the arbitrator erred in construing the contract; and that the arbitrator exceeded his power in shaping the above remedy. We find the Trustees’ arguments to be without merit and consequently affirm the District Court.

In Savage I, we held that under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the question of whether or not the Trustees had complied with procedural requirements in Article XIII was subject to arbitration. The agreement called for binding arbitration after exhaustion of grievance procedures. Failure to submit to arbitration was an unfair labor practice as defined in section 39-31-401, MCA.

The arbitrator followed the directive of this Court in Savage I. For the Trustees to argue now that they did not agree to arbitrate this issue and that they are powerless to do so is an attempt to raise issues foreclosed by Savage I.

The Trustees argue that section 20-3-324, MCA, and section 39-31-303, MCA, give them sole direction in hiring and firing teachers.

“Section 20-3-324, MCA. Powers and duties. As prescribed elsewhere in this title, the trustees of each district shall have the power and it shall be their duty to perform the following duties or acts:
“(1) employ or dismiss a teacher ... as the board may deem necessary, accepting or rejecting such recommendation as the trustees shall in their sole discretion determine, in accordance with the provisions of Tile 20, Chapter 4;”
“Section 39-31-303, MCA. Management rights of public employers. Public employees and their representatives shall [294]*294recognize the prerogatives of public employers to operate and manage their affairs in such areas as, but not limited to:
“(2) hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees;

We recognize the broad managerial power conferred on the School District by statute.

Montana law specifically gives public employees the right to bargain collectively. Section 39-31-201, MCA. Statutes which govern the bargaining process between public employers and their employees are found in Chapter 31, Part 3 of Title 39 of the Montana Code Annotated. Included in this Part is section 39-31-303, MCA, which sets forth the management rights of public employers including the right to hire and fire. However, section 39-31-305, MCA, imposes a duty upon public employers to bargain collectively in good faith with its employees:

“Section 39-31-305. Duty to bargain collectively good faith.
“(1) The public employer and the exclusive representative, through appropriate officials or their representatives, shall have the authority and the duty to bargain collectively. This duty extends to the obligation to bargain collectively in good faith as set forth in subsection (2) of this section.
“(2) For the purpose of this chapter, to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual obligations of the public employer or his designated representatives and the representatives of the exclusive representative to meet at reasonable times and negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, fringe benefits, and other conditions of employment

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Bluebook (online)
692 P.2d 1237, 214 Mont. 289, 1984 Mont. LEXIS 1136, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/savage-education-assn-v-trustees-of-richland-county-elementary-district-7-mont-1984.