Schmidt v. Board of Education

712 S.W.2d 45, 33 Educ. L. Rep. 918, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4256
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 17, 1986
DocketNo. WD 37669
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 712 S.W.2d 45 (Schmidt 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
Schmidt v. Board of Education, 712 S.W.2d 45, 33 Educ. L. Rep. 918, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4256 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

DIXON, Judge.

Richard Schmidt and Craig Taylor appeal from the determination by the Board of Education of Raytown Consolidated School District No. 2 that they should be discharged as teachers because of immoral conduct.

The issue is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the Board of Education’s determination.

Before stating the relevant facts, the scope of review should be stated and the teachers’ misapprehension of this court’s function corrected. The teachers contend that the decision of the Board of Education is in violation of § 536.140.2(3), (6), (7), RSMo 1978, which reads in relevant part as follows:

2. The inquiry may extend to a determination of whether the action of the agency
[[Image here]]
(3) Is unsupported by competent and substantial evidence upon the whole record;
[[Image here]]
(6) Is arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable;
(7) Involves an abuse of discretion.

During oral argument and to some extent in the briefs, the teachers have focused on the factual determination by the Board. The teachers strongly urge that the Board decision is wrong upon the evidence presented. It is not for this court to determine whether these teachers should or should not be terminated. This court does not weigh the evidence and decide the merits of the case. The decision whether to terminate the teachers and the weighing of the evidence on that issue are committed to the Board of Education. The function of this court on a factual review is to determine whether there is substantial competent evidence in the record to support the decision of the Board of Education. Perez v. Webb, 533 S.W.2d 650, 654 (Mo.App.1976); Kimble v. Worth County R-III Board of Education, 669 S.W.2d 949, 953 (Mo.App.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 105 S.Ct. 331, 83 L.Ed.2d 268 (1984); Osage Outdoor Advertising, Inc. v. State Highway Commission, 687 S.W.2d 566, 568 (Mo.App.1984).

The facts in this case are largely drawn from the teachers’ recital of the events to Dr. Paul R. Graff, Principal of Raytown High School. Dr. Graff was the primary witness for the Board at the hearing. The two teachers involved taught at Raytown High School in the Consolidated School District No. 2, Raytown, Missouri, and served as coaches for the boys’ wrestling team. Richard Schmidt was the head coach and Craig Taylor was his assistant. The teachers took six high school students to the State Wrestling Meet in Columbia, Missouri. Four of these boys competed in the tournament and all six of the boys stayed at a motel in Columbia under the teachers’ authority.

Four female students and one adult female chaperone, the mother of one of the students, were also present in Columbia for the State Wrestling Meet. The female students were cheerleaders for the wrestling team during the year, but were not officially acting as cheerleaders at the tournament.

After a late dinner on the evening of February 8, 1985, the teachers and the female chaperone of the cheerleaders went to a lounge in the motel for a drink, leaving the wrestlers and cheerleaders unsupervised in two adjoining motel rooms. During the time the teachers were absent from the rooms, another instructor reported that [47]*47he had been in the rooms and found nothing amiss. The female students were staying at another motel west of Columbia. Later in the evening, the teachers and the female chaperone left the motel and went to another area of Columbia to attend a private party where they all drank alcoholic beverages. They checked on the students before leaving. At some point during the time that the students were unsupervised, four members of the wrestling team left the motel room and traveled by automobile to another motel in the Columbia area to visit the parents of one of the students. They returned some time later and rejoined the other students, male and female, at the motel. The teachers were, of course, unaware of the excursion.

At some time while the students were in the adjoining rooms, third parties brought beer into one of the motel rooms and consumed a portion of the beer. The students did not drink any of the beer and the teachers, one of whom was in the adjoining room, were unaware of the incident.

The teachers and female chaperone returned to the motel rooms at approximately 1:30 a.m. When they were unable to arouse the sleeping cheerleaders, a decision was made by the teachers to allow the female chaperone and the female students under her supervision to continue to sleep in the motel rooms with the teachers and the male students. The teachers advanced evidence to show that that decision was made because the hour was late, the weather was bad, the female chaperone was not familiar with the vehicle she was driving and she had been drinking. After this decision was made, Schmidt and the female chaperone proceeded to occupy one of the beds in one of the motel rooms while Taylor and one of the female students occupied the other bed in that same room. Also in that same room were two members of the wrestling team and one other female student, all of whom slept on the floor. The remaining students apparently slept in the other motel room without supervision. No one was unclothed and there is no evidence of sexual misconduct. No effort was made by the teachers to segregate the sexes into separate motel rooms even though two rooms were available for the group. Schmidt was married while Taylor was single.

The next day, February 9th, while still in Columbia, it was agreed by the students, female chaperone, and the teachers not to discuss the activities of the previous evening with anyone, including parents or the administrators of the School District.

Dr. Graff, the immediate superior of the teachers, initially learned of the incident on March 8, 1985, a month after the events. Dr. Graff met with Schmidt on the following day, March 9,1985, and Schmidt gave a statement to Dr. Graff at that time which essentially consisted of the facts just related. Dr. Graff interviewed Taylor on March 10, 1985. Taylor also made a statement which conformed to the facts just related. After some further investigation, Dr. Graff determined that the actions of the teachers were, in fact, immoral in character rendering them unfit to teach in the Raytown schools, and recommended to Dr. Robert B. Atkin, Superintendent of Schools, that Schmidt and Taylor be terminated as teachers in the Raytown School District.

On March 19, 1985, after a meeting of the Board, a letter was sent to each of the teachers informing them that they were being suspended with pay and benefits and indicating that the Superintendent had filed charges against them that might result in their termination as teachers with the School District. Also on that day, statements of charges were sent to Schmidt and Taylor.

At the time of the hearing, a report to Dr. Atkin from Dr. Graff dated March 14, 1985, which outlined the circumstances of Dr. Graffs investigation of the incident and his recommendation of termination, was received into evidence. A copy of the policy of the Board of Education of Consolidated School District No.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Youngman v. Doerhoff
890 S.W.2d 330 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1994)
Gerig v. Board of Education of Central School District, R-III
841 S.W.2d 731 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1992)
Cochran v. Board of Education
815 S.W.2d 55 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1991)
Shepard v. South Harrison R-II School District
718 S.W.2d 195 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
712 S.W.2d 45, 33 Educ. L. Rep. 918, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4256, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schmidt-v-board-of-education-moctapp-1986.