Spears v. Beauregard Parish School Board

732 So. 2d 671, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 1604, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 878, 1999 WL 182344
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 31, 1999
DocketNo. 98-1604
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 732 So. 2d 671 (Spears v. Beauregard 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
Spears v. Beauregard Parish School Board, 732 So. 2d 671, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 1604, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 878, 1999 WL 182344 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

JjPICKETT, Judge.

The Plaintiff, L.D. Spears, Jr., appeals the trial court’s declaratory judgment decreeing that the Defendant, the Beauregard Parish School Board, removed his status as a tenured principal, but allowed him to maintain his status as a tenured teacher. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

This appeal arises from a suit for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief brought by the Plaintiff, L.D. Spears, Jr., against the Defendant, the Beauregard Parish School Board (the Board). Mr. Spears was originally hired as a teacher by the Board, and he subsequently received tenure as a teacher. Thereafter, he was | {¡promoted to assistant principal, where he [672]*672also obtained tenure after serving in the position for more than three years. On July 1, 1985, Mr. Spears was promoted to the position of principal of East Beauregard School. He gained tenure as principal after serving in the position for more than three years.

On January 12-18, 1998, the Board conducted a tenure hearing concerning Mr. Spears’ status. The Board concluded that Superintendent Dr. F. Gary Brewer met his burden of proof on four of seven charges brought against Mr. Spears. The Board further concluded that the findings of fact supported a charge of dishonesty and decided that disciplinary action should be taken against Mr. Spears. Superintendent Brewer recommended that the Board relieve Mr. Spears of his principal tenure and his teacher tenure. The Board unanimously rejected this recommendation. Subsequently, the Board took the following actions: (1) placed Mr. Spears on administrative leave from January 18, 1998, through August 3, 1998, with full principal’s pay; (2) authorized Superintendent Brewer to offer Mr. Spears a teaching position at the teacher’s salary schedule at any school besides East Beauregard School effective August 4, 1998; (3) authorized Superintendent Brewer to designate an acting principal effective January 18, 1998; and (4) authorized Superintendent Brewer to begin advertising for a principal at East Beauregard School effective August 4, 1998.

On February 23, 1998, Mr. Spears filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the Board. The Board filed a declinatory exception of lis pendens, and dilatory exceptions of unauthorized use of a summary proceeding, no cause of action and vagueness on April 7, 1998. The trial court granted the exception of no cause of action as it related to the individual school board members, found the exception of vagueness moot and denied the other exceptions on June 17, 1998, prior |3to the beginning of the hearing on the matter. Following the hearing, on July 31, 1998, the trial court issued written reasons, finding “that the Board elected [in the language of LSA-R.S. 17:443(B) ] remove Mr. Spears from his office as principal of East Beauregard, but not remove him as a permanent teacher in the Beauregard Parish School system.” The trial court further denied Mr. Spears’ request for an injunction. An amendment to the written reasons was filed on August 5, 1998, and a judgment reflecting the written reasons was subsequently filed on August 7, 1998. Mr. Spears now appeals.

OPINION

In his appeal, Mr. Spears alleges that “[t]he trial court erred in declaring that the Board remove[d] Mr. Spears from his position as tenured principal and demoted him to the position of a classroom teacher with concomitant teacher’s pay in accordance with [La.]R.S. 17:443.” Mr. Spears specifically argues that the Board did not remove him from his position as principal of East Beauregard School.

Declaratory Judgment

La.Code Civ.P. art. 1871 provides:

Courts of record within their respective jurisdictions may declare rights, status, and other legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed. No action or proceeding shall be open to objection on the ground that a declaratory judgment or decree is prayed for; and the existence of another adequate remedy does not preclude a judgment for declaratory relief in cases where it is appropriate. The declaration shall have the force and effect of a final judgment or decree.

We have previously discussed the applicability of declaratory judgments in Liberto v. Rapides Parish Police Jury, 95-456, p. 6-7 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/2/95); 667 So.2d 552, 555-556 (citations omitted):

The trial court may refuse to render a declaratory judgment if the judgment would not end the uncertainty or controversy giving rise to the proceeding. [673]*673When a declaratory judgment would terminate the uncertainty or controversy, the trial court must render such judgment. _J:iThe trial judge may choose or refuse to render a declaratory judgment which would not end the uncertainty. The trial court is vested with wide discretion in deciding whether to give or refuse declaratory relief ...
Appellate courts, as well as the trial court, are granted broad discretionary power to determine whether declaratory relief may be appropriate in a particular suit. On appeal, the scope of our appellate review is a determination of whether or not the trial judge abused his discretion by granting or refusing to render a declaratory judgment.

Teacher Tenure Law

La.R.S. 17:443, which examines the procedure for the removal of teachers, provides:

A. A permanent teacher shall not be removed from office except upon written and signed charges of willful neglect of duty, or incompetency or dishonesty, or of being a member of or contributing to any group, organization, movement or corporation that is by law or injunction prohibited from operating in the state of Louisiana, and then only if found guilty after a hearing by the school board of the parish or city, as the case may be, which hearing may be private or public, at the option of the teacher. At least twenty days in advance of the date of the hearing, the superintendent with approval of the school board shall furnish the teacher with a copy of the written charges. Such statement of charges shall include a complete and detailed list of the specific reasons for such charges and shall include but not be limited to the following: date and place of alleged offense or offenses, names of individuals involved in or witnessing such offense or offenses, names of witnesses called or to be called to testify against the teacher at said hearing, and whether or not any such charges previously have been brought against the teacher. The teacher shall have the right to appear before the board with witnesses in his behalf and with counsel of his selection, all of whom shall be heard by the board at said hearing. For the purpose of conducting hearings hereunder the board shall have the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of all witnesses on behalf of the teacher. Nothing herein contained shall impair the right of appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction.
B.

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Related

Spears v. BEAUREGARD PARISH SCHOOL BD.
848 So. 2d 540 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2003)
Spears v. Beauregard Parish School Board
829 So. 2d 1156 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
732 So. 2d 671, 98 La.App. 3 Cir. 1604, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 878, 1999 WL 182344, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spears-v-beauregard-parish-school-board-lactapp-1999.