Tippecanoe Education Ass'n v. Tippecanoe School Corp.

700 N.E.2d 241, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1634, 1998 WL 683294
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 5, 1998
Docket79A02-9711-CV-808
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 700 N.E.2d 241 (Tippecanoe Education Ass'n v. Tippecanoe School Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Tippecanoe Education Ass'n v. Tippecanoe School Corp., 700 N.E.2d 241, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1634, 1998 WL 683294 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

OPINION

SULLIVAN, Judge.

Appellants, Tippecanoe Education Association (Association), Sarah Spencer (Spencer), and Patricia Ferry1 (collectively Teachers), appeal the order of the trial court awarding summary judgment in favor of the Tippecanoe School Corporation (School).

We affirm.

Upon appeal, Teachers contend that the School failed to comply with applicable procedure in completing Spencer’s Evaluation Forms. In addition, they argue that the School failed to provide Spencer with a written statement of the reasons why the Board declined to renew her contract.

In May 1994, the Association and the School finalized a collective bargaining agreement (Agreement). The Agreement enumerated the rights afforded teachers, as well as the procedures governing teacher grievances. Article V incorporated into the Agreement, additional matters developed by the Association and the School. Article V provides:

“Effective with the 1995-96 school year, the forms, procedures, deadlines, and process which were jointly developed by the TEA [Association] and TSC [School] will become part of this contract. The contents of any evaluation or the classification [243]*243of any teacher will not be subject to the grievance procedure of this contract.” Record at 37.

Pursuant to this provision, the Tippecanoe School Corporation Teacher Evaluation Form (Evaluation Form) became a part of the contract. This Evaluation Form mandated that when an evaluator indicated that the evaluatee did not meet the specified standards, “he/she must identify the specific performance behaviors which he or she observed which do not meet the standards.” Record at 219.

As a second grade teacher at the Mayflower School, Spencer was covered by the Agreement. On December 22, 1995, she received the first of two Evaluation Forms based upon classroom observation prepared by the principal of the Mayflower School, Timothy Schiraek (Schiraek). This Evaluation Form indicated that Spencer did not satisfy three core standards: (1) “The teacher utilizes positive classroom management”; (2) “The teacher communicates clearly and correctly”; and (3) “The teacher develops course/unit objectives and establishes sequential steps for their attainment.” Record at 202-03.

On February 26, 1996, Sehirack furnished Spencer with her second Evaluation Form, which indicated substandard performance in seven standards. The areas included: (1) “The teacher utilizes positive classroom management”; (2) “The teacher attempts to increase the students’ interest and intellectual development”; (3) “The teacher treats all students and students’ ideas as valuable”; (4) “The teacher helps students become useful and productive”; (5) “The teacher develops course/unit objectives and establishes sequential steps for their attainment”; (6) “The teacher establishes definite standards for evaluating student work”; and (7) “The teacher maintains good professional relations with the school community.” Record at 219-23. In each of these respective sections on the Evaluation Form, Schiraek used descriptors 2 to indicate more specific areas in need of improvement. Schiraek also attached an additional page to the Evaluation Form, which included further observations regarding Spencer. The Evaluation Form and the attachment were signed and dated by both Schiraek and Spencer.

On March 22, 1996, Spencer filed a grievance with Schiraek, contending that he improperly completed the two Evaluation Forms. Specifically, Spencer alleged that the Evaluation Forms were defective because they failed to state the specific performance behaviors which prompted Sehirack to conclude that her efforts were deficient. Schi-rack denied this grievance on March 28, 1996. On April 11, 1996, Superintendent Wood informed Spencer that the Board of School Trustees of Tippecanoe School Corporation (Board) voted not to renew her contract. Thereafter, on April 15, 1996, Wood denied her grievance regarding the Evaluation Forms.

On April 24, 1996, Wood complied with Spencer’s request that he provide her with a written statement of the reasons prompting the Board’s decision not to renew her contract. On May 3, 1996, the Association demanded arbitration of Spencer’s grievance. A hearing was held on December 16, 1996. In his opinion dated March 24, 1997, the arbitrator concluded that Schiraek failed to cite specific performance behaviors on the Evaluation Forms. In addition, he determined that Superintendent Wood failed to provide Spencer with the reasons prompting her non-renewal. As a result, he ordered that she be reinstated with back pay.

Subsequently, the School petitioned the trial court on April 16, 1997, to vacate the award of the arbitrator. Both parties submitted motions for summary judgment. On August 13,1997, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the School, concluding that the arbitrator exceeded the scope of his authority.

I. COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROCEDURE

Teachers argue that Schiraek did not comply with applicable procedure by failing to inform Spencer of the specific performance [244]*244behaviors prompting her evaluations of substandard performance. Accordingly, they urge this court to reverse the trial court’s award of summary judgment for the School and enter summary judgment in their favor, thereby affirming the arbitrator’s decision.

Upon appeal from an award of summary judgment, this court utilizes the same standard applied by the trial court. Fawley v. Martin’s Supermarkets, Inc. (1993) Ind.App., 618 N.E.2d 10, 12, trans. denied. This court will determine whether any genuine issues of material fact exist and if the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. “Summary judgment will be affirmed on appeal if it is sustainable on any theory or basis found in the evidentiary matter designated to the trial court.” Sharp v. Town of Highland (1996) Ind.App., 665 N.E.2d 610, 613-14, trans. denied.

Our initial inquiry is whether the arbitrator possessed the authority to grant relief because Schirack failed to comply with applicable procedure3 when completing the Evaluation Forms. The precise issue is whether Schirack identified the specific performance behaviors in each category in which Spencer received a negative evaluation.

As previously noted, Spencer received two Evaluation Forms from Schirack. However, pursuant to Article VI, Section l.B. of the Agreement, Spencer waived any grievance arising from the December 22, 1996 Evaluation Form by failing to file a formal grievance within thirty days of that date. Spencer did not file a formal grievance until March 22, 1996. Therefore, this court must conclude that the first Evaluation Form comports with applicable procedure because Spencer is precluded as a matter of law from arguing that the comments listed by Schi-rack 4 do not constitute specific performance behaviors.

Consequently, we must next examine whether Schirack’s comments on the February 26, 1996 Evaluation Form were sufficient as a matter of law to constitute specific performance behaviors.

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Related

Tippecanoe Education Ass'n v. Tippecanoe School Corp.
700 N.E.2d 241 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1998)

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700 N.E.2d 241, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1634, 1998 WL 683294, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tippecanoe-education-assn-v-tippecanoe-school-corp-indctapp-1998.