Vanderzanden v. Lowell School District No. 71

369 F. Supp. 67, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12047
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedSeptember 5, 1973
DocketCiv. 72-377
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 369 F. Supp. 67 (Vanderzanden v. Lowell School District No. 71) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vanderzanden v. Lowell School District No. 71, 369 F. Supp. 67, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12047 (D. Or. 1973).

Opinion

SKOPIL, Judge:

I

JURISDICTION

Plaintiff is an elementary school teacher in the Lowell School District. Defendants are the school district, the individual members of the school board, and the superintendent of the school district. She alleges that defendants violated certain of her constitutional rights, and she demands damages for those violations and injunctive relief against any further violations. Her claims are asserted under the Civil Rights Act of 1971, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the First, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Jurisdiction is based upon 28 U.S.C. § 1343.

II

FACTS

By an annual contract, plaintiff was employed as an elementary school teacher with the defendant district. The defendant Lowell School District No. 71 is a non-tenure 1 district. Individual defendants Ray Campbell, Robert C. Mot-singer, Larry Walsh, Maylene Rice, and Ralph E. McCurdy, were members of the board of directors of the school district. The defendant Richard L. Harmon was the superintendent of the school district.

Plaintiff was a member of the Lowell Education Association, the Oregon Education Association, and the National Education Association. In her first year of teaching, plaintiff was elected secretary of the Lowell Education Association and was elected president in her second year. She served on a three-teacher consultation committee which conferred with the school board on teachers’ salaries and other financial matters. From time to time she appeared before the board on behalf of district employees on grievances. She also has suggested curriculum changes which were never adopted by the school administration.

After her second year, plaintiff became outwardly critical of the administration. As president of the Lowell Education Association, she and Jerald Smith, the local representative of the Oregon Education Association, requested the Professional Rights and Responsibility Commission of the Oregon Education Association to investigate the district. The Oregon Education Association investigation in 1971 looked into the conflict among the school board members, administrators and teachers. It also examined the poor teacher morale, the communication breakdown within the school structure, and patron confusion about the proper procedure for presentation of specific problems.

In the fall of 1971, a small group of district residents met. They decided to prepare a “Fact Sheet” and “Questionnaire” to be circulated to district residents. Paul Nelson, an Oregon Education employee, undertook the drafting of the papers. Plaintiff did not attend the meeting. However, prior to the final preparation, Paul Nelson, at the suggestion of the group of residents, consulted with the plaintiff about the contents of the two documents. The group asked plaintiff to obtain a post office box in *70 Springfield to which responses could be mailed. This was done by plaintiff’s husband.

The “Fact Sheet” compared various school costs with other school districts on a cost-per-pupil basis. The “Questionnaire” posed questions about the school district operation and administrative personnel. After the sheets were mimeographed, they were delivered to plaintiff’s home and she mailed them. They were circulated over the name of “Lowell Taxpayers Committee.” Plaintiff picked up the responses, read each response, and then delivered them to Mr. and Mrs. George Crampton, members of the original group.

The mailings caused an immediate reaction in the community. The school administration received many inquiries about the subject matter of the Fact Sheet and Questionnaire. Some callers suggested that teachers were involved, and insisted that the administration discover their identity, as well as the identity of the other members of the Lowell Taxpayers Committee.

When it was discovered that teachers were involved, Lowell elementary teachers also became concerned about the identity of the responsible people. The teachers hesitated to talk about the incident for fear of being implicated. Several teachers discussed the matter with the school principal, saying that the information in the mailings constituted a criticism of their professionalism. The resulting tension and hostility among the elementary staff impaired the teachers’ classroom performance. Students also became curious about the source of the documents and the reason for their circulation.

Curtis Benefiel, the elementary school principal, asked plaintiff about her involvement in the incident. Plaintiff replied that she was not a member of the Lowell Taxpayers Committee and refused to discuss the matter further. The following day, Benefiel again asked plaintiff about her involvement, and she repeated that she was not a member of the Committee. Benefiel showed plaintiff a copy of the post office box application bearing her husband’s name. He again inquired as to her participation in the preparation and circulation of the mailings. She refused to reply, saying the principal would have to talk to her husband about the post office box.

Plaintiff’s refusal to discuss the matter created suspicion in Benefiel’s mind as to her involvement. Because of the suspicion and the uneasiness among the elementary staff, Benefiel informed the school administration he would consider resigning unless the matter was resolved.

On December 1, 1971, the school board, in its effort to investigate the incident, requested plaintiff’s presence at an executive session of the board. No official action could or would be taken. Plaintiff .appeared with her attorney. The board chairman, Ray Campbell, informed plaintiff of the board’s desire to have her respond to questions without interruption from her attorney. This condition was unacceptable to her. She and her attorney left the meeting.

On December 2, 1971, Benefiel gave plaintiff a letter notifying her of her indefinite suspension, with pay.

On December 15, 1971, plaintiff was notified by letter of a special board meeting to be held on December 21, 1971, when the board would' consider Superintendent Harmon’s recommendation to terminate plaintiff. The written notice stated the reasons for termination as follows:

“(1) Your direct involvement in the writing and distribution of the circular and questionnaire mailed to the patrons of the Lowell School District in November, 1971, under the anonymity of the Lowell Taxpayers’ Committee, contained deliberate misleading comparisons of school costs and the false innuendos about the administration of this school district.
*71 “(2) You were intentionally misleading and not truthful in discussing with your principal your part in the preparation and distribution of the Lowell Taxpayers’ Committee documents.
“(3) You refused, on December 6, 1971, to explain or discuss your participation in the preparation or distribution of the Lowell Taxpayers’ Committee documents with the school board.

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

Related

Berry v. Arthur
474 F. Supp. 427 (D. South Dakota, 1979)
Henthorn v. Grand Prairie School District No. 14
591 P.2d 1198 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1979)
BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ETC. v. Holso
584 P.2d 1009 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1978)
Wood v. Strickland
420 U.S. 308 (Supreme Court, 1975)
Needleman v. Bohlen
386 F. Supp. 741 (D. Massachusetts, 1974)
Wood v. Goodman
381 F. Supp. 413 (D. Massachusetts, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
369 F. Supp. 67, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12047, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vanderzanden-v-lowell-school-district-no-71-ord-1973.