Cleeves v. Board of Education

WOOD, J.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment of the superior court denying his petition for a writ of mandate by which he sought to compel the respondent Board of Education to fix the time of his services at not less than five hours per day and his salary at $304 per month and to pay his full salary at this figure for the three years immediately preceding the filing of his petition.

Plaintiff is a permanent employee of the school districts governed by respondent board and occupied the status of permanent employee at the beginning of the school year 1932-1933. In addition to employing a large number of teachers respondent board conducts a health section and on July 1, 1932, employed in the health section 155 physical inspectors consisting of 44 physicians, 21 dentists, 86 nurses, 2 oculists and 2 optometrists. Plaintiff is one of the physicians employed in the section. At the beginning of the school year 1932-1933 a general reduction of ten per cent was made in the salaries of all employees of the school districts in question. Before that time the physical inspectors had rendered services of five hours per day for five days a week for ten calendar months of each year and had received compensation at the rate of $304 per month. At the time of the general reduction mentioned changes were made in the school system and the time of the physical inspectors was reduced so that they were employed four hours per day and their compensation fixed at $200 per month. Prom this sum ten per cent was subtracted with the result that the compensation of the plaintiff and those occupying similar positions was reduced to $180 per month. In 1934 the salaries of those occupying these positions were increased to $200 per month. After the reduction was made in the salaries of the physical inspectors a number of probationary employees were retained and permitted to become permanent employees and additional probationers were employed.

Plaintiff bases his petition for a writ of mandate upon the claim that the reduction in the salaries of the employees of the health section was much greater than was the reduction in the salaries of the teachers and other employees of the

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school system and is discriminatory, unreasonable and void and in violation of his vested rights as a permanent employee. The Board of Education had the authority to change the hours and compensation of the physical inspectors provided this power was reasonably exercised and no attempt was made to reduce the salaries for any particular year after the beginning of the school year. The legislature has given employees of the school districts security in employment, providing that there be no dismissal without cause, but it did not give them a vested interest in certain classes, certain hours, or certain salaries.