Alva v. Sequoia Union High School District

PETERS, P. J.

By this proceeding in mandamus the nine petitioners seek to compel the Sequoia Union High School District to reemploy them, it being contended that they had not been lawfully discharged by the district. Admittedly, all of the petitioners were formerly probationary teachers hired by the district. Admittedly, the board of trustees of the district has the lawful right to refuse to reemploy such teachers, and need give no reason for a discharge. Admittedly, each of the petitioners received a dismissal notice, in proper form, dated May 10, 1949, and postmarked May 11, 1949, notifying

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the addressee that he or she would not he reemployed for the next school year. Admittedly, such a notice may be given by the board at any time before May 15th of the particular year involved. Admittedly, the notices of dismissal were authorized by the board at meetings held on April 29th and May 6, 1949, and the action taken at these meetings was ratified at a meeting held on May 13,1949. It is a conceded fact that action to dismiss a probationary teacher can only be taken at a public meeting of the board, and that if notices of dismissal are authorized at a private or executive session of the board and not at a public meeting, such notices are invalid. The sole contention of petitioners is that their dismissal notices were not authorized by the board at a meeting open to the public and, it is contended, they were, therefore, ineffective. The trial court found that the notices of dismissal were properly authorized at a meeting of the board open to the public, and denied any relief to petitioners. From the judgment denying them relief petitioners appeal.

Section 2204.2 of the Education Code provides: “No action authorized or required by law shall be taken by the governing board of a school district except in a meeting open to the public.” Section 3194 of that code provides: “All meetings of the high school board shall be open to the public. ’ ’ There is no statutory definition of what constitutes a meeting “open to the public,” within the meaning of these sections.

The board here involved holds its regular meetings on the third Friday of each month at the high school. Special meetings are held as needed. During 1948 and 1949 all meetings, regular or special, were held in the school library, the board room, or the superintendent’s office, depending upon the number of people, nonmembers, who attended the meeting. The library is a large room and can accommodate a large number of people. The other two rooms can accommodate but 12 to 15 people, including the members of the board. Notices of special meetings were never published. The members of the board were either notified of such meetings by telephone, or the date for such a special meeting was set at a preceding meeting. Usually, before the hoard met formally, in either a regular or special meeting, the members would convene in the superintendent’s office and discuss, in private executive session, some of the matters on the agenda. Matters relating to the selection and retention of personnel were always first discussed in such a private conference, policy agreed upon,