Richardson v. Board of Education

THE COURT.

A hearing was granted in this case after decision by the District Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division One. Upon further consideration, we are satisfied that the said court has correctly determined the issues, and we accordingly adopt the opinion of Mr. Justice pro

tempore

Shinn as the opinion of this court. It is as follows:

“Plaintiff seeks the mandate of the court requiring respondent school district to classify him as a permanent teacher. Plaintiff’s rights are governed by his contract with the board and by section 1609, subd. 2 (e), Political Code (Stats. 1927, p. 1913), under which it was the duty of defendant board to classify plaintiff as a permanent teacher if’he had been ‘successfully employed by the district for two or three complete consecutive school years’, as a probationary teacher. The three-year period applies under the provision of the section that the classification shall be made at the end of either the second or third year of the employment, at the option of the governing board of the district, no classification having been made at the end of the second year. The complaint alleges and the answer denies that plaintiff was so employed.

“Respondent admits that the second and third years’ services were complete but contends that the first year’s service (1928-1929) was incomplete. The court found that plaintiff’s contract contained, among other provisions, the following: ‘To all Probationary Teachers: According to the California School Law, a teacher who enters a School District must successfully serve as a probationary teacher on a probationary contract for two full, consecutive years. In order to count as a full school year, it is necessary to teach a minimum of one hundred ninety-five days. A

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teacher who serves less than one hundred ninety-five days in a school year cannot receive a permanent contract at the end of two years, but must continue to serve on a probationary contract until the requirements are met. However, the increase in salary can be earned by two years of service of not fewer than one hundred fifty school days each. ’

“There is no statutory provision as to the number of days of teaching required to make up a complete school year as that term is used in said section 1609. In Los Angeles City High School District two hundred days was adopted as the maximum number of teaching days in the school year and under rules of the board one hundred ninety-five was fixed as the minimum number of days of teaching with which the teacher must be credited to make up a complete year. In addition thereto, under the rules of the board half pay was allowed for sick leave for not exceeding ten days during the school year, and full pay for not exceeding ten days when the teacher should be quarantined, not exceeding two such periods in a school year, and in certain other eases, not material here, full pay was allowed.