Struthers v. Board of Trustees

California Court of Appeal Dec 18, 1959 No. Civ. No. 9680; Civ. No. 9681Published

Before: Schottky

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Holding. When a school district is annexed by another, the successor district assumes the mandatory duty to provide probationary teachers with written notice of non-reelection by May 15th, as required by Education Code section 13582. Failure to provide such notice results in the automatic reemployment of the teachers by the successor district.

Issues

Whether a successor school district in an annexation is required to provide notice of non-reelection to probationary teachers of the annexed district to prevent automatic reemployment.
Whether the use of the word 'may' in Education Code section 13093 relieves a successor district of the mandatory notice requirements of section 13582.

Disposition. reversed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The use of the word “may” in section 13093 did not give respondent Gold Oak Union School District the right to terminate the employment of petitioners without giving to them the written notice required by section 13582.”

SCHOTTKY, J. Plaintiffs in the two above-numbered cases which were consolidated for hearing have each appealed from an order denying a peremptory writ of mandamus. Except for the difference in the names of the plaintiffs, both eases involve identical facts and upon stipulation have been consolidated for the purpose of this appeal. The order denying a peremptory writ in each case followed orders sustaining demurrers to each petition without leave to amend.

The facts as alleged in each petition show that the petitioners, Olive Struthers and Agnes Shinn, were probationary teachers employed by the Pleasant Valley School District for the school year 1957-1958. On April 8, 1958, the electorate of the district approved the annexation of the Pleasant Valley School District to the Gold Oak Union School District. By virtue of section 1591 of the Education Code the annexation was effective on July 1, 1959, and on that date the Pleasant Valley School District ceased to exist. For the school year 1958-1959 Pleasant Valley School District entered into an agreement with the Gold Oak Union School District to educate the pupils residing within the district and closed the school it formerly operated. Petitioners were refused employment by both districts. They were not given written notice by either district prior to May 15, 1958, that they would not be reelected as teachers for the 1958-1959 school year. They were first informed that they would not be rehired by a letter from the County Superintendent of Schools dated August 6, 1958. Petitioners alleged, and contend upon this appeal, that because of the failure of the school districts to give them notice as required by section 13582 of the Education Code they were automatically rehired for the school year 1958-1959.

The question to be determined upon this appeal is whether or not, in a case where one school district has been annexed to another, a probationary teacher who does not receive notice prior to May 15th that her services are not needed for the ensuing school year must be employed by either district.

The answer to this question requires a consideration of the pertinent sections of the Education Code which are:

Section 1591. “. . . [A]ny action undertaken to form a new school district of any type or class, to annex or unite any [398]territory or school district to or with another school district, to withdraw or exclude territory from any school district, to unionize or merge two or more school districts, to disestablish or disincorporate any school district, or to change the boundaries of any school district, shall be effective as herein provided :

Struthers v. Board of Trustees

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