Compton College Federation of Teachers, AFT Local No. 3486 v. Compton Community College District

Opinion

HANSON (Thaxton),J. Compton College Federation of Teachers, AFT Local No. 3486, AFL-CIO (hereafter referred to as CFT) and seven certified employees appeal from an order of the court denying their petition for mandamus to compel the Compton Community College District (hereinafter referred to as the District) and Board of Trustees of the Compton Community College District (hereinafter referred to as the Board) to reinstate them as teachers for the 1978-1979 school year.

Facts

The District on March 14, 1978, notified the seven individual appellants who are certificated employees that their services would not be required for the 1978-1979 school year and that they would be laid off pursuant to Education Code sections 87740 and 877431 because of a decline in average daily attendance in all schools in the District in the 1977-1978 school year below that in the 1975-1976 school year. Pursuant to request appellants obtained a hearing at which respondents presented evidence of a 15.8 percent decline in average daily attendance in all schools in the District for the first six months in which school was in session (comparing July 1 to December 31, 1977, and July 1 to December 1, 1975) and that on March 27 and 29, 1978, a lottery was conducted to determine the order of employment for those certificated employees who first rendered paid service on the same date. The hearing officer included a proposed decision recommendin that appellants not be dismissed because the evidence did not reflect the correct computation period. She also found that although the lottery was not timely under section 87414 the Board was empowered to correct the error under section 87415 hence appellants were not thereby prejudiced.

[440]The Board rejected the proposed decision (§ 87740 and Gov. Code, § 11517, subd. (c)) and afforded the parties the opportunity to present additional evidence and argument at a hearing before the Board. The evidence presented by the District reflected a 16.7 percent decline in average daily attendance for the period September through February of the 1977-1978 school year as contrasted with the same period for the 1975-1976 school year. The Board also considered evidence relating to the welfare of the schools and the students thereof in this matter. The Board on May 12, 1978, affirmed the notice of termination of employment of 12 employees given by the District. Appellants on December 8, 1978, petitioned the court by mandamus to review and set aside the Board’s determination.