Bourland v. Commission on Professional Competence

Opinion

ASHBY, Acting P. J. Respondent Julie Bourland was a tenured certificated teacher employed by real party in interest and appellant Board of Education of the Rowland Unified School District. The board dismissed respondent and the dismissal was upheld by the Commission on Professional [319]Competence of the Rowland Unified School District. Respondent petitioned the superior court for a writ of mandate pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5. The court granted the writ of mandate, commanding the commission to set aside its decision and to reinstate respondent. The board appeals. The standard of review is whether substantial evidence supports the superior court’s ruling. (Pasadena Unified Sch. Dist. v. Commission on Professional Competence (1977) 20 Cal.3d 309, 314 [142 Cal.Rptr. 439, 572 P.2d 53].)

In dismissing respondent the board relied solely on Education Code section 44932, subdivision (a)(7), which provides: “(a) No permanent employee shall be dismissed except for one or more of the following causes: [1f] (7) Persistent violation of or refusal to obey the school laws of the state or reasonable regulations prescribed for the government of the public schools ... or by the governing board of the school district employing him.” We find the record amply supports the trial court’s conclusion that respondent did not persistently violate any law or reasonable regulation.

The controversy simply involves a failure of respondent and her principal, Arlene Simmonds, to agree upon a statement of objectives by which respondent’s performance in the 1982-1983 school year would be evaluated. The process of mutually establishing such objectives emanated from a collective bargaining agreement between the board and the Association of Rowland Educators CTA/NEA, which provided, in article IX (evaluation procedures), paragraph 3, “The primary basis for Bargaining Unit member performance evaluation shall be the results achieved based upon objectives which have been mutually established by the Bargaining Unit member and his/her supervisor. When conflict arises between the Bargaining Unit member and the immediate supervisor as to reasonable student growth or reasonable Bargaining Unit member work performance expectations, the immediate supervisor’s decision shall prevail. The Bargaining Unit member may write and have attached to the evaluation form any mitigating circumstances that he/she believes may hinder his/her attainment of the standards on which he/she is being evaluated.” According to respondent’s brief, this provision was in turn an effort to implement the Stull Act, Education Code section 44660 et seq., which requires the adoption of “objective evaluation and assessment guidelines” for evaluation and assessment of the performance of each certificated employee. (See generally Certificated Employees Council v. Monterey Peninsula Unified Sch. Dist. (1974) 42 Cal.App.3d 328 [116 Cal.Rptr. 819]; Stull, Why Johnny Can’t Read—His Own Diploma (1979) 10 Pacific L.J. 647, 651.)