In the case of Youngstown Edn. Assn. v. Kimble, 2016-Ohio-1481, involved a fight between a teacher’s association and a school district over the appointment of one of the five members to an academic distress commission.
An academic distress commission, which must be created in each school district that has been declared to be in academic emergency, has far reaching powers over the district, including the power to appoint a chief executive officer who exercises complete operational, managerial, and instructional control over the district. By law, one of the members of the academic distress commission must be a “teacher employed by the district.”
In the Kimble case, the school district attempted to appoint an administrator to the commission arguing that the administrator was a licensed teacher who could be called upon to function as a classroom teacher when a substitute teacher is not available. The teacher’s association argued that the teacher needed to be appointed from its ranks as it was the exclusive bargaining representative of teachers in the school district.
The Kimble court sided with the teachers association finding that an ordinary and natural meaning of the word “teacher” should apply with regard to the academic distress commission as the intent of the statute was to provide teachers with a voice in the control and operation of the commission.
While this case may not have far reaching application to school officials, it does provide clear guidance that administrators will not qualify as a “teacher” for purposes of an academic distress commission – even if the administrator has a teaching license and may periodically work as a classroom teacher.
To read this case, please click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and Patrick Vrobel
Note: This blog entry does not constitute – nor does it contain – legal advice. Legal jurisprudence is like the always changing Midwestern weather. As a result, this single blog entry cannot substitute for consultation with a McGown & Markling attorney. If legal advice is needed with respect to a specific factual situation, please feel free to contact a McGown & Markling attorney.