Citation: Gillett v. Unified School District 605 P.2d 105 (1980) (Aquila, 2007).
Facts: Unified School District No. 276 from the Jewell County refused to renew Mrs. Gillett teaching contract (Aquila, 2007). Mrs. Gallett had been teaching at the school for seven years and her last term was for the 1976-1977 academic year (Ginsburg & Dixon, 2011). The school board delivered the letter of non-renewal of contract as per the guidelines of K.S.A. 1977 Supp. 72-5437s (Justia, 2018). The reasons given for non-renewal of the contract included pending shoplifting criminal charges, mismanagement of school funds, abuse of sick leave, loss of school’s fraternity respect, and physical and mental instability. Mrs. Gallett contested to have her teaching contract renewed by the school board after the latter party served her with the contract non-renewal notification letter.
Issue: Was there sufficient evidence to provide a sufficient justification as to why Mrs. Gillett’s teaching contract was not renewed as per the State of Kansas Law?
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Ruling: Yes. The State’s Supreme Court found out that the school’s board had sufficient evidence that could have offered them a lawful ground of not renewing Mrs. Gillett teaching contract. As such, they support the school board’s decision in not renewing Mrs. Gillett’s contract.
Rationale: The court supported the board’s decision because the school board’s actions were taken in good faith and the decision was not arbitrary, irrelevant, irrational and unreasonable to the maintenance of an efficient school. Also, Mrs. Gillett did not have a single witness who testified in support her appeal as to the contributions of the teacher to the Unified School’s education program.
Conclusion: The case relates to an educator’s life in that it portrays that teachers could fail to have their contracts renewed if the school board have sufficient reasons. If a person is charged with a crime, such as shoplifting for Mrs. Gillett, the school board may use it as a sufficient reason not to renew the teaching contract. Nevertheless, such an action by the board has to be developed for the best interest of their school. The student’s academic life at school can be improved by the teachings of this case. That is because it will lobby learners to always assess the performance effectiveness of their teachers in class and report any teachers’ misconduct to the school’s board for an appropriate disciplinary action.
References
Aquila, F. D. (2007). School Law for K-12 Educators: Concepts and Cases. Boca Raton: SAGE.
Ginsburg, T., & Dixon, R. (2011). Comparative Constitutional Law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Justia. (2018). Gillett v. USD NO. 276 . Retrieved from Justia U.S. Law: https://law.justia.com/cases/kansas/supreme-court/1980/50-126-1.html
