In February 2011, the Montgomery County School Board decided to close six of its schools. The plaintiff served as a contract principal of one of the schools the board decided to close. As provided by the Teacher Accountability Act (TAA) and her contract, she could only be terminated for specified reasons, one being "A justifiable decrease in the number of positions due to decreased enrollment or decreased funding." Code of Alabama § 16-24B-3. Even through 17 contract principals in the system were up for renewal, the superintendent decided that the school closures would affect only the principals of the six schools to be closed.
After being informed of her termination, the plaintiff requested an expedited evidentiary hearing in the Montgomery County Circuit Court. In that hearing, the board had the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff’s cancellation was solely for cause—that is, because of the decreased enrollment or decreased funding. § 16-24B-3.
The circuit court upheld the board’s decision, and the plaintiff appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Under the TAA, the court of appeals must affirm the circuit court’s decision unless it finds that the circuit court’s decision was against the great weight of the evidence. § 16-24B-5(b). On appeal, the plaintiff maintained that the board had to prove that there was not merely a decrease in positions, but that there was a decrease in open, vacant, or available positions. The court of appeals did not agree and thereby affirmed the ruling of the circuit court. The court also ruled that the board did not have to transfer the plaintiff to any open position, specifically finding that, under the TAA, contract principals are not entitled to tenure.
See Walker v. Montgomery County Board of Education, decided on November 4, 2011.
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