IN THE MATTER OF SUSAN R. SYQUIA, RESPONDENT, v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE
HARPURSVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, APPELLANT, ET AL., RESPONDENTS.
80 N.Y.2d 531, 606 N.E.2d 1387, 591 N.Y.S.2d 996 (1992).
December 21, 1992
3 No. 272
Decided December 21, 1992
_________________________________________________________________
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
Kevin F. McDonough, for Appellant.
Ivor R. Moskowitz, for Respondent.
SIMONS, ACTING CHIEF JUDGE:
Petitioner Susan Syquia, a tenured teacher with the Harpursville
Central School District, instituted this CPLR article 78 proceeding
seeking to annul her dismissal for insubordination. She contends that
dismissal cannot stand because respondent Board of Education violated
Education Law § 3020-a by paying compensation beyond that authorized
by statute to a member of the hearing panel that considered her case.
Supreme Court granted her petition to annul, restored her to her
tenured position and ordered a new hearing, and the Appellate Division
affirmed its order. There should be an affirmance.
In 1985, respondent Board of Education initiated disciplinary charges
against petitioner, a teacher with more than 25 years of experience in
the district. The charges alleged both incompetency and
insubordination. She invoked her right to a hearing on the charges
under Education Law § 3020-a. Consistent with the procedure spelled
out in the statute, petitioner chose respondent Henry Stafford as a
hearing panel member, the Board of Education chose respondent Richard
McLean, and the two designees in turn chose William Babiskin to serve
as panel chairperson. Between 1985 and 1988, the panel conducted 46
days of hearings. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the panel
unanimously found petitioner not guilty of incompetence but, by a 2-1
vote, determined that she was guilty of insubordination and
recommended her termination. Respondent Stafford dissented, finding
petitioner guilty of only a minor charge of insubordination and
recommending a lesser penalty than termination. The Board of Education
implemented the majority's recommendations and dismissed petitioner.
Three days after the hearing panel issued its determinations,
petitioner learned that the Board of Education, in a contravention of
SNIPPETS:
IN THE MATTER OF SUSAN R. SYQUIA, RESPONDENT, v.
Petitioner Susan Syquia, a tenured teacher with the Harpursville Central School District,
She contends that dismissal cannot stand because respondent Board of Education violated
Supreme Court granted her petition to annul, restored her to her tenured position and ordered
There should be an affirmance.
In 1985, respondent Board of Education initiated disciplinary charges against petitioner, a
Consistent with the procedure spelled out in the statute, petitioner chose respondent Henry
Three days after the hearing panel issued its determinations, petitioner learned that the
The statute expressly sets compensation at $50 per diem for the two non-presiding members of
She contends further that, because of the statutory noncompliance, the Board's decision to
They argue as well that her article 78 cause of action is unavailing because the hearing
Under established principles of judicial restraint, courts should not address constitutional
We find it unnecessary to reach the constitutional question because the Board of Education's
For example, courts have held in various contexts that deadlines imposed by statute will be
Education Law § 3020-a provides a detailed scheme for protecting the interests of the tenured
Consistent with the Legislature's goal of effecting procedural uniformity, the language of
To be compared with this mandatory language is that found elsewhere within the statute, where
256 (Commissioner's ruling that panel members must disclose "all facts known to them which
By prescribing equal compensation between the employee's designated panel member and the
|
