Shaffer v. School Board of Martin County
Shaffer v. School Board of Martin County
Opinion of the Court
Appellant, Robert Shaffer, appeals from a final agency order of appellee, The School Board of Martin County, Florida, wherein the Board ruled that Shaffer’s continuing contract was terminated when his position as Director of Elementary Education was abolished and that his contractual status thereafter was determined on an annual basis.
Shaffer commenced his employment with the Martin County School Board on July 1, 1969, as a Supervisor of Elementary Education on an annual contract basis and continued in that capacity for three academic years. Whereupon, for the year 1972-73 the Superintendent of Public Instruction recommended him for the position of Director of Elementary Education with a continuing contract. The board approved the recommendation and the parties executed a continuing contract that provided, among other things, that the Board could transfer Shaffer to similar positions and could discontinue his position. Shaffer remained in that position until June, 1979, when the Board discontinued the position of Director of Elementary Education as part of a staff reorganization plan. In July he was recommended for an appointment to the position of Assistant Superintendent for Administration, a position he considered a promotion but one which, for the most part, had different duties than the duties he previously had as Director of Elementary Education. Shaffer was never presented with,
Shaffer contends that his continuing contract could not be terminated by simply abolishing the position he held; some further action by the Board was required. However, we are unable to determine exactly what additional action Shaffer contends the Board must take to effectively terminate his continuing contract. For example, in the Summary of Argument portion of his brief, it states:
Under the provisions of § 231.36(4)(a), Fla.Stat., (1986 Supp.) an employee of a school board holding a continuing contract prior to July 1, 1984, shall be entitled to retain such contract and all rights arising therefrom unless the employee voluntarily relinquishes this continuing contract. There is no evidence that Dr. Shaffer at any time voluntarily relinquished his continuing contract. It must therefore be determined whether the continuing contract has been terminated by operation of law or lawful action of The School Board, and, if not, what relief Dr. Shaffer is entitled to receive.
In 1972 Dr. Shaffer entered into a continuing contract of employment with The School Board as a Supervisor. The continuing contract assured unto Dr. Shaffer continued employment with The School Board without the necessity of annual appointment “until such time as the position is discontinued, the person resigns, or his contractual status is changed by mutual agreement or as prescribed below." § 231.36(3)(g), Fla.Stat. (1979) The School Board had the right under the contract and by law to assign Dr. Shaffer to a similar position within the school system without infringing upon his contract rights. § 231.36(3)(e), Fla.Stat. (1979). The School Board transferred Dr. Shaffer to a similar administrative position in 1979 when the supervisory position he formerly occupied was discontinued. The change to a similar position did not operate to negate Dr. Shaffer’s continuing contract.
Thus, it would appear that Shaffer contends his continuing contract was not terminated because he was transferred to a similar administrative position. This, of course, is contrary to the express finding of the Board.
The School Board contends that section 231.36(3)(e) and (g), Florida Statutes (1979), control the termination of continuing contracts by providing:
(e) Each person to whom a continuing contract has been issued as provided herein shall be entitled to continue in his position or in a similar position in the district at the salary schedule authorized by the school board without the necessity for annual nomination or reappointment until such time as the position is discontinued, the person resigns, or his contractual status is changed as prescribed below.
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(g) Any person who has previously earned continuing contract status as a supervisor or principal in the school district shall be continued in that status until such time as the position is discontinued, the person resigns, or his contractual status is changed by mutual agreement or as prescribed below.
Since Shaffer’s continuing contract was earned as a supervisor as opposed to instructional personnel, subsection (g) controls this case.
In reviewing a final order of an administrative agency, the court may not substitute its judgment for that of the agency as long as there is substantial competent evidence to support the decision. School Board of Nassau County v. Arline, 408 So.2d 706 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). Nor can the reviewing court substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to disputed findings of fact or as to the weight of the evidence. Gershanik v. Dept. of Professional Regulation, Board of Medical Examiners, 458 So.2d 302 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984).
In the record presented here we have a substantial pretrial stipulation of facts by the parties and extensive findings of fact by the Board supported by substantial competent evidence. Therefore, in compliance with the appropriate standard of review, the order appealed from should be and is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.