King v. Hays/Lodge Pole Public School District 50 Board of Trustees

Summary

The Supreme Court of Montana held that teacher and principal positions are comparable positions of employment under Montana Code Annotated § 20-4-203(1), allowing a school district to reassign a tenured principal to a teaching position even when the principal position was not eliminated for financial reasons. The court also held that the Board was not required to provide advance written notice or a hearing before the reassignment. The court reversed the district court and remanded with instructions to reinstate the State Superintendent's decision.

Holdings

1. A teacher position and a principal position are comparable positions of employment under § 20-4-203(1), MCA, even when the principal position has not been eliminated for financial reasons.
2. The phrase "last-executed contract" requires the Board to consider the employee's prior salary and job description, but it does not eliminate the statutory authority to reassign the employee to a comparable position.
3. The Board was not required to provide advance written notice or a formal hearing before reassigning King.

Questions Presented

1. Whether teacher and principal positions are comparable positions of employment under Montana Code Annotated § 20-4-203(1) when a tenured principal is reassigned to a teaching position for reasons unrelated to financial constraints.
2. Whether the phrase "last-executed contract" in § 20-4-203(1) requires retention in the same position or prohibits reassignment to a comparable position.
3. Whether the Board violated due process by failing to provide advance written notice and a hearing before reassigning King.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded