Gettysburg School District 53-1 v. Catherine H. Larson

Summary

The South Dakota Supreme Court held that Gettysburg School District was bound by the reduction-in-force policy incorporated into its collective bargaining agreement with the teachers’ association. The court affirmed the Department of Labor’s determination that seniority was measured by total length of service, rather than continuous service, and that the district improperly released Catherine Larson. The court also held that the Department of Labor had authority to order Larson’s reinstatement.

Holdings

1. A school district that releases a teacher under a reduction-in-force policy incorporated into a collective bargaining agreement must comply with the policy's terms.
2. The agreement's unqualified reference to seniority measured by length of service requires consideration of service within the school system and does not permit the district to substitute a continuous-length-of-service requirement that the agreement does not contain.
3. The Department of Labor had jurisdiction to hear Larson's challenge because it concerned the application or interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement and therefore constituted a statutory public-employee grievance.
4. The Department of Labor had authority under SDCL 3-18-15.2 to order reinstatement of Larson as the remedy for her improper release under the reduction-in-force policy, although reinstatement could not confer tenure or continuing-contract status.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the school district was bound by the reduction-in-force policy in its collective bargaining agreement when it released Larson under that policy.
2. Whether the agreement's reference to seniority based on length of service required the district to count Larson's prior substitute, summer-school, and other service rather than only continuous service.
3. Whether the Department of Labor had jurisdiction to hear Larson's grievance concerning interpretation and application of the collective bargaining agreement.
4. Whether the Department of Labor had authority to order reinstatement of a nontenured teacher improperly released under the reduction-in-force policy.

Disposition

affirmed