holding "[n]o reasonable argument could be made that the legislature intended to create a situation wherein a school board would be unable to perform its duties as the governing body of the school district."
How later courts described this case
- holding "[n]o reasonable argument could be made that the legislature intended to create a situation wherein a school board would be unable to perform its duties as the governing body of the school district."
- "[W]hile the legislature intended to permit a qualified exception to conflict of interest prohibitions, it would be an unwarranted construction of the amendatory legislation to hold that it eliminated any question of incompatibility."
- position of teacher incompatible with office of school board member
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
McEWAN, Justice
(concurring).
I concur in the result and while I do not take issue with that which is said in the *1181 opinion by my brother McClintock, I do feel obligated to make some comments. According to Haskins he felt justified in running for the board while employed by the district as a continuing contract teacher. His belief that he was entitled to run for and serve on the board while employed as a teacher was bolstered by an attorney general’s opinion, No. 13, dated May 27, 1970, which found that a teacher - could serve as a member of the school board. Thus he took all reasonable steps to determine that election to the school board was permissible under Wyoming law.
It should also be noted that Haskins was a teacher in the district and had been so for IS years before he was elected. The electorate knew — or should have known— that he was a teacher. Knowing this they still elected him. The voters then determined their own public policy and, in effect, said that it was all right with them for Haskins to be both teacher and board member. While it might reasonably be said that it is unwise for a teacher to also be on the board, I would not presume to say to the voters they could not do this because others may deem it to be unwise. It seems to me that in this day when we are attempting to retain and regain some local control we should permit the people to determine ' their own destiny subject only to constitutionally permitted legislative restraints.
I am convinced that Haskins entered upon election to the school board in all good faith and for laudable purposes and the voters by electing him showed that they had faith and confidence in him. However, I am convinced that if the statutes are interpreted as he contended an untenable condition could arise. He agreed that in order to serve on the board he had to comply with the statute and refrain from participation in any decisions of the board in which he had a conflict. The parties agreed that in general such conflicts included all negotiations with teachers and especially salaries, fringe benefits and other teaching conditions such as hours, etc. Section 6-178, W.S.19S7, Cum.Supp.1973, provides:
“ * * * that if any [trustee of any school district] * * * shall be interested as aforesaid in any such contract, but shall disclose the nature and extent thereof to all the contracting parties concerned therewith and shall absent himself during the considerations and vote thereon * * *, then the said acts shall not be unlawful under this section * *
Section 21.1-21, W.S.1957, Cum.Supp. 1973, provides:
“The board of trustees of a school district shall be the governing body of the school district. A majority of the number of members of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the board of trustees. No action of the board of trustees shall be valid unless such action shall receive the approval of a majority of the members elected to the board of trustees.”
The statute which he contended permitted him to serve on the board made no mention of teachers as board members and therefore no limitation as to the number of teacher board members was stated, and I fail to see how a limit could be implied. Therefore, if Haskins as a teacher could serve other teachers could also become members.
If teachers constituted all or a majority of the members of the board of trustees the board could not transact any business dealing with teachers, including salary negotiations, because teacher members would have to absent themselves and there could be no majority action. If a school board could not set teachers’ salaries and other contract terms it could not function. No reasonable argument could be made that the legislature intended to create a situation wherein a school board would be unable to perform its duties as the governing body of the school district.