Voluntary loss of tenure and dismissal rights
This decision addresses whether an administrator who is dismissed for failure to have the appropriate license has the right to “bump back” to a tenured teacher position. No, held the Court under the facts presented in this case. The school board dismissed the assistant principal for failure to have a Type-75 certificate. The facts demonstrated that the assistant principal knew she was relinquishing her tenure when she accepted the promotion to assistant principal. The assistant principal claimed that she was still a tenured teacher and could not be terminated except for cause related to her performance as a teacher. The Court found nothing in the statute or board rule that supported these claims. The Court upheld the dismissal concluding that her loss of tenure resulted from her voluntary decision to seek and accept a promotion to a nontenured assistant principal position.