{ "id": 8522054, "name": "ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, Plaintiff-Appellant v. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, JEREMIAH PATRICK, in his official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, CARL UNSICKER, in his official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, RACHEL FREEMAN, in her official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, and ANN KING, in her official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, Defendants-Appellees v. NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant-Intervenor-Appellee", "name_abbreviation": "Williams v. New Hanover County Board of Education", "decision_date": "1991-11-05", "docket_number": "No. 915SC9", "first_page": "425", "last_page": "431", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "104 N.C. App. 425" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C. Ct. App.", "id": 14983, "name": "North Carolina Court of Appeals" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "317 S.E.2d 397", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "400", "parenthetical": "principal's evaluation of plaintiff-teacher's aide was decision by member of \"school personnel\" not by county board of education in case decided under former N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115-34 which statute is not materially different from current N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c)" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "69 N.C. App. 323", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8526234 ], "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "328", "parenthetical": "principal's evaluation of plaintiff-teacher's aide was decision by member of \"school personnel\" not by county board of education in case decided under former N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115-34 which statute is not materially different from current N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c)" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/69/0323-01" ] }, { "cite": "129 S.E.2d 465", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1963, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "469-70", "parenthetical": "\"or\" may mean \"and\" when so intended by legislature" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "258 N.C. 749", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8562682 ], "year": 1963, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "755-57", "parenthetical": "\"or\" may mean \"and\" when so intended by legislature" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/258/0749-01" ] }, { "cite": "343 S.E.2d 225", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1986, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "226", "parenthetical": "held that N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 authorized principal-teacher to appeal resignation dispute from local board of education to superior court" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "80 N.C. App. 656", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8525387 ], "year": 1986, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "657-58", "parenthetical": "held that N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 authorized principal-teacher to appeal resignation dispute from local board of education to superior court" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/80/0656-01" ] }, { "cite": "260 S.E.2d 611", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1979, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "615", "parenthetical": "decided under former N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115-34 which statute is not materially different from current N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c)" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "298 N.C. 715", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8573981 ], "year": 1979, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "722", "parenthetical": "decided under former N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115-34 which statute is not materially different from current N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c)" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/298/0715-01" ] }, { "cite": "284 S.E.2d 457", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "461" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "304 N.C. 427", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8569012 ], "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "430-31" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/304/0427-01" ] }, { "cite": "288 S.E.2d 380", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1982, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "304 N.C. 726", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8571392, 8571365, 8571463, 8571337, 8571433 ], "year": 1982, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/304/0726-03", "/nc/304/0726-02", "/nc/304/0726-05", "/nc/304/0726-01", "/nc/304/0726-04" ] }, { "cite": "281 S.E.2d 453", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "454" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "53 N.C. App. 615", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8522847 ], "year": 1981, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "617" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/53/0615-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 583, "char_count": 13659, "ocr_confidence": 0.777, "pagerank": { "raw": 1.1167032748462133e-07, "percentile": 0.5724665800979131 }, "sha256": "58f3fa8ca06eaa424d50e91a4a1e21355025c88d2c6bbca77b4258f18b193678", "simhash": "1:7bbde177356b2c7a", "word_count": 2199 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T22:39:04.224888+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "Chief Judge HEDRICK and Judge EAGLES concur." ], "parties": [ "ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, Plaintiff-Appellant v. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, JEREMIAH PATRICK, in his official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, CARL UNSICKER, in his official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, RACHEL FREEMAN, in her official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, and ANN KING, in her official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, Defendants-Appellees v. NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant-Intervenor-Appellee" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "GREENE, Judge.\nPlaintiff appeals from an order entered 1 October 1990 granting the defendants\u2019 N.C.G.S. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss the plaintiff\u2019s complaint.\nIn 1985, based on the asserted desire \u201cto attract and retain the best people in teaching and in school administration\u201d and on the policy of providing adequate base salaries for and encouraging differentiation of all teachers, our General Assembly established a \u201ccareer development pilot program\u201d which is intended to \u201cact as a means of developing a career ladder plan that could be implemented on a statewide basis in the future.\u201d N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363 (1987). Essentially, the career ladder plan is an experimental, merit pay promotion system implemented in 16 local school administrative units. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.1 (1987). The New Hanover County School System was selected as one of the 16 local school administrative units to implement the experimental program.\nIn general, teachers participating in the program are observed and evaluated pursuant to established criteria, and those who receive the required minimum evaluation ratings are recommended for promotion to a higher pay level. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.3 (Supp. 1990). The program has three promotional levels: Career Status I, Career Status II, and Career Status III. During the 1985-86 school year, the plaintiff, a New Hanover County public school teacher, applied for and received a promotion to Career Status I. At the beginning of the 1986-87 school year, the plaintiff applied for a promotion to Career Status II. In April, 1987, because the plaintiff had not received the required minimum evaluation ratings for Career Status II on her evaluation, which evaluation her principal had prepared, the plaintiffs principal denied the plaintiff\u2019s application for promotion. The plaintiff appealed the principal\u2019s decision to a three-member appeals panel which voted two-to-one to uphold the principal\u2019s decision. The plaintiff then appealed the panel\u2019s decision to the New Hanover County Board of Education [Board] which voted four-to-two to uphold the principal\u2019s decision.\nOn 2 September 1988, the plaintiff filed in the New Hanover Superior Court a petition for judicial review of the Board\u2019s decision seeking injunctive relief and a complaint seeking monetary damages. The defendants named in her complaint were the Board and four members of the Board. On 2 November 1988, the defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for, among other reasons, the plaintiff\u2019s failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. In March, 1989, the trial court granted the North Carolina State Board of Education\u2019s [defendant-intervenor] motion to intervene as a defendant. On 27 April 1989, the defendant-intervenor moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. On 1 October 1990, the trial court granted the defendants\u2019 N.C.G.S. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) motions and dismissed \u201cthis action.\u201d\nWe note that the plaintiff does not argue on this appeal that the trial court erred in dismissing her complaint for monetary relief. Instead, the plaintiff only argues that the trial court erred in dismissing her petition for judicial review of the Board\u2019s decision. Furthermore, we note that the plaintiff has not brought forth an argument concerning the trial court\u2019s order as it relates to the defendant-intervenor, but only as it relates to the Board and the four Board members. Accordingly, we do not disturb the trial court\u2019s order with regard to the dismissal of the cause of action set forth in the plaintiff\u2019s complaint or with regard to the dismissal of all matters relating to the defendant-intervenor. N.C.R. App. P. 28(b)(5).\nThe issue is whether a teacher who is denied a promotion under the career ladder program may, after appealing to the local board of education, appeal to superior court.\nThe record reflects that at the hearing on the defendants\u2019 N.C.G.S. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) motions, the defendants argued that the plaintiff did not have the right to appeal the Board\u2019s decision to the trial court and that therefore the plaintiff\u2019s petition should be dismissed. The trial court apparently agreed as it dismissed the appeal. The argument that the plaintiff did not have the right to appeal to the trial court focuses on the trial court\u2019s jurisdiction to hear the appeal, not on whether the petition itself states a claim upon which relief can be granted. As the parties conceded at oral argument, the proper motions to challenge the trial court\u2019s jurisdiction to hear the plaintiff\u2019s appeal would have been N.C.G.S. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(1) motions, not N.C.G.S. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) motions. However, because \u201c[a] motion is properly treated according to its substance rather than its label,\u201d Harrell v. Whisenant, 53 N.C. App. 615, 617, 281 S.E.2d 453, 454 (1981), disc. rev. denied, 304 N.C. 726, 288 S.E.2d 380 (1982), and because the defendants\u2019 motions, in addition to challenging the legal sufficiency of the plaintiff\u2019s complaint, challenged the trial court\u2019s jurisdiction to hear the plaintiff\u2019s petition for judicial review, we treat the defendants\u2019 motions with regard to the plaintiff\u2019s petition as the trial court and the parties treated them, that is, as N.C.G.S. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(1) motions.\nAt issue in this case is the meaning of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 (1987) which provides that \u201c[a]ppeals to the local board of education or to the superior court shall lie from the decisions of all school personnel, including decisions affecting character or the right to teach, as provided in G.S. 115C-45(c).\u201d [Emphasis added.] The plaintiff argues that N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 gives her the right to appeal the Board\u2019s decision to the superior court. The defendants argue that the statute\u2019s use of the word \u201cor\u201d instead of \u201cand\u201d allows a party to appeal decisions of school personnel to either the local board of education or to the superior court, but not both. It follows, the defendants contend, that because N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.3(c) (Supp. 1990) requires that a teacher appeal the principal\u2019s denial of Career Status II to the board of education, the plaintiff is not entitled to judicial review in the superior court. Alternatively, the defendants argue that regardless of how N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 is construed,the plaintiff is not entitled to appeal the Board\u2019s decision to superior court because N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.3(c) specifically provides that the Board\u2019s action regarding Career Status II is \u201cfinal.\u201d\nBecause N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c) (1987) and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 both deal with appellate review of decisions of all school personnel to the local board of education and to the superior court, we construe these statutes in pari materia and reconcile them so that each may be given effect. Great Southern Media, Inc. v. McDowell County, 304 N.C. 427, 430-31, 284 S.E.2d 457, 461 (1981). The pertinent provisions of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c) provide:\nAn appeal shall lie from the decision of all school personnel to the appropriate local board of education. . . .\nAn appeal shall lie from the decision of a local board of education to the superior court of the State in any action of a local board of education affecting one\u2019s character or right to teach. [Emphases added.]\nOur Supreme Court has construed this statute as requiring, prior to seeking review in the superior court, that a teacher first appeal the school personnel action to the local board of education. Presnell v. Pell, 298 N.C. 715, 722, 260 S.E.2d 611, 615 (1979) (decided under former N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115-34 which statute is not materially different from current N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c)). This construction of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c) prohibits \u201cuntimely [judicial] intervention in the administrative process\u201d by requiring as a prerequisite for superior court appellate jurisdiction that a party exhaust his administrative remedies. Id. We construe N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 consistent with N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c) to require a party to exhaust his administrative remedies before seeking redress in the courts. Therefore, a teacher may not seek judicial review in superior court without first appealing the school personnel action to the local board of education. Likewise, an appeal to the local board of educa-tipn does not preclude an appeal to the superior court. See Warren v. Buncombe County Bd. of Educ., 80 N.C. App. 656, 657-58, 343 S.E.2d 225, 226 (1986) (held that N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 authorized principal-teacher to appeal resignation dispute from local board of education to superior court). To construe N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 otherwise would render void N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c)\u2019s requirement that appeals from school personnel action first be taken to the local board of education. Therefore, to accomplish the legislative purpose behind N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c) and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305, the \u201cor\u201d in N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 must be read conjunctively as an \u201cand.\u201d Sale v. Johnson, 258 N.C. 749, 755-57, 129 S.E.2d 465, 469-70 (1963) (\u201cor\u201d may mean \u201cand\u201d when so intended by legislature). This construction will preserve the long-recognized policy of judicial restraint in the context of judicial review of school personnel decisions while giving effect to both N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c) and N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305.\nFurthermore, contrary to the defendants\u2019 alternative argument, N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.3(c) does npt eliminate the plaintiff\u2019s right to appellate review in the superior court. The pertinent part of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.3(c) provides:\nAn employee not recommended for Career Status II may request a review by a three-member appeals panel chosen from a roster of trained evaluators; . . . The panel shall report its findings to the employing local board of education and the local board shall take final action on the matter. [Emphases added.]'\nConsistent with our interpretation of N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305, the local board\u2019s review of the three-member appeals panel\u2019s decision as provided in N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.3(c) constitutes the final administrative action required before a party participating in the career ladder program may appeal to superior court pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305. Cf. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 150B-36 (Supp. 1990) (\u201cfinal decision\u201d).\nWe agree with the parties that the principal\u2019s decision to deny the plaintiff\u2019s application for promotion based upon his evaluation of the plaintiff was a decision by a person properly classified as a member of'\u201cschool personnel\u201d as that term is used in N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305. Cf. Murphy v. McIntyre, 69 N.C. App. 323, 328, 317 S.E.2d 397, 400 (1984) (principal\u2019s evaluation of plaintiff-teacher\u2019s aide was decision by member of \u201cschool personnel\u201d not by county board of education in case decided under former N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115-34 which statute is not materially different from current N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c)). Accordingly, the plaintiff has the right to appeal the Board\u2019s decision to the superior court pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305, and the trial court\u2019s order is\nAffirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.\nChief Judge HEDRICK and Judge EAGLES concur.", "type": "majority", "author": "GREENE, Judge." } ], "attorneys": [ "Ferguson, Stein, Watt, Wallas, Adkins and Gresham, P.A., by John W. Gresham and Thomas M. Stern, for plaintiff-appellant.", "Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, by James R. Morgan, Jr., and Hogue, Hill, Jones, Nash & Lynch, by William L. Hill, II, for defendant-appellees.", "Lacy H. Thornburg, Attorney General, by Laura E. Crumpler, Assistant Attorney General, for the State." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, Plaintiff-Appellant v. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, JEREMIAH PATRICK, in his official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, CARL UNSICKER, in his official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, RACHEL FREEMAN, in her official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, and ANN KING, in her official capacity as a member of the New Hanover Board of Education, Defendants-Appellees v. NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, Defendant-Intervenor-Appellee\nNo. 915SC9\n(Filed 5 November 1991)\n1. Buies of Civil Procedure \u00a7 12.1 (NCI3d)\u2014 Rule 12(b)(6) motions \u2014 properly Rule 12(b)(1) motions \u2014 treated as 12(b)(1) motions\nDefendants\u2019 motions for dismissal under N.C.G.S. \u00a7 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) were treated as 12(b)(1) motions on appeal where the argument focused on the trial court\u2019s jurisdiction to hear the appeal from the Board of Education and the parties conceded at oral argument that the proper motions would have been under Rule 12(b)(1).\nAm Jur 2d, Motions, Rules, and Orders \u00a7 4.\n2. Schools \u00a7 13 (NCI3d)\u2014 career ladder \u2014promotion denied \u2014 appeal to superior court\nA teacher who is denied a promotion under the career ladder program may appeal to the local board of education and then to superior court. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-305 is construed consistently with N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-45(c) to require a party to exhaust his or her administrative remedies before seeking redress in the courts; therefore, a teacher may not seek judicial review in superior court without first appealing the school personnel action to the local board of education, and an appeal to the local board of education does not preclude an appeal to superior court. Furthermore, the local board\u2019s review of a decision by a three-member panel of trained evaluators as provided in N.C.G.S. \u00a7 115C-363.3(c) constitutes the final administrative action required before a party participating in the career ladder program may appeal to superior court.\nAm Jur 2d, Administrative Law \u00a7\u00a7 595, 597-599; Schools \u00a7\u00a7 149, 151, 156.\nAPPEAL by plaintiff from order entered 1 October 1990 in NEW HANOVER County Superior Court by Judge Napoleon B. Barefoot. Heard in the. Court of Appeals 15 October 1991.\nFerguson, Stein, Watt, Wallas, Adkins and Gresham, P.A., by John W. Gresham and Thomas M. Stern, for plaintiff-appellant.\nWomble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, by James R. Morgan, Jr., and Hogue, Hill, Jones, Nash & Lynch, by William L. Hill, II, for defendant-appellees.\nLacy H. Thornburg, Attorney General, by Laura E. Crumpler, Assistant Attorney General, for the State." }, "file_name": "0425-01", "first_page_order": 453, "last_page_order": 459 }