Mary Ruth Clark v. Swartz Creek Community Schools Bd of Education ( 2010 )

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
December 17, 2010 Marilyn Kelly,
Chief Justice
141394 Michael F. Cavanagh
Maura D. Corrigan
MARY RUTH CLARK, Robert P. Young, Jr.
Stephen J. Markman
Petitioner-Appellee, Diane M. Hathaway
Alton Thomas Davis,
v SC: 141394 Justices
COA: 295830
State Tenure Comm: 09-000006
SWARTZ CREEK COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
BOARD OF EDUCATION,
Respondent-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the April 12, 2010 order
of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded
that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.
MARKMAN, J. (concurring).
I concur in this Court’s decision to deny leave to appeal. The Legislature
established the State Tenure Commission and vested with it “such powers as are
necessary to carry out and enforce the provisions of [the Teachers’ Tenure Act],”
including the authority to determine whether a school district has established “reasonable
and just cause” for a tenured teacher’s discharge. MCL 38.137; MCL 38.101. A
decision of the Tenure Commission must be upheld if there is “competent, material, and
substantial evidence on the whole record” to support the Tenure Commission’s findings.
Const 1963, art 6, § 28. Therefore, the job of this Court is not to determine whether, in
our own judgment, we believe a teacher should or should not be discharged, but only
whether there is “competent, material and substantial evidence” on the record to sustain
the decision of the Tenure Commission. There may well be instances in which individual
justices share the school district’s concerns regarding the fitness of a teacher, but in
which nonetheless we are obligated under the law to uphold the Commission. I fully
understand the concerns of the school district, and parents, that children not be instructed
by a person whom they believe to be mentally unfit. Under the law enacted by their
Legislature, however, the district bears the burden of proof of demonstrating this fact.
I, Corbin R. Davis, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
December 17, 2010 _________________________________________
p1214 Clerk