ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL ...

As to the award of back pay, the board only scarcely argued this point; therefore, the
court failed to proceed with determination. Simply put, the board’s failure to follow the policies
outlined in § 37-9-111 validated reinstatement with back pay.
Disposition: The Chancery Court ruling was affirmed.
Citation: Marcote v. Avoyelles Parish School Board, 512 So. 2d 538, (1987 La. App.).
Key Facts: Lamar Marcote had been an employee of the Avoyelles Parish School Board
for 22 years when he was terminated in April 1985. Marcote was dismissed from his position as
principal of Plaucheville High School for willful neglect of duty by mismanagement of funds.
Marcote was never charged with any theft in regard to the funds only that he did not comply with
district mandates for proper bookkeeping.
Marcote had a couple of issues with his bookkeeping. He failed to ensure that purchases--
one, were filed with board prior to ordering--but two, were drawn from the appropriate funds.
Essentially, Marcote deposited all incoming funds in one account, which was the proper
procedure; however, he did not delineate what accounts within the single account should be
credited with deposits or charged for purchases. In essence, everybody’s money was everybody’s
money.
In February 1984, Marcote and his secretary met with the district’s Finance Director,
Coral Mayeaux, to discuss inaccuracies and improvement strategies for rectifying their
inaccurate ledgers. Finance Director Mayeaux would later report that brief periods of
improvement surfaced during the remainder of the calendar year of 1984. However, in February
1985, the Plaucheville checking account was overdrawn. Upon notification of the situation and
avreview of the accounts, School Superintendent Ronald Mayeaux (no relation to Finance
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