ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL ...

The most revealing aspects of Table 13 come from the three states where the most cases
were derived. In Minnesota there were seven cases from the 30-year window.
Table 14
State Count--Minnesota
Case Year State Action PP
McManus v. Ind. School Dist. No. 625 1982 MN R E
State ex rel. Haak v. Bd. of Educ. 1985 MN R SPLIT
Sweeney v. Special School Dist. 1985 MN R SPLIT
Mohn v. Ind. School Dist. 1987 MN R S
Klein v. Bd. of Educ. 1993 MN R E
State ex rel. Quiring v. Bd. of Educ. 2001 MN R S
Hinckley v. School Bd. of Ind. School Dist. 2004 MN T S
Every single case dealt with reduction in force. Minnesota is one of 22 states that bases reduction
in force solely on seniority. Because of this, administrators who were terminated or reassigned
have very often challenged these decisions and been successful, at least in part, four times. In the
instances where they were successful, the school system was deemed to have based job
reassignment and termination on performance rather than seniority. Moreover, through the case
briefing process it became clear to the researcher that Minnesota school systems had shifted from
being made up of smaller school systems with more schools to larger school systems with fewer
schools. This was evidenced by the number of adverse employment action cases stemming from
district realignment and reduction in force periods that occurred from 1981-2010.
Pennsylvania deliberated 11 cases of adverse employment actions against school
administrators from 1981-2010.
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