ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL ...

Key Facts: Forrest E. Stafford was a high school principal in Casey County Kentucky.
Following the 1981-1982 school year, Stafford was reassigned to a middle school as the
principal. Stafford filed suit claiming that the reassignment was a demotion as defined by the Ky.
Rev. Stat. Ann. § 161.720(9) of the Kentucky Teacher Tenure law.
The court found for the Casey County Board of Education in summary judgment because
there was no reduction in pay, but the court acknowledged that the board had not correctly
implemented its own policy. There were no formal records of the superintendent’s
recommendation to reassign Stafford to the middle school as it was not recorded in any official
minutes of the court. Stafford appealed this judgment.
Issues: (1) Was Stafford’s reassignment a demotion and not in accordance with KRS
161.720(9)? (2) If the employment action was a lateral reassignment, was the procedure still
invalid due to the lack of the superintendent’s recommendation? (3) Did the trial court allow the
defendants’ attorneys to determine facts and legal conclusions?
Holding: The court held that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for the
defendants. This error was not in the board’s action pursuant to Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §
161.720(9), but rather the board’s improper documentation of board minutes pursuant to Ky.
Rev. Stat. Ann. § 160.380.
Reasoning: The appellant, Forest E. Stafford, disputed the trial court findings claiming
that his reassignment from high school to middle school was a demotion due to a change in
compensation, supervisory capacity, and work schedule. In respect to these claims, the appellate
court examined KRS 161.720(9), which revealed the true nature of Stafford’s reassignment.
First, Stafford did not sustain a salary reduction. During the meeting at which the
“supposed” demotion occurred, there was a recorded motion by the superintendent to maintain
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