ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL ...

ealignment.
Disposition: The court found in favor of Rossi and awarded back pay, and salary
Citation: Pullum v. Smallridge, 652 S.W.2d 338, (1983 Tenn.).
Key Facts: Lanis Pullum was the principal of Glenwood Elementary School in the Oak
Ridge School System. Following the 1979-1980 school year, Pullum was reassigned to a position
of teacher with a reduced salary. This new duty post was slated to begin with start of the 1980-
1981 school year. Pullum filed suit against Robert Smallridge, superintendent, and the school
board alleging that he had achieved tenure as a principal and that the reassignment was illegal.
Pullum sought to be reinstated as principal with full pay. Pullum’s suit was quickly dismissed
after he failed to prove that reassignment was arbitrary, capricious, and or illegal. Pullum filed a
petition of contempt in an effort to recoup lost earnings from the salary adjustment.
Issues: (1) Was Pullum entitled to his principal salary? (2) Did the court err in its
handling of the dismissal and suspension of tenured teachers as outlined by T.C.A § 49-1417?
Holding: The court held that reassignments were not governed in T.C.A § 49-1417 but
rather in T.C.A § 49-1411, which made them permissible. Therefore, Pullum’s claims were
invalid.
Reasoning: The Chancery Court awarded Pullum his principal salary and duties during
the period of litigation because it was reviewing his case against T.C.A § 49-1417. This was an
error by the courts. T.C.A § 49-1417 governs the process of “dismissal and suspension.” Pullum
was not fired, nor was he suspended. Therefore, the correct application of legal governance is
T.C.A § 49-1411, which oversaw the “reassignment” of teachers. After reviewing Pullum’s case
against the language of T.C.A § 49-1411, the courts agreed that Pullum had failed to prove that
his reassignment was illegal and moreover that the chancery court had erred in affording Pullum
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