MARCELLA SIMADIRIS VS. PATERSON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT (L-1674-19, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-0197-19T3)
The trial court determined that a board of education's decision to certify tenure charges against plaintiff in private violated her alleged right to demand a public proceeding. The school district's appeal pitted that part of the Tenured Employees Hearing Law, N.J.S.A. 18A:6-10 to -25, which declares a charge against a tenured employee "shall no" be discussed by a board of education "at a public meeting," N.J.S.A. 18A:6-11, against that part of the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 to -21, which permits a public body to exclude the public from personnel discussions "unless" the affected employee "request[s] in writing that the matter . . . be discussed at a public meeting," N.J.S.A. 10:4-12(b)(8). Because the Legislature's broad strokes in the Open Public Meetings Act were expressly subjected to exceptions existing in other legislation, N.J.S.A. 10:4-12(b)(1), and because tenured employees have other greater procedural rights than non-tenured employees, the court held that N.J.S.A. 18A:6-11's unambiguous declaration that such proceedings "shall not" take place in public – enacted nineteen days after enactment of the Open Public Meetings Act – demonstrates that the Legislature did not intend to allow tenured board-of-education employees the right – granted other public employees by N.J.S.A. 10:4-12(b)(8) – to demand a public hearing. For that reason, defendant was not required to serve this tenured employee with a Rice notice, see Rice v. Union Cnty. Reg'l H.S. Bd. of Educ., 155 N.J. Super. 64 (App. Div. 1977), which serves the purpose of advising public employees of their right to demand a public hearing via N.J.S.A. 10:4-12(b)(8).
