BLACKMON v. Stewart County Board of Education et al
Filing
29
ORDER granting 14 Motion for Summary Judgment. Ordered by U.S. District Judge CLAY D LAND on 06/04/2014. (CGC)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
COLUMBUS DIVISION
SCOTT BLACKMON,
*
Plaintiff,
*
vs.
*
STEWART COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
and FLOYD FORT,
CASE NO. 4:13-CV-179 (CDL)
*
*
Defendants.
*
O R D E R
Plaintiff Scott Blackmon was a physical education teacher
for Defendant Stewart County School District.
School
District
faced
Defendant
Floyd
eliminate
several
District’s
suggested
two
that
Fort,
a
budget
crisis.
recommended
positions,
physical
superintendent,
that
the
School
including
one
of
education
Blackmon’s
The
In 2010, the
be
the
School
positions.
teacher
position
District
Fort
eliminated
because
Blackmon had no coaching or other extracurricular duties while
the School District’s other physical education teacher was the
head coach of the football and baseball teams.
agreed and eliminated Blackmon’s position.
The School Board
Blackmon, who is
white, contends that the School Board terminated him because of
his race.
Presently pending before the Court is Defendants’
summary judgment motion (ECF No. 14).
below, the motion is granted.
For the reasons set forth
SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD
Summary judgment may be granted only “if the movant shows
that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the
movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
Civ. P. 56(a).
In determining whether a
genuine
Fed. R.
dispute of
material fact exists to defeat a motion for summary judgment,
the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party
opposing summary judgment, drawing all justifiable inferences in
the opposing party’s favor.
477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986).
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
A fact is material if it is relevant
or necessary to the outcome of the suit.
Id. at 248.
A factual
dispute is genuine if the evidence would allow a reasonable jury
to return a verdict for the nonmoving party.
Id.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The evidence viewed in the light most favorable to Blackmon
reveals the following.
Blackmon,
who
is
white,
began
working
for
the
School
District as a health and physical education teacher in 2005.
He
also served as the School District’s head football coach.
In
2007, Blackmon became the high school athletic director.
the
School
District
soon
became
dissatisfied
with
But
Blackmon’s
performance as athletic director and wanted to improve the image
of
its
athletic
department
“within
the
community, in the region and the state.”
2
school,
within
the
Fort Dep. 37:11-15,
ECF
No.
27-2.
Superintendent
Fort,
who
is
white,
also
had
concerns about Blackmon because of an incident with the high
school basketball coach, but Blackmon contends that there is a
fact
dispute
on
this
point.
According
to
Fort,
Blackmon
attempted to fire the high school basketball coach after Fort
told
Blackmon
that
he
removing that coach.”
his
brief
that
was
not
“going
to
Fort Dep. 37:15-20.
Fort
actually
urged
do
anything
about
Blackmon contends in
Blackmon
to
fire
the
basketball coach, but Blackmon admitted in his deposition that
he had no authority to do so.
Blackmon Dep. 119:20-120:5, ECF
No. 19.
When the School District hired John Hamilton to be the new
high school principal in 2009, Fort removed Blackmon from the
high school athletic director position and appointed Hamilton,
who is black, as athletic director.
Then, Hamilton decided that
Blackmon should no longer be head football coach.
Fort agreed,
in part because the football team only won a total of one game
during
the
three
prior
seasons
with
Blackmon
at
the
helm.
Hamilton had previously served as an assistant football coach
under Blackmon, and he believed that the team’s failures were
due
to
inadequate
conditioning
Blackmon’s leadership.
who
is
black,
to
fill
and
poor
work
ethic
under
The School District hired Travis Terry,
a
vacant
3
physical
education
teaching
position in July 2009.
The School District also appointed Terry
to be head football coach and head baseball coach.
In
addition
to
the
coaching
issues,
Blackmon
narrowly
avoided losing his teaching certification after twice failing a
computer competency test in 2009.
that
Blackmon’s
teaching
When Fort attempted to verify
certificate
had
been
renewed,
the
online system showed that Blackmon’s teaching certificate had
not been renewed.
54:6-55:7
(acknowledging
competency test).
after
Fort Aff. ¶ 8, ECF No. 14-3; Blackmon Dep.
taking
a
two
failed
attempts
of
computer
Blackmon completed the computer requirement
course
at
Columbus
State
University,
but
Blackmon’s online certification status stated that Blackmon’s
certification had expired.
into
his
office
to
Fort Aff. ¶ 8.
discuss
the
Fort called Blackmon
teaching
certificate,
and
Blackmon telephoned a representative of the Georgia Professional
Standards
Commission,
who
verified
certificate had been renewed.
that
Blackmon’s
teaching
With his certificate renewed,
Blackmon was eligible to continue his teaching job.
In 2009, the Georgia General Assembly reduced state funding
for Georgia schools, including the School District.
In response
to the funding cuts, the School District implemented budget cuts
and also eliminated 6.5 positions for the 2009-2010 school year.
The School District faced significant additional funding cuts
for the 2010-2011 school year.
4
Fort began to look at which
positions could be eliminated to balance the budget for the
2010-2011
school
year.
When
he
started
developing
the
reduction-in-force for the 2010-2011 school year, Fort looked
“for positions and programs to eliminate that would cause the
least harm to the instructional program in the schools.”1
Fort
Aff. ¶ 16.
Fort recommended eliminating five positions.
five
positions
was
a
system-wide
physical
One of those
education
teacher
position; the state funded only “0.88 total positions for P.E.,
Art, and Music for the entire District” for the 2010-2011 school
year,
and
the
teachers.
School
Id. ¶ 19.
District
had
two
physical
education
Terry taught physical education at the
elementary school, and Blackmon taught physical education at the
high school.
Fort determined that regular classroom teachers
could teach physical education to the elementary students, so
the
remaining
physical
education
school and high school students.
Fort
had
to
choose
teacher
the
head
football
teach
middle
Id. ¶ 19.
which
of
the
physical education teachers to retain.
Terry,
would
coach
1
and
School
District’s
two
He could choose either
head
baseball
coach
who
Blackmon “does not agree with” several of Defendants’ fact
statements, but he did not point to any evidence to refute them as the
local rules required him to do.
Pl.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Statement of
Material Undisputed Facts 2, ECF No. 25; see M.D. Ga. R. 56 (“All
material facts contained in the movant’s statement which are not
specifically controverted by specific citation to particular parts of
materials in the record shall be deemed to have been admitted, unless
otherwise inappropriate.”).
5
received an overall satisfactory annual evaluation in 2009-2010
and
earned
“meets
observations.
expectations”
ratings
on
his
two
formal
Or he could choose Blackmon, who no longer had
any coaching or other extracurricular duties and who received
several “needs improvement” ratings on his formal observations
in 2009 and 2010.
Blackmon Dep. Ex. D-6, Observation Record,
Apr. 14, 2009, ECF No. 19 at 199 (observing that “the teacher
was
seated
at
the
front
of
the
gym
and
remained
seated
throughout the observation” and that several students “talked in
two groups as opposed to participating in the basketball game”);
Blackmon Dep. Ex. D-8, Observation Record, Mar. 16, 2010, ECF
No. 19 at 201 (“[T]here was no positive or negative feedback
from the teacher.”).
Fort decided to keep Terry because Fort did not want to
disrupt the progress Terry was making with the
football and
baseball teams and because Fort did not believe that Blackmon
should be reassigned as head football coach given his lack of
success with the program.
Fort Aff. ¶¶ 20-21.
Without Terry,
the School District “would have had the added burden of finding
new head coaches for both football and baseball.”
The
School
Board
unanimously
approved
the
Id. ¶ 20.
reduction-in-
force plan on May 11, 2010, and Blackmon was notified that his
contract would not be renewed.
open
teaching
positions,
At the time, there were three
including
6
a
social
studies
teaching
position.
Blackmon did not apply for any of the open positions.
Blackmon was not certified to teach social studies in 2010, but
he had taught social studies in the past and believes that he
could have become recertified.
knew
that
Blackmon
was
There is no evidence that Fort
certified
in
any
subject
other
than
health and physical education.
Blackmon
argues
that
Viola
Fedd,
the
middle
school
principal and the curriculum director of grades 6-12, had a
racially
motivated
vendetta
against
Blackmon.
According
to
Blackmon, Fedd repeatedly approached Hamilton’s predecessors and
told them that “a white man wouldn’t be good for the kids out
there and a black man needed to have [the athletic director]
position.”
Davis Dep. 22:13-17, ECF No. 20.
But Blackmon did
not
to
involved
point
any
evidence
that
Fedd
was
in
or
influenced Fort’s decisions regarding Blackmon.
DISCUSSION
Blackmon
contends
that
Fort
and
the
School
District
terminated him because of his race, in violation of Title VII of
the
Civil
Blackmon
Rights
did
not
Act
of
point
1964,
to
any
42
U.S.C. §
direct
2000e-2(a)(1).2
evidence
of
racial
discrimination, so he must proceed under the familiar three-step
framework set out in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S.
2
Blackmon also originally brought claims for age discrimination, but
he now concedes that he has no claim for age discrimination.
7
792 (1973) and Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine,
450 U.S. 248 (1981) for employment discrimination claims based
on circumstantial evidence.
Inc.,
610
F.3d
1253,
Alvarez v. Royal Atl. Developers,
1264
(11th
Cir.
2010).
First,
the
plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of discrimination.
Id.
If the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, then the
employer may articulate a legitimate non-discriminatory reason
for
its
action.
Id.
And
if
the
employer
articulates
a
legitimate non-discriminatory reason, then the plaintiff must
“produce evidence that the employer’s proffered reasons are a
pretext for discrimination.”
Id.
In a typical reduction in force case, the plaintiff may
establish a prima facie case of discrimination by showing “(1)
that he was in a protected class,” (2) that he was terminated as
part of a reduction in force, (3) “that he was qualified for his
current position or to assume another position at the time of
discharge,”
and
(4)
“evidence
by
which
a
fact
finder
could
reasonably conclude that the employer intended to discriminate
in reaching that decision.”
Padilla v. N. Broward Hosp. Dist.,
270 F. App’x 966, 971 (11th Cir. 2008) (per curiam) (internal
quotation marks omitted); accord Standard v. A.B.E.L. Servs.,
Inc., 161 F.3d 1318, 1331 (11th Cir. 1998).
typical
reduction
favorable
to
in
force
Blackmon,
the
case.
School
8
Viewed
But this is not a
in
District
the
light
eliminated
most
the
elementary school physical education teaching position and kept
the middle and high school physical education teaching position.
And the School District terminated Blackmon, its middle and high
school physical education teacher, and moved Terry into that
position.
There is no question that Blackmon was a member of a
protected class who was qualified for his physical education
teaching position.
Under these facts, the Court is satisfied
for purposes of summary judgment that Blackmon has established a
prima facie case of race discrimination.
The
School
District
proffered
a
legitimate
nondiscriminatory reason for its decision: due to budget cuts,
the
School
teacher.
keep,
District
could
only
keep
one
physical
education
And in determining which physical education teacher to
the
School
District
decided
to
retain
the
physical
education teacher who was also head coach of the football and
baseball teams.
To
show
pretext,
Blackmon
“must
demonstrate
such
weaknesses, implausibilities, inconsistencies, incoherencies, or
contradictions in the employer’s proffered legitimate reasons
for its action that a reasonable factfinder could find them
unworthy of credence.”
quotation marks omitted).
Alvarez, 610 F.3d at 1265 (internal
“Provided that the proffered reason
is one that might motivate a reasonable employer, an employee
must meet that reason head on and rebut it, and [he] cannot
9
succeed by simply quarreling with the wisdom of that reason.”
Id. at 1265-66 (internal quotation marks omitted).
Blackmon appears to acknowledge that the School District
was
perfectly
justified
in
keeping
the
physical
teacher who also had coaching responsibilities.
argues
that
he
never
should
have
been
director or head football coach.
education
But Blackmon
removed
as
athletic
Pretermitting the question
whether Blackmon can raise these issues now
(even though he
apparently did not formally challenge these employment actions
when they occurred in 2009), Blackmon cannot prevail because he
pointed to no evidence that his removal from either position was
racially motivated.
The
rebut,
School
that
District
Blackmon
was
established,
and
Blackmon
did
removed
the
athletic
director
from
not
position in part because the School District wanted to improve
the
athletic
established,
department’s
and
Blackmon
image.3
did
not
The
rebut,
School
that
District
Blackmon
was
removed from the head football coach position because of his
team’s dismal record during the previous three seasons.
on
this
evidence,
the
School
3
District
was
Based
reasonable
in
Blackmon argues that Fort lied about one of the proffered reasons for
removing Blackmon from the athletic director position—the basketball
coach incident.
Even if the Court accepted Blackmon’s argument on
this point and discounted Blackmon’s own testimony that Blackmon had
no authority to fire the basketball coach, there is still no evidence
that unlawful discrimination was the true reason for Blackmon’s
removal from the athletic director position.
10
stripping
Given
Blackmon of his
that
Blackmon
football
lacked
coaching responsibilities.
coaching
responsibilities,
it
was
rational for the School District to terminate him instead of
Terry, who was the head coach of two teams.
the
wisdom
of
this
legitimate
Blackmon cannot
quarrel
with
nondiscriminatory
reason.
Cf. Springer v. Convergys Customer Mgmt. Grp. Inc., 509
F.3d 1344, 1349 (11th Cir. 2007) (noting, in the context of a
failure-to-promote case, that “a plaintiff must show that the
disparities
between
qualifications
were
the
of
successful
such
weight
applicant’s
and
and
significance
his
that
own
no
reasonable person, in the exercise of impartial judgment, could
have chosen the candidate selected over the plaintiff” (internal
quotation marks omitted)).
Blackmon seems to contend that he can establish intentional
discrimination in three other ways.
Fort
was
out
to
get
certificate incident.
certificate
had
him
as
evidenced
office
telephoned
Standards
to
a
expired
because
discuss
the
who
against
Blackmon
Blackmon
teaching
of
verified
certificate had been renewed.
action
the
2009
teaching
failed
a
computer
When Fort called Blackmon into
representative
Commission,
by
Fort believed that Blackmon’s teaching
competency test at least twice.
his
First, Blackmon argues that
certificate,
the
that
Georgia
Blackmon
Professional
Blackmon’s
teaching
Fort did not take any adverse
based
11
on
the
teaching
certificate
incident.
Nothing
about
this
episode
establishes
any
discriminatory intent on Fort’s part.
Second, Blackmon pointed to evidence that Viola Fedd, the
middle school principal and curriculum director of grades 6-12,
had
racial
animus
decisionmakers
process
itself
or
are
toward
remarks
not
him.
unrelated
direct
Standard, 161 F.3d at 1330.
But
to
evidence
“remarks
the
of
by
non-
decisionmaking
discrimination.”
Blackmon did not point to any
evidence that Fedd influenced or was involved in any of the
challenged
employment
decisions.
Rather,
the
undisputed
evidence is that Fort made the reduction-in-force recommendation
alone and that Fedd was not involved in the reduction-in-force
decision.
Fort Aff. ¶¶ 16, 29-30.
Finally, Blackmon argues that he should have been offered a
social studies teaching position.
But it is undisputed that (1)
Blackmon did not apply for a social studies teaching position
and (2) Blackmon was not certified to teach social studies in
Georgia.
Though Blackmon now contends that he could have become
certified to teach social studies, there is no evidence in the
present record that Fort was aware that Blackmon might be (or
become) eligible to teach social studies.
For all of these reasons, the Court concludes that Blackmon
failed to point to sufficient evidence to demonstrate genuine
12
factual disputes regarding his employment discrimination claims.
Defendants are thus entitled to summary judgment.
CONCLUSION
As discussed above, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment
(ECF No. 14) is granted.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this 4th day of June, 2014.
S/Clay D. Land
CLAY D. LAND
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
13
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