City School District of City of Elmira v. New York State Public Employment Relations Board, 74 N.Y.2d 395 (1989)
A school district’s decision whether to apply for Excellence in Teaching (EIT) funds is not a mandatory subject of collective bargaining under the Taylor Law.
Summary
This case concerns whether a school district is required to bargain with its teachers’ union over the decision to apply for Excellence in Teaching (EIT) funds. The New York Court of Appeals held that a school district’s decision to apply for EIT funds is not a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. The court reasoned that the Education Law grants school boards the discretion to decide whether to apply for such funds, and the legislative intent was to leave this decision to the board’s discretion.
Facts
The Elmira City School District’s Board of Education voted not to apply for EIT funds due to concerns about the district’s obligation to cover additional fringe benefit costs associated with the increased teacher salaries that EIT funds would support. The teachers’ association demanded that the district negotiate this decision. The district refused, leading the association to file an improper practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
Procedural History
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that the district violated the Civil Service Law by refusing to negotiate. PERB affirmed the ALJ’s decision, ordering the district to negotiate the application decision. The district then initiated a CPLR article 78 proceeding. The Appellate Division annulled PERB’s determination, leading to an appeal to the New York Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
Whether a school district’s decision to apply for Excellence in Teaching (EIT) funds is a proper subject for mandatory bargaining under the Taylor Law, such that a refusal to bargain constitutes an improper practice?
Holding
No, because the Legislature intended the decision of whether to apply for EIT funds to be left to the school board’s discretion and did not mandate collective bargaining on this issue.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals determined that the Legislature did not intend for a school district’s decision to apply for EIT funds to be subject to mandatory bargaining. The court based its reasoning on the language of Education Law § 3602 (27), which states that a school district “upon application shall be eligible” for EIT funds, indicating that application is not mandatory. The court emphasized that the regulations implementing the EIT program specify that the application is to be made by the board of education, which is the legislative body. The court noted that while the statute mandates collective negotiations over the distribution of EIT funds, it is silent regarding negotiations over the application decision. The court applied the principle of statutory interpretation that the express mention of one thing implies the exclusion of another. As the court stated, the evident purpose of the provision in paragraph (a) is “not only to mandate collective negotiations over the distribution of EIT funds, but to remove any impediment to such negotiations which might otherwise result where, as here, an ongoing collective bargaining agreement between the district and the union exists.” The court held that PERB’s interpretation of the statute was not entitled to deference because the issue was a matter of pure statutory reading and analysis. The court stated: ” ‘the question is one of pure statutory reading and analysis, dependent only on accurate apprehension of legislative intent’, [PERB’s] interpretations need not be accorded * * * deference”.