Crump v. Durham County Board of Education

Vivian Crump (plaintiff) began to experience disciplinary problems in her classroom after 27 years as a career teacher at a junior high school in the public-school system of the Durham County Board of Education (school board) (defendant). The principal spoke to Crump at the end of the school term about the disciplinary problems in her classroom. Before the next school term began, the parent of a student in Crump’s class wrote a letter to the school board to complain about the prior school term. The letter, which contained specific examples of disturbances in the classroom that the teacher did not control, was put in Crump’s personnel file. The principal and a county program coordinator met with Crump to help her improve classroom control and teaching effectiveness. At the end of the school term, the principal recommended improvements and placed Crump on marginal status according to a North Carolina statute that allowed for the dismissal of a career teacher for inadequate performance. The principal and county program coordinator visited Crump’s class during the following school term and notified Crump in writing about various problems, suggestions, and a week-long observation of an exemplary teacher’s classroom methods required by the state statute. Crump’s performance did not improve. The county school superintendent recommended Crump’s dismissal to the Peer Review Committee. The Peer Review Committee approved the recommendation. Crump was dismissed by the school board for her inadequate performance as a career teacher according to the North Carolina statute. The trial court approved Crump’s dismissal. Crump appealed.