Attorneys Rob Jarosh and Traci Lacock recently obtained a victory before the Wyoming Supreme Court on behalf of a local school district in a breach of contract case. In the case, the Wyoming Supreme Court reversed the decision of a state district court, which had entered summary judgment in favor of a former teacher. The issue before the court involved the legislative intent surrounding the Wyoming Teacher Employment Act, and specifically whether a teacher is entitled to an additional year of compensation if a final decision on his appeal of a termination is not delivered until the school year after he receives notice of the recommendation of termination. Originally, the state district court ruled that the Wyoming Teacher Employment Act differentiated between a “notice of termination” and a notice of “recommendation of termination,” such that the teacher was entitled to additional compensation because the final decision on his appeal was not rendered until the school year after he received the initial recommendation of termination. On appeal, the Wyoming Supreme Court agreed with Hirst Applegate that the legislature used the terms interchangeably throughout the Wyoming Teacher Employment Act, and that the teacher was not entitled to be paid beyond the school year in which he received the initial notice of recommendation of termination.
