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01-1440 Vargas-Harrison v. Racine Unified School District, et al.

By: dmc-admin//December 3, 2001//

01-1440 Vargas-Harrison v. Racine Unified School District, et al.

By: dmc-admin//December 3, 2001//

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“As principal, Ms. Vargas-Harrison served as the highest ranking school official at Knapp Elementary. In this position, she exercised discretion over the organizational structure of her school. She assisted in the selection, supervision and evaluation of the faculty at Knapp. The responsibility for leading the development of curriculum and instruction fell to her. These duties, in themselves, are far from ministerial.

“Another aspect of her job also indicates that Ms. Vargas-Harrison had meaningful input into government decisionmaking on issues where there is room for principled disagreement. The development of the P-5 proposal indicates the scope of Ms. Vargas-Harrison’s decisionmaking responsibilities. The School District assigned Ms. Vargas-Harrison the task of creating a P-5 proposal for Knapp Elementary. The statutory scheme behind the P-5 program provided each school with wide discretion in developing a grant proposal to fit its particular needs. Ms. Vargas-Harrison used that discretion to its fullest – discarding Knapp’s traditional use of the funds in favor of an innovative exploitation of the grant. Although her superiors ultimately rejected the proposal, ‘the relevant inquiry is’ whether she had ‘input, not control.’ Warzon, 60 F.3d at 1239. Ms. Vargas-Harrison’s well-defined duties as principal at Knapp lead to one conclusion – she had significant input into government decisionmaking. We therefore conclude that she occupied a policy-making position within the School District.”

“Ms. Vargas-Harrison’s speech falls within the contours of the policy-maker corollary. Ms. Vargas-Harrison’s speech on May 25 unequivocally concerned work-related policies. Ms. Vargas-Harrison advocated shifting the use of the P-5 funds from teachers’ salaries to an alternative reading program. This stance placed her in square opposition to the stated goals and policies of her superiors. The School District’s need for allegiance from Ms. Vargas-Harrison during the creation of the P-5 proposal was acute. The union’s vehement opposition to Ms. Vargas- Harrison’s proposal boded poorly for labor relations in the School District. The Committee’s refusal to approve Ms. Vargas-Harrison’s plan denied the School District much needed funding. This is the precise type of situation that implicates the policy-maker rule.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Randa, J., Ripple, J.

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