Newspaper Clippings

ECJC claims Robinson's firing handled .properly,.b.

J"''"• •v •11u aotae oy any deviations from said pub– lished policies and proce– dures as contained in said manual and handbook." The college claims that on March 4, Dr. Wright announced at a faculty meet– ing that recommc;ndations for hiring in the 1982-83 school year would not be ready by March 15 and this announcement amounted to a policy change for any other published announcements concerning the March 15 date. Robinson, who could not be reached in Decatur, has reportedly taken a job as basketball coach and assis– tant principal at Good Hope High School in Lowndes County. In his seven years as men's basketball coach at East Central he compiled a SS-81 record and had a 5 and 17 season in 1981 -82. In his ftling with the court, Robinson is asking for his 519,768 salary, plus S840 he would have made as a dormitory supervisor, a S2.100 housin~~t frin_ge benefit and a 54,583 insurance bene– fit which he says was wrong– fully denied him. The case is a part of the court docket which will pro– bably be called up for its first courtroom airing when Chancery Court opens in Newton County September 20 in Decatur.

dismissed teacher be notified on or before March IS. East Central's suit further states that the manual was never adopted by the ECJC Board of Trustees and claim that the booklet is not "a recognized. accepted, adop– ted and published statement of policies, procedures, re– sponsibilities, and obliga– tions." The college administration also denies, according to the suit in the Cha_ncery Clerk's office, that the "Faculty Handbook,'' which was dis– tributed to teachers and contained a section entitled 'Due Process' was ever a part of the college's contract with its employees. The college also bases part of its arguments in defense of Robinson's suit on a phrase in the one page contract that each faculty member signs. It cites a line in paragraph two which says: "said employee unreserved– ly agrees to be loyal to the policies of the College as outlined from time to rime by the president. .. '' The college counter-claim stipulates that ~he phrase "time to time" means "that

The lines of argument between East Central Junior College and former basket– ball coach Herman Robinson• were more sharply defined last week when the college filed its answer to Robinson's Chancery Court suit. Robinson was ftred from his job at the Decatur based school last spring and has since brought suit against college President Charles V. Wright and the Board of Trustees for reinstatement, claiming that his release was not handled according to the published guidelines and po– licies of the school. Robinson is asking the court to set aside his dismis– sal and is also seeking S27,291.52 in damages. In its answer, the Junior College claims that Robin– son's dismissal was handled properly and that he was given proper notification at every stage of the proceed– ings. Robinson, who bas been at ECJC for seven years, earlier claimed that he ftrst heard a rumor of his dismissal and met with Dr. Wright on March 28, at which time Wright indicated he knew

nothing about the coach being released. The fifty-one year old Chunky native claims that he was notified in a telephone conversation with Wright on April 13 that his contract would not be renewed by the Board of Trustees and re– ceived written notification of his termination on May 13. Robinson's appeal to the court is based primarily on a booklet entitled ''East Cen– tral Junior College Policy and Procedure Manual.'' He says the Board violated its own rules by not notifying him in writing of his dismissal by March 15, as the manual stipulates. He says the seven week delay in receiving notice from the school great– ly decreased his chances of finding another teaching job for the 1982-83 school year. In its answer, the college acknowledged the existence of the 'Policy and Procedure Manual,'' and admitted that it had been distributed to faculty employees. However, school officials claim that the manual was not a part of the written contract with a facul– ty member, thereby not malting it mandatory that a

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