Former Southern Union president’s termination in question

Amy Weaver
Staff Writer
Published: May 27, 2008

An attorney retained on behalf of former Southern Union State Community College President Susan Salatto says a judge’s ruling last week essentially sends his client back to work. But Alabama Community College System Chancellor Bradley Byrne said Tuesday that the ruling was made “in error.”

Chief Administrative Law Judge Walter S. Turner ruled Friday that Salatto should have had a hearing before she was fired by the State Board of Education in January.

Montgomery attorney William Patty, who has been retained by the AEA to represent Salatto, said Tuesday that Turner’s ruling rescinds the board’s action. The Administrative Law Judge office is within the Attorney General’s office.

“I don’t know what they want to do, but she’s ready to go back to work,” he said.

Patty said officials at Southern Union have been notified of Salatto’s desire to return to the position she held for nearly two years, but he hasn’t received a response yet.

The Alabama Education Association and Salatto have contended since Jan. 24 that the board’s action violated the Fair Dismissal Act and, therefore, her rights to be notified of a pending decision as well a due process hearing.

Dr. Amelia Pearson has been serving as interim president since Salatto was fired. She would not comment Tuesday night until she read the judge’s ruling and talked with officials in the Department of Postsecondary Education.

Attempts to reach Salatto were unsuccessful Tuesday.

In comments included in a Department of Postsecondary Education release dated Tuesday, Byrne said the judge ruled “in error.”

“College presidents are not covered under the Fair Dismissal Act,” he stated in the release. “… None of the employees under my direct supervision are covered under this act.”

In the release, Joan Davis, vice chancellor and DPE general counsel, said the department is waiting to react to the ruling until Montgomery Circuit Court Judge William Shashy makes his ruling on an identical claim also filed by Salatto.

“We believe that there are factual errors in the administrative law judge’s ruling, and we will ask him to reconsider his ruling accordingly,” Davis said. “We will file for a declaratory judgment from Judge Shashy overturning Judge Turner’s rescinding of the lawful termination of Ms. Salatto by the State Board of Education.”

The state board unanimously agreed to terminate Salatto after an extensive audit by the DPE discovered numerous problems including, but not limited to, nepotism, misuse of scholarships, discrimination and bid law violations. Salatto had been an employee of the two-year college system for more than 30 years.

Salatto claimed she had tenure in her position as president, or at least she had it during her employment in the college, before becoming president, and therefore, is covered under the law.

According to Turner’s decision, “the Fair Dismissal Act in Alabama does not prohibit the the termination of non-probationary employees, but out of a sense of fairness and with a belief in the due process of the law, the Alabama Legislature has established a process to be followed requiring notice and a hearing when an employer is terminating a non-probationary employee.”

“We are elated,” said Mary Bruce Ogles, AEA’s assistant executive secretary. “We feel she did have tenure.”

News of the ruling was disturbing to Betty Peters, who represents District 2 on the school board, because she believes Salatto needs to be held accountable for the findings in the DPE report. Also, Pearson and the other employees at Southern Union have been working to move forward, past the scathing report.

“It’s one step forward, 10 steps back,” Peters said.

If the board still wants Salatto to be terminated, Patty said they will have to follow the law, which includes giving her notice and a proper hearing.

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Click here to read the court documents.

Full text of Department of Postsecondary Education release:

“For Immediate Release
Tuesday, May 27,2008

“Terminated Southern Union president not due fair dismissal rights

“Montgomery, Ala. — Alabama Community College System (ACCS) Chancellor Bradley Byrne said that an administrative law judge is in error in his ruling Tuesday in favor of the former president of Southern Union Community College.
“Administrative Law Judge Walter S. Turner ordered that the State Board of Education rescind its termination of Susan Salatto, who was fired for cause as a result of an extensive internal investigation revealing numerous problems at the college.
“‘College presidents are not covered under the Fair Dismissal Act,’ Byrne said. ‘They are at-will employees who report to me as chancellor of the Department of Postsecondary Education. None of the employees under my direct supervision are covered under this act.’
“Joan Davis, vice chancellor and general counsel at the department, said that Salatto has filed an identical claim now under consideration by Montgomery Circuit Court Judge William Shashy.
“‘We are waiting to see what Judge Shashy rules in this case,’ Davis said. ‘We believe that there are factual errors in the administrative law judge’s ruling, and we will ask him to reconsider his ruling accordingly. We will file for a declaratory judgment from Judge Shashy overturning Judge Turner’s rescinding of the lawful termination of Ms. Salatto by the State Board of Education.’”