Dotterer v. School District of Allentown

DISSENTING OPINION BY

Judge LEAVITT.

Respectfully, I dissent. The School Board demoted James C. Dotterer from assistant principal to teacher after he retired, and it made this demotion retroactive to one year before his retirement. The Board’s action was illegal. A demotion must be prospective, and it can never be imposed upon a retired employee. Accordingly, Dotterer filed a mandamus action to have the School District ordered to pay him the retirement benefits afforded to a retired assistant principal, the position he held when he retired. The trial court held that the subject matter of…