## Facts

- Vivian M. Crump was a career (tenured) teacher with approximately 27 years’ experience in the Durham County public schools.
- School administrators documented continuing problems with Crump’s inability to maintain classroom discipline and order.
- A parent complained to the Board about uncontrolled disturbances in Crump’s classroom; the complaint was placed in her personnel file.
- The principal and a program coordinator attempted corrective measures, including conferences, written feedback from observations, and directing Crump to observe an exemplary teacher for a week.
- Crump was placed on “marginal” status under statutory procedures as part of efforts to improve her performance.
- The superintendent recommended dismissal for “inadequate performance.”
- A five-member Professional Review Committee heard evidence from both sides and unanimously found the charge substantiated.
- The Durham County Board of Education held a hearing and dismissed Crump for “inadequate performance.”
- The superior court upheld the dismissal, and Crump appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the dismissal of a career teacher was unconstitutional because it was arbitrary, capricious, or for personal reasons, in violation of due process and equal protection.
2. Whether the statutory ground authorizing dismissal for “inadequate performance” is unconstitutionally vague on its face or as applied.

## Decision

- The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the superior court and the Board’s decision.
- The court rejected the claim that the dismissal was arbitrary, capricious, or personally motivated, concluding the record reflected sustained remedial efforts and fact-based findings under the statutory process.
- The court held that “inadequate performance” is sufficiently definite in the employment context and is not void for vagueness.
- The court held the statute was not vague as applied because Crump was repeatedly notified that the performance deficiency involved failure to maintain classroom discipline and was given opportunities to correct it.

## Legal Principles

- A tenured teacher may be dismissed only for a specified statutory ground proved by a preponderance of the evidence, using procedures designed to protect the teacher’s rights.
- The term “inadequate performance,” understood in relation to the duties of the position, provides adequate notice and is not unconstitutionally vague.
- A vagueness challenge fails where the employee is informed of concrete deficiencies tied to core job duties (including maintaining classroom order and discipline) and the dismissal decision follows structured, multi-level review.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the dismissal of a career teacher for inadequate performance, ruling that the statutory process provided constitutionally sufficient protections and that “inadequate performance” is a sufficiently definite standard, both generally and as applied to repeated failures to maintain classroom discipline.


Crump v. Durham Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 74 N.C. App. 77 (1985)