Appeal of Matthew Kennedy
Annotate this CasePetitioners Matthew Kennedy and the Hinsdale Federation of Teachers appealed the decision of the New Hampshire Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) that denied their unfair labor practice claims against Respondent, the Hinsdale School District (District). Mr. Kennedy was a music teacher for about ten years and a member of the teachers' union. The District and Union were parties to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that contained a grievance procedure that provided for binding arbitration. The only matters excluded from the grievance procedure were management prerogatives and teacher non-renewals. Citing a lack of student participation, the District notified Mr. Kennedy that it would not renew his contract. Before the 2009-2010 school year, the District eliminated the Hinsdale band program and entered into an agreement with Brattleboro High School where interested students from Hinsdale could participate in Brattleboro's music offerings. Petitioners filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the PELRB alleging multiple violations of the CBA. The PELRB dismissed Petitioners' claims. On appeal to the Supreme Court, Petitioners argued that the District illegally outsourced its band program to Brattleboro, and challenged the District's reasons for its "reduction-in-force" claim. The Supreme Court could not conclude that the PELRB's decision was erroneous or that it was unjust or unreasonable. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the PELRB's decision to dismiss Petitioners' complaint.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.