In Inside Courts, retired judge Tom Hodson explains the complexities of the law and legal cases, helping you understand what’s at stake — and how it affects you.
Fired Federal Hocking High School Principal Jake Amlin is suing the Federal Hocking Local School District to keep his job.
Amlin filed a civil complaint July 2 in the Athens County Common Pleas Court asking for damages for breach of contract plus asking the court for a declaratory judgment keeping him in his position as principal for at least one more year.
On April 15, The Federal Hocking Board of Education voted 4–1 not to renew Amlin’s contract as principal based upon the recommendation of then Superintendent Jason Spencer.
Many Federal Hocking residents, parents and students were upset with the decision and the students staged a “walkout in protest” on April 16.
The controversial Spencer resigned as superintendent June 25. Spencer and the board of education issued a joint statement:
“This decision reflects a shared understanding and respect for the evolving needs of the district and Superintendent Spencer’s desire to be closer to his family in pursuing other professional opportunities closer to home. Both parties believe this transition will allow the district to move forward in a positive and productive manner, continuing its commitment to educational excellence and community engagement.”
Amlin is being represented in his lawsuit by Dayton attorney David Duwel, who has over 40 years of experience in employment law. He is considered by many in the legal community to be an expert in this field.
Amlin makes two claims in his lawsuit: 1) he is suing to keep his job and 2) in the alternative to receive money damages from the school district for breach of contract if he can’t keep his job.
I will break down the lawsuit’s claims and explain what to expect next procedurally.
Background
Amlin served as Federal Hocking’s assistant superintendent for student services for seven years prior to becoming the high school principal in 2022. His contract as principal began August 1, 2022, and lasted through July 31, 2025, meaning that Amlin was still under contract when he filed his lawsuit.
The written “Administrator Contract” was entered April 28, 2022, and was required under Ohio Revised Code Sec. 3319.02 (c).
Legal complaint
ORC 3319.02 (D) (2)(c) (1) also requires that boards of education must adopt procedures for evaluating principals and that boards must follow those procedures.
In this case, the Federal Hocking Board of Education had adopted written procedures for evaluation — but according to Amlin’s lawsuit, the board failed to evaluate him in the 2023–2024 school year, thereby neglecting to follow its own rules.
In his legal complaint, Amlin asserts that if no such evaluation took place, his contract should have been automatically extended for a two-year period. He relies on ORC 3319.02 (D) (5), which states, in part:
“…However, if a board fails to provide evaluations pursuant to division (D)(2)(c)(i) or (ii) of this section, or if the board fails to provide at the request of the employee a meeting as prescribed in division (D)(4) of this section, the employee automatically shall be reemployed at the same salary plus any increments that may be authorized by the board for a period of one year, except that if the employee has been employed by the district or service center as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or other administrator for three years or more, the period of reemployment shall be for two years.”
At a minimum, Amlin says that since the evaluation procedure failed in 2023–2024 that he should have a contract extension to at least the end of the 2025–2026 academic year.
The Federal Hocking board has advised Amlin that the board does not believe that the “contract was automatically extended,” according to Amlin’s attorney.
The main thrust of Amlin’s lawsuit is to get his job back. However, if that is not legally feasible, he is asking for money damages from the Federal Hocking School Board to compensate him for the board’s alleged breach of contract.
Declaratory judgment
In his complaint (the document starting a civil lawsuit), Amlin asks Athens Common Pleas Court Judge Patrick Lang to examine the facts in the case and to declare that Amlin’s contract is extended, by statute, until the end of the 2025–2026 school year.
This, in legalese, is called a declaratory judgment, outlined in Chapter 2721 of the ORC. It allows the judge to interpret and declare the various legal rights of parties to a lawsuit without the benefit of a jury.
Amlin is asking Judge Lang to issue a declaratory judgment that his principal’s contract should be automatically renewed through the 2025–2026 school year because of the board of education’s failure to follow its statutorily mandated evaluation procedures in 2023–2024.
Breach of contract
If the court does not declare that the contract is automatically extended, then Amlin is asking that the school board pay him damages for breaking his employment contract. A copy of the contract is attached to Amlin’s complaint.
Although damages are not specified, clearly Amlin would be requesting a year’s salary plus potentially other damages caused by the board’s allegedly improper failure to renew his contract.
Ultimately, if the case is not settled prior to trial, a jury would determine whether damages are appropriate and how much would be awarded.
Next steps
Once the lawsuit was filed July 2, the clerk of courts prepared a summons to be attached to the complaint and sent by certified mail to the defendant.
Once the defendant signed for the complaint and summons, the defendant has 28 days to file a written answer to the complaint with the court. The Federal Hocking Local School District was served July 7. That makes its answer due by Monday, August 4. Of course, it could be filed earlier.
Once an answer is filed, the judge usually schedules a telephonic status conference with the attorneys to discuss the possibilities for settlement and to set out a schedule for the case’s resolution.
Deja vu all over again
The Federal Hocking Local School District is no stranger to litigation about firing principals. In 1997, Dr. George Wood’s contract was not renewed as principal at Federal Hocking High School.
There was a large crowd of 400 people at the school board meeting where his contract was not renewed, and students staged a 30-minute walkout in support of Wood the next day.
He came to me as a lawyer, and we filed suit in the Athens County Common Pleas Court.
We won on the grounds that the school board had violated the Ohio Open Meetings Act (Sunshine law) in a few ways which made their action void.
Once reinstated, Wood then stayed in his position and eventually became both principal and superintendent. He later reflected on his experiences in this article in Learning for Justice.
Stay tuned
The Independent has covered Spencer’s superintendency, including Amlin’s firing, since late 2024. We will be following this lawsuit closely and will give you updates as they arise.
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