Seaman

Appellant, a permanent school teacher for the respondent school district, appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court of Stanislaus County, decreeing that the governing board of the district may dismiss her. Permanent certified employees of a school district may not be dismissed except for one or more of the causes enumerated in Education Code section 13403, and, under the law in effect at the time of appellant’s dismissal, it was the function of the superior court to determine whether such cause existed.

The basic facts are undisputed. On April 14, 1969, the governing board of the Oakdale Union School District established the school day calendar for the 1969-1970 school year; the calendar provided that September 10, 11, 12, 16 and 17 were teaching days and that all teachers were required to be at the school on September 3, 4 and 5 for orientation. A letter containing this information was mailed to the district’s teachers on or about August 12, 1969.

On June 24, 1969, appellant, who had been employed by the district eight years and had been offered a contract to teach mentally retarded children at the Fair Oaks School for the 1969-1970 school year, appeared before the…