Gallup

The Board of Trustees (the Board) of the Alta Loma School District (the District) has appealed from a judgment granting the petition of Peter Gallup (Gallup) for administrative mandamus. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5.) The petition successfully compelled the Board to set aside its decision dismissing Gallup, an elementary school psychologist, and to order Gallup’s reinstatement. The central issue presented by the Board’s appeal is whether the District’s replacement of its three elementary school psychologists by an administrative psychologist and independent contractor psychologists was a reduction or discontinuation of a “particular kind of service” pursuant to section 44955 of the Education Code. The trial court ruled that it was not, and therefore that Gallup’s termination was impermissible. The Board contends that the court’s ruling was not supported by substantial evidence. Because the relevant evidence was undisputed, the issue is whether, as a matter of law, it does not support the trial court’s ruling. In our view, for the reasons stated below, it does not. We shall reverse the judgment accordingly.

Factual and Procedural Background

On February 23, 1993, as part of…