Randy Arnwine v. Union County Board of Education

**What Happened** Randy Arnwine worked as an assistant superintendent for the Union County Board of Education in Tennessee. He had a four-year employment contract with the school district. When a dispute arose over his contract, Arnwine sued the Board of Education for breach of contract, claiming they violated the terms of their agreement. **What the Court Decided** The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled against Arnwine. The court found that the Union County Board of Education never had the legal authority to offer a four-year employment contract to an assistant superintendent in the first place. Since the Board lacked this authority under state law, the entire contract was invalid from the beginning. This meant Arnwine had no valid contract that could be breached. **Why This Matters for Workers** This case shows that employment contracts are only valid if the employer has the legal authority to make them. Government employers, like school districts, must follow specific state laws about what types of contracts they can offer and to whom. Workers should understand that even if they sign a contract, it may not be enforceable if their employer exceeded their legal authority when creating it.