FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Donald L. Johnson, who was fired last year as principal of the Fairhope-based Baldwin County Alternative School, won his appeal of that termination last month at an administrative hearing.

As required by state teacher tenure law, Johnson has been on paid administrative leave since his initial suspension on Oct. 20, 2008, and has continued to draw his $82,605 annual salary after his termination on June 19, 2008, by the Baldwin County School Board.

His appeal of that termination was conducted by a hearing officer from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, during five days of testimony spread out over three days in December, and one in January, with the hearing concluding Feb. 4, Hank Caddell said.

Miller issued his 59-page opinion on April 23.

“The hearing officer indicated that the (school) district proved its charges on the more serious offenses, but he said they were not grounds for termination,” said Terry Wilhite, spokesman for the county school system. “The system disagrees with the hearing officer’s findings, so Mr. Johnson’s case will be appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals as the law allows.”

The school system gave notice last week of its intention to appeal the hearing officer’s decision to the state appellate court, Caddell said.

“I expect and would certainly hope that his case will stand up on appeal,” Caddell said Wednesday. “There is a substantial presumption that the hearing officer’s decision will be upheld, and the appellate court won’t even entertain the appeal unless special or important reasons are demonstrated.”

At the time of his suspension, Johnson had been principal since 1997 at the Alternative School, which served approximately 80 students with disciplinary and related problems throughout the county school system. That school was closed at the end of the 2009 school year as one of several budget-cutting measures by the school system, and most of its tenured employees have moved to other schools in the county. Johnson has worked for the school system since 1993 and was assistant principal at Daphne Middle School and Daphne High School before moving to the Alternative School.

“In stating that termination was not acceptable for the charges levied, the hearing officer obviously indicated that Mr. Johnson should be employed,” Wilhite said. “The Alternative School where he worked has been closed, so at this point, it’s too early to talk about reinstatement.”

Alabama law states that cancellation of a tenured employee such as in Johnson’s case “may be made for incompetency, insubordination, neglect of duty, immorality, failure to perform duties in a satisfactory manner, justifiable decrease in the number of teaching position or other good and just cause, but cancellation may not be made for political or personal reasons.”

Neither the school system nor Johnson’s attorney would describe any specifics of the charges against Johnson, or provide a copy of the hearing officer’s decision. Attempts to contact Johnson have been unsuccessful.

“Mr. Johnson had a truly outstanding record and career with the system,” Caddell said. “He’s a school principal and entitled to a principalship position.”