Ethics Ruling
I filed an Ethics complaint against Director DeBell for his participation in the discussion of the MOU with the Alliance for Education despite the fact that he sits on the Alliance board.
The District's Ethics Officer, Mr. Wayne Barnett, dismissed the complaint because Mr. DeBell's service on the board of the Alliance is ex officio. That is, he isn't there as himself but as the president of the school board and therefore there is no conflict of interest because in both capacities his duty of loyalty is to the District. Mr. Barnett also cited analogous decisions by the federal Department of Justice. This is, it would appear, well-traveled ground in the Ethics business and it has been determined that situations like this are not conflicts of interest. In short, exceptions are made when the person's ties to the other institution is a direct consequence of their work for the District. Case closed.
I am grateful to Mr. Barnett for a prompt, detailed, and clear explanation. I understood everything Mr. Barnett wrote and I agreed with the rationale completely. I still don't like it. While the rules may have been followed, the situation is clearly dirty.
The Alliance for Education is not just a fundraising group. They are an advocacy group. Their advocacy efforts
The District's Ethics Officer, Mr. Wayne Barnett, dismissed the complaint because Mr. DeBell's service on the board of the Alliance is ex officio. That is, he isn't there as himself but as the president of the school board and therefore there is no conflict of interest because in both capacities his duty of loyalty is to the District. Mr. Barnett also cited analogous decisions by the federal Department of Justice. This is, it would appear, well-traveled ground in the Ethics business and it has been determined that situations like this are not conflicts of interest. In short, exceptions are made when the person's ties to the other institution is a direct consequence of their work for the District. Case closed.
I am grateful to Mr. Barnett for a prompt, detailed, and clear explanation. I understood everything Mr. Barnett wrote and I agreed with the rationale completely. I still don't like it. While the rules may have been followed, the situation is clearly dirty.
The Alliance for Education is not just a fundraising group. They are an advocacy group. Their advocacy efforts
