Members of the board recognize the ethical duty of all public offices to avoid conflicts of interest. In the case of school board members, this duty is extended by Vermont statutory law to include a requirement that boards adopt policies and procedures to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest. In order to comply with the obligations thus imposed, the board and its members will adhere to the following standards.
1.
Board
members will be familiar with the NSBA and VSBA Codes of Ethics, and will
observe their provisions.
2.
Board
members will be familiar with, and adhere to, those provisions of Vermont
education law that define school board powers and govern board member
compensation and public bidding processes.
3.
A
board member will do nothing intended to give the false impression that he or
she has the authority to make decisions or take action on behalf of the board
or the school administration.
4.
A
board member will not take any action that is intended to give the impression
that he or she would represent special interests or partisan politics for
personal gain.
5.
A
board member will not use his or her position on the board in any manner intended
to unfairly promote personal financial interests or the financial interests of
family members, friends or supporters.
6.
A
board member will not accept anything of value in return for taking particular
positions on matters before the board.
7.
A
board member will do nothing intended to leave the impression that his or her
position on any issue can be influenced by anything other than a fair
presentation of all sides of the question.
When a board member becomes aware of involvement in
a conflict of interest, as defined in state law or this policy, he or she will
declare the nature and extent of the conflict or appearance of conflict for
inclusion in the board minutes, and will abstain from voting or participating
in the discussion of the issue giving rise to the conflict.
When a conflict of interest
claim against a board member is brought to the board in writing, and is signed
by another board member or a member of the public, and the board member against
whom the claim is made does not concur that a conflict in fact exists, the
following board procedures will be followed:
1.
Upon
a majority vote of the remaining board members, or upon order of the chair, the
board will hold an informal public hearing on the conflict of interest claim,
giving both the board member and the person bringing the claim an opportunity
to be heard.
2.
At
the conclusion of the informal hearing, the remaining board members will
determine by majority vote to take one of the following actions:
A.
Issue
a public finding that the conflict of interest charge is not supported by the
evidence and is therefore dismissed.
B.
Issue a public finding that the conflict of
interest charge is supported by the evidence and that the member should
disqualify him or herself from voting or otherwise participating in the board
deliberations or decision related to that issue, as required by Vermont
statute.
C.
Issue
a public finding that the conflict of interest charge is supported by the
evidence and, in addition to disqualifying him or herself from voting or
otherwise participating in the board deliberations or decision, the board
member should be formally censured or subjected to such other action as may be
allowed by law.
Warned: December
8, 1998, November 23, 2001
Adopted: March
3, 1999
Revised: December
5, 2001
Legal Reference(s): 16
V.S.A.§§557, 558, 559, 563(20), 262(c)
References: VSBA Code of Ethics for School Board Members; NSBA Code of Ethics for School Board Members