Tonight, at 5:00 pm, the Policy and Legislation Committee will be considering the draft policy to impose some ethics reforms on the school district. It’s high time this policy got its rightful consideration (again). In 2007, the board voted down the policy 5-2. John Ryan and Monica Clark voted in favor of the policy; Mary Warren and Karen Roeckner flat out opposed it. That left three board members – Chris Stanton, Anne Miller, and Board President Joe Stevens – as supportive of an ethics policy, but not that particular one at the time.
This starts the process anew, attempting to resolve many of the concerns from before but still enabling true ethics reform to be implemented. I will update this post after the Policy Committee meeting with an overview of the proceedings. Or, if you like, please show up at 5:00 pm to witness the Policy Committee consider this policy.
UPDATE – 1/27/2009: The Policy and Legislation Committee took up consideration of the proposed ethics reform. It goes without saying that these policy changes have John Ryan’s and my support – we’re committed to the positive changes needed in this regard. Having said that, a couple of concerns that I perceived as coming up:
1. This is not a policy the punish old deeds, but rather to respond to change expectations of the public. I’ve received numerous comments stating support of the policy from other community members. People want honest government, especially in Illinois. This policy is meant to make the commitment to the District 300 community that the Board of Education, and the entire District, hold itself to a higher ethical standard for public servants.
2. There is a tradeoff between the convenience of contract allocation and ethical integrity. The district will have to make considerations about whether or not potential vendors have demonstrated financial support for political ballot questions that have an effect on district operations. I’m willing to take criticism for making it a tad more difficult to award contracts, but taking the correct path is not always the same as taking the convenient one. It’s a tradeoff I’m happy to encourage as a candidate for District 300 School Board, and will always accept as a board member if elected.
UPDATE: 02/12/2009: We had an extremely productive Policy Committee meeting on Monday, February 12. The committee focused on the issues at hand, and the merits of the policy. It’s moving forward, but there is still a lot of work left to do. Now that we have discussed the merits of the policy, we’re in a position to begin discussing the pragmatic implications of the policy. I will continue to do my best to continually update this post as changes occur.
Tags: Community Issues, John Ryan, Policy
