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1. A school wants to give a principal
two open ended air plane tickets as a Christmas
present. How should this be handled?
Gifts are allowed that do not
relate to influencing a worksite decision, and
if over $50 should be reported to the
Superintendent in writing and sent by way of
courier.
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2. If
a homeroom mom collects from students and buys a
gift from the class over $50, does it need to be
reported?
Yes. Any gift over $50 has to be
reported in writing to the Superintendent. Just
the details of the gift, circumstances, etc.
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3. If a teacher
wins a gift over $50 as part of a raffle at a
conference, does it need to be reported?
Yes. Any gift over $50 has to be
reported in writing to the Superintendent. Just
the details of the gift, circumstances, etc.
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4.
Is there a form for reporting gifts over $50
to the superintendent? If not, what information
needs to be included, and how is it
communicated?
No just a memo to the
Superintendent with details of the gift. We are
going to develop a form for the website for this
reporting to the Superintendent.
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5. Many
times a large group of parents will pool
resources for a gift. And it could certainly
exceed $50.00. I know there is a provision for a
gift of greater value to be reported to the
superintendent within 10 days of receipt. Maybe that is
the best way to go. I would appreciate some
guidance on this.
The School Board Policy on gifts
allows staff to accept gifts of nominal
value, $50 or less not accepted for the purpose
of influencing a decision or any other
inappropriate reason. The policy even speaks to
holiday gifts, but the rule of reporting a gift
of over 50$ to the Superintendent would apply as
you stated.
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6. Is
it unethical for an employee to sell products at
their work site, for instance, Avon products,
cookware etc. What about Girl Scout cookies and
other fund raisers of this type?
This is addressed in the use of
school board property for commercial gain
policy. Most sites grant a great deal of
flexibility for student groups that sell items
such as the Scouts, Booster Clubs, etc.
Individual staff members selling products or
services for personal gain without being under
the umbrella of such a group is an issue for the
supervisor to deal with under the commercial
gain policy. An example of an acceptable use of
school board property for commercial gain would
be the ESF Employee Association and their fund
raisers.
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7. On
slide 39, employees may engage in other
employment provided that such employment does
not compromise or embarrass the school system in
any way.
What does that mean? Please provide
specific examples of what employment will
embarrass the district.
Some specific examples of
employment that might compromise or
embarrass the district are:
Accepting a position
with a company that is selling to
the school system as a vendor and
that employee will be a part of the
decision making process for the
purchase.
Participating in an
illegal income producing activity (
prostitution).
Employment in the
adult film (porno) industry.
Producing and/or
selling illegal drugs for profit.
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8. If
an employee writes a letter to the editor or
other article which shows disagreement with the
superintendent or the school board would that
embarrass the school system?
Employees have the right to free
speech in a free press.
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9. If
an employee writes a book in which sexual
behavior is implicitly described would that
embarrass the school system?
Employees have the right to
create a novel, fiction or non, on their own
time for publication.
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10. If
an employee were in a play in which s/he cursed,
smoked or played a sexual character would that
embarrass the school system?
Employees have the right to
creative expression and participation in the
arts.
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11. In
the pledge, "I certify that I have read,
understand, and will abide by the District's
ethics policy and all other documents reference
(sic) therein: "What other documents?
Those referenced in slide 55? 56?
57? All or some? Are employees
expected to read all those in each of these
slides?
Yes, if the noted statue, policy
or ethics code is appropriate to the employee's
position and that employee wants to become
familiar with the expectations of the state, the
board or their professional association related
to ethical conduct, then the employee should
review the appropriate authorities noted in the
three slides. We have had one teacher suggest we
add the American Library Association's Bill of
Rights to our list. In an effort to make the
location of each of the codes listed in the
training more readily available, each of the
codes/documents referred to will be added to our
Ethics Website.
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12.
What happens to an employee who does not sign
the pledge? Would discipline or
retaliation against such employee be ethical?
Failure to follow the directions
to sign the pledge could result in action by the
administration and that is not an ethical issue,
it's a willful neglect or insubordination issue.
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13.
Why does the person bringing a complaint have to
face the accused violator?
The person bringing the complaint
will not have to face the accused violator in
all cases, as this strategy is at the discretion
of the ethics panel should they choose to
utilize that method of reviewing the issues.
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14.
Is sending a blind copy of an email to a
supervisor by a staff member in a
school/department in order to inform the
supervisor of the work being requested to be
performed by a particular staff member or work
not being performed by a particular staff member
an ethical practice? Shouldn’t email
communication be copied to all parties involved
in an issue?
A blind copy of an email is
commonly used to provide information to someone
for various reasons. However, if the information
in that blind copy is going to be acted upon by
the person receiving it, then it would be
ethical to CC the information with all involved
parties.
15.
Is it ethical for a former employee to have a
jewelry party on school property after school
hours? Money collected will not be donated
to a charity but for the former employee's
personal gain.
An individual can submit a Building Use Form to
the district and if approved, they may use the
facilities after hours.
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