001The following program is a presentation of the Ohio School Boards Association. [music] Hey everyone, it's Scott Griffin. Schoolboard members are public officials, which means they're required to comply with Ohio's ethics laws. Those laws cover a wide range of topics, but today we're focusing on one that comes up often for board members, and that's conflicts of interest. I'm joined by Dustin Coslin and Jenny Harden, two OSBA attorneys, to talk through what conflicts of interest are, what the law actually prohibits, and what board members should do when they run into one. But before we begin, I want to welcome Dustin, the newest member of OSBA's legal division to his first Legal Ledger sidebar. And Dustin, we're uh we're happy to have you here on board at OSBA. >> So much. Yeah, I'm excited to be here and
002hopefully get to make a difference for Ohio school boards and students throughout the state. >> Dustin, let's uh let's just start with the basics. We love to start with the basics here on the legal edge sidebar. What is a conflict of interest? >> Yeah, at its core, a conflict of interest exists when a public official's obligation to serve the public could be influenced by their own personal interests or the interests of someone they're closely connected to. So, is having a conflict of interest, is that prohibited by the law? >> No. And that's the important point. Conflicts of interest aren't uncommon. School board members have families, jobs, investments, and community ties. They may serve on nonprofit boards, or be active volunteers. All of those connections can create potential conflicts. >> So, Jenny, if having a conflict
003isn't prohibited, then then what is? >> Yeah, it's a great question. So, it's acting on the conflict that's prohibited. U, the law says that a board member can't use their position to secure a benefit or to avoid a detriment for themselves or for someone with whom they're closely connected. Uh, would it be useful if we broke that down a little bit? >> Why, of course, it would [laughter] be useful, Jenny. >> All right. Well, first, it's important to know who the law applies to. It covers schoolboard members and nearly all school district officials and employees except for teachers because teachers don't really perform supervisory or administrative functions. >> So most teachers are not covered then. >> That's right. But board members, administrators, and most district employees are. >> So the law also talks about uh
004quote anything of value. Jenny, what exactly does that mean? >> Yeah, the definition is really broad. It includes money, goods and chattles, promisory notes, warrants or checks, interest and realy, the promise of future employment and every other thing of value. >> I like goods and chattles. So I guess it [laughter] does include everything, right? >> Every everything's included and that's intentional um for board members. That means that any matter that's before the board that could result in a benefit or a detriment to them um or to someone closely connected with them is a conflict of interest. >> And when that happens, the board member cannot use their position to influence the outcome. So that means no voting, no recommendations, and no involvement in the decision-m. >> Yeah. Even participating in discussion or making recommendations or
005lobbying a subordinate district employee is prohibited. So, who counts Dustin as closely connected, so to speak, to a board member? >> Yeah, that's a good question. So, immediate family members like spouses, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, and domestic partners are all included. Uh, business partners, co-owners, outside employers, and even nonprofits where a board member serves as a trustee or board member are considered closely connected to the board member for conflict of interest purposes. Jenny, can you give us an example of where this might play out? >> Yeah, absolutely. Let's say that a board member is also the parent of a student who's receiving special education services. The as a parent, the board member still has a total right to participate in the IEP process, but as a board member, they're prohibited [clears throat] from voting on
006or recommending or influencing decisions on the services that their child receives from the district. And Dustin, so that that sounds like a very fine line there. >> Yeah, it really can be, which is why board members shouldn't ever guess. There are resources to help and board members can seek guidance from the Ohio Ethics Commission when needed. >> If a board member wants to learn more, Jenny, where should they go? And I know you have the resource to help them. >> Yeah, we sure do. Um, they can come to the legal division's hotline, which is 855 OSBA law. We can't give legal advice of course um but we can provide information and resources. Um OSBA is also offering two free webinars in March on ethics related issues including conflicts of interest and then another one on
007nepotism and public contracts. Uh so we're hoping people will join us for those. >> Yeah, those are going to be great workshops and the best part of all they are free for board members. >> Yep. We hope to see a lot of board members there. And so, Jenny, so board members can register using the QR code that's in the blog post or they can do so through the OSBA website. Right. >> Right. We make registration really easy. So, see you there. >> Dustin and Jenny, thanks for joining me today and thank you for watching. We'll see you on the next Legal Edger sidebar.