Nepotism Policy Vote Expected Tonight

The Board of Education is expected to vote on a new nepotism policy tonight which was introduced at the end of last year.

The second reading and vote were postponed from the board's July regular meeting because the board did not want to vote on such an important and possibly contentious policy when interested members of the public were on vacation for the summer or otherwise absent, said President Jack Lyness.

The policy would prohibit "relatives" of current district staff from obtaining employment, including substitute teachers and contractors.

"This policy is a way to avoid the sense of impropriety," said policy committee chair Michelle Stevenson at June 11 meeting.

A "relative" is defined in the policy as an individual's spouse, by marriage or civil union, domestic partner, or the individual's or spouse's parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother or half-sister, "whether the relative is related to the individual or the individual's spouse by blood, marriage or adoption."

However, the policy does outline certain exemptions by which the superintendent can permit employment of a relative of a staff member, including in "matters of safety or security; demonstrated shortages of qualified applicants in areas requiring specialized expertise; or emergency vacancies that must be filled on a temporary basis," the policy reads.

The policy also prohibits a staff member from exercising direct or indirect authority, supervision, or control over a relative.

Under the new policy, seven out of 160 current substitute teachers will be ineligible to continue working in Summit, according to Director of Human Resources Ken Shulack. Contracted employees hired under the old policy, the number of which was not immediately known, will be grandfathered in. However the grandfather clause does not apply to substitutes.

Stevenson said the new policy was drafted in order to comply with more strict state statutes and codes adapted two years ago and would not prohibit a staff member from being promoted except in instances where that person would be a direct or indirect supervisor of their relative.

The City of Summit already maintains a nepotism policy of its own which is very similar to the district's proposed policy.

The city'spolicy defines an immediate relatives as "spouse or civil union partner, child, parent, stepchild, sibling, grandparents, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, grandchildren, niece, nephew, uncle, aunt, or any person related by blood or marriage residing in an employee's household."

The city's policy also includes several unique clauses prohibiting a person's employment if they have any relation to the current mayor, council members, or anyone who has held those positions in the last five years. It also prohibits the hiring of relatives of the city clerk, city treasurer, city administrator, assistant city treasurer, senior account clerk or anyone in those offices.

–Patch contributor Patrick Sullivan contributed to this report.