4110 - CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Elk Rapids Schools

Bylaws & Policies

4110 - CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Staff members shall perform their official duties in a manner free from conflict of interest. To this end:

	A.	The maintenance of unusually high standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality, and professional conduct by School District employees is essential to ensure the proper performance of school business as well as to earn and keep public confidence in the School District.
		To accomplish this, the Board of Education has adopted the following guidelines to assure that conflicts of interest do not occur. These are not intended to be all inclusive, nor to substitute for good judgment on the part of all employees.

		1.	No employee shall engage in or have a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in any activity that conflicts or raises a reasonable question of conflict with his/her duties and responsibilities. When a staff member determines that the possibility of a personal interest conflict exists, s/he should, prior to the matter being considered by the Board or administration, disclose his/her interest (such disclosure shall become a matter of record in the minutes of the Board).
		2.	No staff member shall use his/her position to benefit either himself/herself or any other individual or agency apart from the total interest of the School District.
		3.	If the pecuniary interest pertains to a proposed contract with the District, the following requirements must be met.
			The staff member shall disclose the direct pecuniary interest in the contract to the Board with such disclosure made a part of the official Board minutes. If his/her direct pecuniary interest amounts to $250 or more or five percent (5%) or more of the contract cost to the District, the staff member shall make the disclosure in one of two (2) ways:

			a.	In writing, to the Board president at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting at which the vote on the contract will be taken. The disclosure shall be made public in the same manner as the Board's notices of its public meetings. (See Bylaw 0165.)
			b.	By announcement at a meeting at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting at which a vote on the contract is to be taken. The staff member must use this method of disclosure if his/her pecuniary interest amounts to $5,000 or more.

		4.	Employees shall not engage in business, private practice of their profession, the rendering of services, or the sale of goods of any type where advantage is taken of any professional relationship they may have with any student, client, or parents of such students or clients in the course of their employment with the School District.
			Included, by way of illustration rather than limitation are the following:

			a.	the provision of any private lessons or services for a fee
			b.	the use, sale, or improper divulging of any privileged information about a student or client gained in the course of the employee's employment or through his/her access to School District records
			c.	the referral of any student or client for lessons or services to any private business or professional practitioner if there is any expectation of reciprocal referrals, sharing of fees, or other remuneration for such referrals
			d.	the requirement of students or clients to purchase any private goods or services provided by an employee or any business or professional practitioner with whom any employee has a financial relationship, as a condition of receiving any grades, credits, promotions, approvals, or recommendations

Employees shall not make use of materials, equipment, or facilities of the School District in private practice. Examples would be the use of facilities before, during, or after regular business hours for service to private practice clients, or the checking out of items from an instructional materials center for private practice.

Should exceptions to this policy be necessary in order to provide services to students or clients of the School District, all such exceptions will be made known to the employee's supervisor and will be disclosed to the Superintendent before entering into any private relationship.

Adopted 11/14/05