Employees will not engage in political activity upon property under the jurisdiction of the board.  Activities including, but not limited to, posting of political circulars or petitions, the distribution of political circulars or petitions, the collection of or solicitation for campaign funds, solicitation for campaign workers, use of district e-mail to originate messages of support for a particular candidate or issue, and the use of students for writing or addressing political materials, or the distribution of such materials to or by students are specifically prohibited.

 

 

(April 18, 2011; June 18, 2012; January 19, 2015; June 10, 2019)

 

Employees’ use of their position with the school district for financial gain is considered a conflict of interest with their position as employees and may subject employees to disciplinary action.

Employees have access to information and a captive audience that could award the employee personal or financial gain.  No employee may solicit other employees or students for personal or financial gain to the employee without the approval of the superintendent.  If the approval of the superintendent is given, the employee must conduct the solicitations within the conditions set by the superintendent.  Further, the superintendent may, upon five days’ notice, require the employee to cease such solicitations as a condition of continued employment.

Employees will not act as an agent or dealer for the sale of textbooks or other school supplies.  Employees will not participate for personal financial remuneration in outside activities wherein their position on the staff is used to sell goods or services to students or to parents.  Employees will not engage in outside work or activities where the source of information concerning the customer, client or employer originates from information obtained because of the employee’s position in the school district.

It will also be a conflict of interest for an employee to engage in any outside employment or activity which is in conflict with the employee’s official duties and responsibilities.  In determining whether outside employment or activity of an employee creates a conflict of interest, situations in which an unacceptable conflict of interest is deemed to exist will include, but not be limited to, any of the following:

1. The outside employment or activity involves the use of the school district’s time, facilities, equipment and supplies or the use of the school district’s badge, uniform, business card or other evidences of office to give the employee or the employee’s immediate family an advantage or pecuniary benefit that is not available to other similarly situated members or classes of members of the general public.  For purposes of this section, a person is not “similarly situated” merely by being related to an employee who is employed by the school district.

2. The outside employment or activity involves the receipt of, promise of, or acceptance of more or other consideration by the employee or a member of the employee’s immediate family from anyone other than the school district for the performance of any act that the employee would be required or expected to perform as part of the employee’s regular duties or during the hours during which the employee performs service or work for the school district.

3. The outside employment or activity is subject to the official control, inspection, review, audit or enforcement authority of the employee during the performance of the employee’s duties.

If the outside employment or activity is employment or activity in (1) or (2) above, the employee must cease the employment of or activity.  If the activity or employment falls under (3), then the employee must:

• Cease the outside employment or activity; or
• Publicly disclose the existence of the conflict and refrain from taking any official action or performing any official duty that would detrimentally affect or create a benefit for the outside employment or activity.  Official action or official duty includes, but is not limited to, participating in any vote, taking affirmative action to influence any vote, or providing any other official service or thing that is not available generally to members of the public in order to further the interests of the outside employment or activity.

When procurement is supported by Federal Child Nutrition funds, employees will not participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract if there is a real or apparent conflict of interest in the contract.  Contract, for purposes of this paragraph, includes a contract where the employee, employee’s immediate family, partner, or a non-school district employer of these individuals is a party to the contract.

It is the responsibility of each employee to be aware of and take the necessary action to eliminate a potential conflict of interest should it arise.

 

 

(April 18, 2011; June 18, 2012; January 19, 2015; June 10, 2019)

 

Nepotism is patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship.  More than one family member may be an employee of the district.  The decision to employ more than one individual in a family shall be made on the basis of each individual’s qualifications and credentials.

No district employee shall be involved in hiring a family member.  No district employee shall serve in a supervisory capacity over one of their family members employed by the district.  No district employee shall attempt to influence the evaluation or conditions of employment of the employee’s family member with anyone who serves in a supervisory capacity over that family member.

Family members for purposes of this policy include husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law, sisters, brothers, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, daughters, sons, daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law.

 

 

(June 10, 2019)

 

The board understands the desire of students, parents, and others to give gifts to show appreciation of an employee.  Rather than giving gifts, the board encourages, as more welcome and more appropriate, the writing of a letter to express gratitude and appreciation or the donation of a gift to benefit the school district rather than an individual employee.

Employees shall not, either directly or indirectly, solicit, accept or receive any gift, series of gifts or an honorarium unless the donor does not meet the definition of a “restricted donor” stated below or the item does not meet the definition of a “gift” or an “honorarium” stated below.  Employees may receive a gift on behalf of the school district.

A “restricted donor” is defined as a person or other entity which:

• Is seeking to be or is a party to any one or any combination of sales, purchases, leases or contracts to, from or with the school district;
• Is engaged in activities which are regulated or controlled by the school district;
• Will be directly and substantially affected financially by the performance or nonperformance of the employee’s official duty in a way that is greater than the effect on the public generally or on a substantial class of persons to which the person belongs as a member of a profession, occupation, industry or region; or,
• Is a lobbyist with respect to matters within the school district’s jurisdiction.

A “gift” is the giving of anything of value in return for which something of equal or greater value is not given or received.  However, “gift” does not include any of the following:

• Contributions to a candidate or a candidate’s committee;
• Information material relevant to a employee’s official function, such as books, pamphlets, reports, documents or periodicals;
• Anything received from a person related within the fourth degree by kinship or marriage, unless the donor is acting as an agent or intermediary for another person not so related;
• An inheritance;
• Anything available or distributed to the public generally without regard to the official status of the employee;
• Actual expenses of an employee for food, beverages, travel and lodging for a meeting, which is given in return for the participation in a panel or speaking engagement at the meeting when the expenses relate directly to the day or days on which the employee has participation or presentation responsibilities;
• Plaques or items of negligible resale value given as recognition for public services;
• Non-monetary items of food and drink with a value of less than three dollars that are received from any one donor during one calendar day;
• Items or services solicited or given to a state, national or regional organization in which the state of Iowa or a political subdivision of the state of Iowa is a member for purposes of a business or educational conference, seminar or other meeting or solicited by or given for the same purposes to state, national or regional government organizations whose memberships and officers are primarily composed of state or local government officials or employees for purposes of a business or educational conference, seminar or other meeting;
• Items or services received as part of a regularly scheduled event that is part of a conference, seminar or other meeting that is sponsored and directed by any state, national or regional organization in which the state of Iowa or a political subdivision of the state of Iowa is a member or received at such an event by members or representatives of members of state, national or regional government organizations whose memberships and officers are primarily composed of state or local government officials or employees;
• Items received from a charitable, professional, educational or business organizational or business organization to which the board member belongs as a dues paying member if the items are given to all members of the organization without regard to an individual member’s status or positions held outside of the organization and if the dues are not inconsequential when compared to the items received;
• Funeral flowers or memorials to a church or nonprofit organization;
• Gifts which are given to a public official for the public official’s wedding or twenty-fifth or fiftieth wedding anniversary;
• Payment of salary or expenses by a board member’s employer or the firm in which the board member is a member for the cost of attending a meeting of a subunit or an agency when the board member whose expenses are being paid serves on a board, commission, committee, council or other subunit of the agency and the board member is not entitled to receive compensation or reimbursement of expensed from the school district;
• Gifts other than food, beverages, travel and lodging received by a board member which are received from a person who is a citizen of a country other than the United States and is given during a ceremonial presentation or as a result of a custom of the other country and is of personal value only to the board member; or
• Actual registration costs for informational meetings or sessions which assist a public official or public employee in the performance of the person’s official functions.  The costs of food, drink, lodging and travel are not “registration costs” under this paragraph. Meetings or sessions which a public official or public employee attends for personal or professional licensing purposes are not “informational meetings or sessions which assist a public official or public employee in the performance of the person’s official functions” under this paragraph.

An “honorarium” is anything of value that is accepted by, or on behalf of, an employee as consideration for an appearance, speech or article.  An honorarium does not include any of the following:

• Actual expenses of a employee for registration, food, beverages, travel or lodging for a meeting, which is given in return for participation in a panel or speaking engagement at the meeting when the expenses relate directly to the day or days on which the employee has participation or presentation responsibilities;
• A non-monetary gift or services of non-monetary gifts donated within thirty days to a public body, a bona fide educational or charitable organization or the department of general services; or
• A payment made to an employee for services rendered as part of a bona fide private business, trade or profession in which the employee is engaged if the payment is commensurate with the actual services rendered and is not being made because of the person’s status as a employee but rather, because of some special expertise or other qualification.

It shall be the responsibility of each employee to know when it is appropriate to accept or reject gifts or an honorarium.  An employee who violates this policy may be subject to disciplinary action.

 

 

(November 16, 1992; September 19, 1994; March 21, 2011; June 18, 2012; January 19, 2015; June 10, 2019)