Whose Conflict of Interest?
A new complication entered the election fiasco of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers. It just so happens that outgoing (?) union president Carolyn Savino rents her home from school board trustee Kim Turley.
That's not enough to cause real concern, but under Savino's tenure, the union itself has been sub-leasing office space from Turley.
Local observers are worried about conflict of interest, but the story in the Santa Cruz Sentinel seems to indicate that they're worried about the wrong conflicts.
The deal is being "blown out of proportion," Turley said. "I've not gained from it and I haven't taken advantage of the union."
"Clearly, there is an appearance problem even if there's no legal problem," said Bob Stearns, president of the Center for Governmental Studies. "The appearance problem is that she's receiving money from one of the major interest groups that appears before the school board."
Well, he's got that right, but there are literally thousands of school board members in the United States who are "receiving money from one of the major interest groups that appears before the school board" through campaign contributions. The real conflict of interest is the fact that Turley used to be the union's chief negotiator. She's not taking advantage of the union, and the union is not taking advantage of her. She is the union.
In a happy coincidence, The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey, has an article today on this very issue, reporting that education employees on school boards "test the bounds of public servant versus union loyalist."
The Record talked to Charles Tucker, a school board trustee in Wayne who served 15 years as president of the local teachers' union.
"A lot of board members didn't know the first thing about collective bargaining, but I had been negotiating these agreements for years," he said. "That was one thing about being a teacher and head of the [union]. You know how the system works."
That's not enough to cause real concern, but under Savino's tenure, the union itself has been sub-leasing office space from Turley.
Local observers are worried about conflict of interest, but the story in the Santa Cruz Sentinel seems to indicate that they're worried about the wrong conflicts.
The deal is being "blown out of proportion," Turley said. "I've not gained from it and I haven't taken advantage of the union."
"Clearly, there is an appearance problem even if there's no legal problem," said Bob Stearns, president of the Center for Governmental Studies. "The appearance problem is that she's receiving money from one of the major interest groups that appears before the school board."
Well, he's got that right, but there are literally thousands of school board members in the United States who are "receiving money from one of the major interest groups that appears before the school board" through campaign contributions. The real conflict of interest is the fact that Turley used to be the union's chief negotiator. She's not taking advantage of the union, and the union is not taking advantage of her. She is the union.
In a happy coincidence, The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey, has an article today on this very issue, reporting that education employees on school boards "test the bounds of public servant versus union loyalist."
The Record talked to Charles Tucker, a school board trustee in Wayne who served 15 years as president of the local teachers' union.
"A lot of board members didn't know the first thing about collective bargaining, but I had been negotiating these agreements for years," he said. "That was one thing about being a teacher and head of the [union]. You know how the system works."
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