Finance 5342 Week 5, Part 1

Finance 5342 Week 5, Part 1

1.       Explanation and examples from Standard 1 and 2 of Texas Administrative Code 247.2

The following examples relate to violations in the area of financial issues.

Standard 1.2 – The educator shall not knowingly misappropriate, divert, or use monies, personnel, property, equipment committed to his or her charge for personal gain or advantage.

Examples of violations in Standard 1.2 could include district employees using school property/equipment/tools to perform personal work on a part time job for extra money or business he/she may operate.  This could include having maintenance workers perform non-school district work for someone, such as district administrator, during district working hours.

Standard 1.3 – The educator shall not submit fraudulent requests for reimbursement, expenses, or pay.

Examples of violations in Standard 1.3 would be falsifying travel records. This could occur when an employee uses their personnel vehicle for school business. Employees may falsify mileage log turned in or may even drawing a mileage check when riding with someone else. Other examples could include employees drawing full daily meal per diem with not even purchasing meal (complimentary meals) or purchasing items for personal use (which can easily be associated with classroom use) with a school purchase order or credit card.

Standard 1.5 – The educator shall neither accept nor offer gratuities, gifts, or favors that impair professional judgment or to obtain special advantage. This standard shall not restrict the acceptance of gifts or tokens offered and accepted openly from students, parents of students, or other persons or organizations in recognition or appreciation of service.

Examples of violations in Standard 1.5 could include Superintendent’s taking bribes. Situations like this can occur during times such as textbook adoption, building projects, athletic facilities, equipment purchases, etc. During these times it is important the Superintendent follow all guidelines (state laws and district policies) for what type of gifts he/she can accept and be up front with following all reporting requirements.

Standard 2.3 – The educator shall adhere to written local school board policies and state and federal laws regarding the hiring, evaluation, and dismissal of personnel.

A violation in Standard 2.3 could include someone being hired or fired based on salary. An example of this could possibly be a veteran teacher or administrator being passed over for a job or promotion only because their salary would be more than maybe a first year teacher or administrator. Similar in gesture would include a district firing or non-renewing an employee because they are on the upper end of the districts pay scale.

Standard 2.5 – The educator shall not discriminate against or coerce a colleague on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, disability, family status, or sexual orientation.

Violation examples provided in Standard 2.3 could also fall under this Standard 2.5. Other examples would include: not hiring or firing someone based on color, religion, age, gender and/or sexual preference or different pay scales (with similar qualifications) depending on the above categories.

Standard 2.6 – The educator shall not use coercive means or promise of special treatment in order to influence professional decisions or colleagues.

Violations in Standard 2.6 could include someone influencing another individual by promising a job promotion or salary bonus to the individual if the decision of the requestor is granted.

2.       Consequences for violating standards.

The consequences for administrators, teachers or any employee who violate a standard can vary depending on the incident. School districts have policies and procedures in place that outline how the standards will be followed and consequences for not following.  Consequences can range from receiving a verbal/written reprimand, being placed on a growth plan or probationary contract, re-assignment; to termination of employment, report to SBEC, loss of certification and/or criminal charges. An individual who is allowed to maintain their certificate would have to disclose information pertaining to incident when applying for future positions or risk someone else reporting the violation to the district.  Standard 1 appear to be easier to identify and can be charged with criminal charges. Standard 2 violations are a little harder to prove, they would fall more into a civil rights category.

3.       Preventative Actions

A.      Communicate district policies and procedures to all employees annually. Have documentation showing they understand and know how to access all district and campus policies.

B.      Review annually the school districts check and balance system/policies. Follow all policies at all times.

C.      Establish a school district cultural of ethical behavior from the top down, starting with school board and superintendent.

When looking at preventative actions and relating to quality indicators found in SBEC Superintendent Competency 1, I found the following to be of importance when dealing with finance issues and this assignment:

Model and promote the highest standard of conduct, ethical principles, and integrity in decision making, actions, and behaviors.

 Exhibit understanding and implement policies and procedures that promote district personnel compliance with The Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators.

Monitor and address ethical issues impacting education.

Apply laws, policies, and procedures in a fair and reasonable manner.