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School Board Financial Disclosures
I'm a big believer in open government. I believe that the people who administer the government are doing work assigned to them by the citizens, and that those citizens have a right to review the work done by the elected officials and civil servants. This is generally done by the press and public interest groups, but it can also be done by any individual. I wrote a bit about the impact on the Loudoun School Board of the Freedom of Information Act back in January.
In addition to this law, which guarantees citizen access to almost any document produced in the course of public business, there are financial disclosure laws that govern Virginia elected officials and even many volunteer board members. I've been filling out these financial disclosures (also termed Statements of Economic Interest) annually for several years, first as a member of the Loudoun Industrial Development Authority, then when appointed to the Loudoun Social Services Board, and now again as a School Board member.
The Virginia State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (2.2 ch. 31) governs these financial disclosures. In the words of this act:
...the citizens are entitled to be assured that the judgment of public officers and employees will be guided by a law that defines and prohibits inappropriate conflicts and requires disclosure of economic interests.Requirements for financial disclosure are laid out in 2.2-3115. Disclosure by local government officers and employees. The code dictates that certain officers and employees "shall file, as a condition to assuming office" (and annually thereafter) "a disclosure statement of their personal interests." Even candidates for office are required to file financial statements under this section of code.
There are special sections just for School Boards, including 2.2-3108. Prohibited contracts by members of school boards, which primarily dictates that:
No person elected or appointed as a member of a local school board shall have a personal interest in (i) any contract with his school board or (ii) any contract with any governmental agency that is subject to the ultimate control of the school board of which he is a member.Further, section 2.2-3119: Additional provisions applicable to school boards, and employees of school boards basically prevents School Boards from hiring anyone who "is the father, mother, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law or brother-in-law of the superintendent, or of any member of the school board."
Of course all of this disclosure does the citizens no good if they don't have access to these records. A quick internet search brought me to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Conflict of Interest page, which states:
If you are interested in the disclosure of local officers and employees, contact either the clerk of the governing body or school board.
So, since I've gone to all the trouble to fill one out several times over now, and you're interested enough to have read to the bottom of this post, I invite you to review my own Statement of Economic Interest. The current Statement is on file with the Clerk of the School Board, Ms. Christine Coleman, who can be contacted at (571) 252-1020.
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