Policies » Section B: School Board Governance & Operations » BCB: Board Member Conflict Of Interest

Policy Date: 08/22/2023

ASD File: BCB
AUBURN SCHOOL DISTRICT
BOARD MEMBER CONFLICT OF INTEREST

As elected officials, school board members owe a duty of loyalty to the general public in
protecting the school district’s interests. Therefore, the Board declares that a conflict of interest
is a personal, pecuniary interest that is immediate, definite, and demonstrable and which is or
may be in conflict with the public interest.

A board member who has a personal or private interest in a matter proposed or pending before
the Board will disclose such interest to the Board, will not deliberate on the matter, will not vote
on the matter, and will not attempt to influence other members of the Board regarding the
matter. Additionally, Board members should refrain from engaging in conduct or actions that
give the appearance of a conflict of interest, embarrass the Board, or personally embarrass
another Board member.

It is not the intent of this policy to prevent the District from contracting with corporations or
businesses with which a Board member is an employee. The policy is designed to prevent placing
a Board member in a position where his/her interest in the public schools and his/her interest in
his/her place of employment (or other indirect interest) might conflict, and to avoid appearances
of conflict of interest even though such conflict may not exist.

Nepotism

The District may employ a teacher or other employee if that teacher or other employee is the
father, mother, brother, sister, wife, husband, civil union partner, son, daughter, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, or brother-in-law of the Superintendent, any member of the Board
or any other person in a supervisory position. Such a relationship will not automatically disqualify
a job applicant from employment with the school district.

However, the Superintendent, the Board member or person holding a supervisory position shall
declare his/her relationship with the job applicant and will refrain from debating, discussing, or
voting on a nomination or other issue, directly related to the applicant. The job applicant is
expected to declare his/her relationship with the Board member as well.

This shall not apply to any person within such relationship or relationships who has been
regularly employed by the District prior to the inception of the relationship, the adoption of this
policy, or a Board member’s election.

Legal References:
Marsh v. Hanover, 113 NH 667 (1973)
Atherton v. Concord, 109 NH 164 (1968)

Adopted: October 12, 1999
Revised: November 10, 2009, August 22, 2023