On conflict-of-interest...

I have received a few questions concerning conflict of interest, given that I am married to a member of the faculty at Croton-Harmon HS, and given my involvement with Destination Imagination. The topic is a good one - and one which I wrestled with before deciding to go ahead and seek election to the board. This included extensive discussion with current and former board members, who provided assurance that there were no insurmountable issues.

Put succinctly, I have always abstained from any vote and recused myself from discussions where there was a possible conflict of interest, or even where there could be the appearance of conflict. I will continue follow this practice should I be re-elected. Those who are interested in my record in this regard can review the board meeting minutes, which clearly indicate the cases in which I abstain from votes.

It should be noted that every board member, and every candidate for school board, inherently has some form of conflict of interest. By law, all are residents of the school district and thus pay school taxes. Most have children in the schools who are affected by board decisions. Most own property in the district — and school quality affects property values. All have a stake in the future of our community - which will be driven by the successes of the students in our schools today.

Elected officials of all stripes have to deal with issues like these. They are inherent in the prospect which is participatory democracy. For that matter, I would assert that it is these sort of conflicts of interest which make our system possible. We all have skin in the the game. We all have a stake in the future of education in our community. And we all want to see our students succeed.

Details concerning my wife's employment by CHUFSD as a teacher:

1. I have never voted, nor will I vote, on any action of the board directly related to my spouse's employment or compensation. To do otherwise would be unethical. In all such cases I abstain.

2. I do not participate in executive session discussions of contract negotiations with the Croton Teachers' Association (CTA), nor will I do so in the future.

3. Faculty personnel matters, including union contracts, are negotiated not by the board of trustees en banc, but rather by a committee composed of members of the the school administration, district legal counsel, and a representative from the board. I would not be that representative. The full board of trustees then approves (or rejects) the completed contract. This level of indirection removes much of the possibility of conflict of interest.

4. Most completed contracts in the past have been approved by the board with significant majorities, meaning that except in the most unusual of cases I would be able to recuse myself from the final vote on accepting the contract without throwing the outcome into question.

5. Similarly, teacher evaluation and APPR is not a board matter. It is handled solely by the administration and procedures are largely mandated by NYSED.

Details concerning my involvement with Destination Imagination:

1. I have never voted, nor will I vote, on any action of the board directly related to funding for the district's participation in Destination Imagination, or in approval of the Destination Imagination co-curricular activity / club.

2. The school board does not directly approve spending on any individual expenses related to clubs. Most such spending decisions are in the hands of the students of the club; others are addressed by district administration.

For more about my candidacy for the Croton-Harmon Schools Board of Education, please see http://joshforboe.com or find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JoshDiamondForCrotonSchools.

Joshua Diamond