Hune Sponsored Conflict of Interest Law Called Into QuestionHune Sponsored Conflict of Interest Law Called Into Question

2/11/13 - A new law setting conflict-of-interest standards for school board members is also calling into question the motivation and ethics of those who supported it. Public Act 606 prohibits board members from voting on district contracts if they or a family member are covered by that contract. Sponsored by State Senator Joe Hune, it was passed during the state Legislature's lame-duck session in December. But it’s already created issues locally with the Howell board, where President Mike Witt and his wife Kim, who serves as the board’s secretary, will be barred from voting on future teacher contracts as Mrs. Witt’s sister is a teacher in the district. Kim Witt says the law is a misguided attempt to shift blame about school funding inadequacies from Lansing onto local school boards where most members are like herself; lifelong residents of the community who simply want to do what is right. "There is a presumption that I will automatically vote unethically." She says most districts have tight finances not because board members have relatives employed by the district, but because "...Lansing can't or won't find a fair and consistent way to fund education." Mike Witt says he also has a problem with the law’s sole focus on school boards and not on other elected officials. He points to Joe Hune’s receipt of $10,000 in campaign donations in 2010 from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (Click Here) while chairing the Senate Insurance Committee, which recently passed legislation sponsored by Hune transforming Blue Cross into a customer-owned non-profit. Hune said that accusation is off-base, calling it "hogwash" and "an absolute smokescreen." There has also been questions raised as to the law’s passage, notably that the only two individuals who testified in favor of it at a committee hearing in September were former Howell School Board President Debi Drick and current Trustee Mike Moloney, both of whom are staff members of Hune’s colleague, State Senator Mark Jansen. Drick testified that such conflicts had the potential to chart a district into deep deficit and needed to be curtailed. Ironically, the very bill Drick said was needed to prevent bias in school board votes would have prohibited her from voting on a hire she’s alleged to have suggested while she served on the board. Howell Superintendent Ron Wilson confirmed for WHMI that in 2010 when he was seeking to hire an attorney for the district, Drick said she knew someone who might be interested. The following day, Wilson says he received a voicemail from Drick’s husband Jay, expressing an interest in the job. Wilson says he was taken aback by the obvious conflict in such a hire, and eventually told Jay Drick he was seeking a labor attorney. Drick denies she encouraged her husband to apply for the post. "Jay looked at me and said 'Hey, do you think I'd like that?' and I said 'I don't know, go talk to Ron' and that was the end of that. I said 'I can't have anything to do with that'." The motivations of the law’s supporters aside, other educational leaders say they are concerned its long-term effects may prove to be a negative. LESA Superintendent Dave Campbell says that in many of Michigan’s smaller communities, the school district is the largest employer and it may prove difficult to find enough motivated individuals to serve on school boards that don’t have relatives employed by the district. That notion was echoed by Superintendent Wilson, who thinks the legislation was not well thought out and presumes that just because a board member is related to a district employee, they will act unethically. He says his experience has been the exact opposite. Supporters of the law point out that it does not prevent people from serving on school boards if they have relatives employed by the district, but merely prevents them from voting on a related contract. Opponents counter that contracts are usually the biggest item in any district's finances and the law effectively neuters affected board members. Hune is expected to further detail the law’s intent and specifics when he addresses members of the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education at their meeting tonight. (JK)