Is failure to obtain training ‘misconduct’?

On Board Online • August 31, 2009

By Kathy A. Ahearn, Guercio & Guercio

If a school board member fails to obtain state-required training in a timely fashion, is that a form of ‘official misconduct’ that could justify removal of the school board member by the board? The commissioner of education considered that question in a 2008 case called Appeals of Stepien and Lilly.
In Stepien, a school board voted 3-2 to remove two of its members for failure to take the required training courses within the first year of their terms. Relying upon their authority under Education Law section 1709(18) to remove board members for “official misconduct,” the board majority alleged that the two board members had repeatedly ignored written reminders from the district clerk and the board president to take the required training.
Because the majority issued charges and removed the minority members before the first year of their terms had expired, the commissioner found that their action was premature. He reinstated the two board members (who had obtained the required training while their appeal was pending).
The decision is significant for all school boards because of the commissioner’s discussion of the importance of training. Addressing the mandatory training requirement for the first time, the commissioner wrote:
I do not take this action [i.e., reinstating the board members] lightly. The mandatory board member training requirement is a critical component of the fiscal accountability legislation enacted in 2005 (Ch. 263, L. 2005). The required training is intended to guide board members in the exercise of their important fiduciary responsibilities and oversight of significant public funds. On the record before me, it appears that petitioners did not take this educational requirement seriously, and did not demonstrate the kind of accountability that the statute and its implementing regulations (8 NYCRR §170.12[a]) contemplate.
While the result in Stepien turned on technical details, the commissioner’s comments serve as a reminder to all school board members of the importance of fulfilling mandatory training requirements in a timely fashion.


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