Could a Kentucky school council member vote to hire her son as principal?
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This page answers the general question as of 1993. Ask about yours and see what current Kentucky law means for your facts, with citations you can check.
Plain-English summary
In 1993, Kentucky's Attorney General considered whether a teacher elected to a school-based decision-making council could vote to choose her son as principal. The opinion found no Kentucky Education Reform Act nepotism provision that specifically prohibited a council member from participating in that selection. It treated a possible common-law conflict as a separate, fact-dependent question.
The AG said the member would be disqualified if she financially supported her son or he supported her, because that interest would be sufficiently direct. Even without a legal disqualification, the office said casting a vote for her son would violate the spirit of the education reform law and have the "appearance of impropriety."
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1993. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Historical summary
Teacher representatives on school councils
The AG found no specific statutory nepotism ban for this council vote. It said a financial support relationship between the teacher and her son would disqualify the teacher from the principal selection. Other situations required review of their particular facts.
Superintendents and school administrators
The opinion described the council as choosing a principal from a list supplied by the superintendent, with the choice binding on the superintendent. It distinguished the anti-nepotism provisions for school board members, superintendents, and principals from the absence of a corresponding provision for council members.
Common questions
Was a school council member automatically barred because a child applied to be principal?
The AG found no statute that automatically barred the council member's participation on that basis. It said the common-law conflict question depended on the facts.
What financial relationship would disqualify the member under this opinion?
If the mother financially supported her son, or her son supported her, the AG said her interest would be sufficiently direct to disqualify her from the selection process.
Did the AG approve voting for a son if no financial conflict existed?
No. The opinion said that, even if the member was not legally disqualified, voting to select her son as principal would violate the spirit of the education reform law and appear improper.
Background and statutory framework
Butler County Schools Superintendent James E. Carver asked about a teacher elected to a school council while her son sought the principal position. The AG cited KRS 160.345 for council membership and principal selection, compared the nepotism rules in KRS 160.180(2)(i) and KRS 160.380, and used the conflict-of-interest discussion in OAG 93-33 to explain why financial support could matter. The opinion left other conflict determinations to the facts of each case.
Citations and references
- KRS 160.345(2)(a): the council composition described in the opinion.
- KRS 160.345(1)(i): council selection of a principal from the superintendent's list.
- KRS 160.180(2)(i): the anti-nepotism provision the AG identified for school board members.
- KRS 160.380: the anti-nepotism provision identified for superintendents and principals.
- OAG 93-33: earlier conflict-of-interest survey cited by this opinion.
Source
Original opinion text
OAG 93-50
July 1, 1993
James E. Carver
Superintendent
Butler County Schools
P. O. Box 339
Morgantown, Kentucky 42261
Dear Superintendent Carver:
As the Superintendent of the Butler County Public Schools you have requested our opinion regarding a potential conflict of interest issue involving a School Based Decision Making Council in your district. Specifically, you ask:
Whether a teacher who is serving as an elected member of a school's Site-Based Decision Making Council may remain a member of the Council and vote for her son while he is a candidate for the position of principal of the school.
KRS 160.345(2)(a) states that each School Based Decision Making Council shall be composed of 2 parents, 3 teachers and the principal. When the principal position is vacant, the School Based Decision Making Council has the statutory authority to select the principal from a list supplied by the superintendent. KRS 160.345(1)(i). The council's decision is binding on the superintendent. Id.
The Kentucky Education Reform Act contains an anti-nepotism statute for school board members in KRS 160.180(2)(i) and an anti-nepotism statute for superintendents and principals contained in KRS 160.380. However, there is no statutory nepotism prohibition in KERA prohibiting a School Based Decision Making Council member from participating in the selection of the principal when the member's son has applied for the principal position.
Allowing the council member in question to vote for her son may constitute a common law conflict of interest. OAG 93-33 contains an in-depth survey of legal authority on the issues of conflict of interest for public officials. That opinion cites 67 C.J.S., Officers §204:
As a general rule, the term 'conflict of interest' refers to a clash between public interest and the private pecuniary interest of the individual concerned, and there is a conflict of interest when a public officer votes on a matter in which he has a direct personal and pecuniary interest. The interest which disqualifies is a personal or private one, not such an interest as the public officer has in common with all other citizens. According to some authority, in order to constitute a disqualification, the personal pecuniary interest of the official must be immediate, definite, and capable of demonstration, and may not be remote, uncertain, contingent and speculative . . . .
As we stated in OAG 93-33, the determination of a conflict of interest is a factual matter. If the parent council member either financially supports her son or if the member is supported by her son, then the interest would be sufficiently direct to disqualify the member from participating in the selection process. Each case must be reviewed based on its specific factual situation.
Even if the council member does not have a legal disqualification, we believe that allowing a school council member to cast a vote to select her son as principal violates the spirit of KERA and has the appearance of impropriety.
Sincerely yours,
CHRIS GORMAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Lynne Schroering
Assistant Attorney General
(502) 564-7600
VLS:v
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