A public hearing and vote is scheduled Wednesday for changes to a Ketchikan School Board policy related to ethics violations.
The vote was delayed from the board’s previous meeting over concern about one word. The Code of Ethics policy currently states that the board “encourages” employees to accept codes of ethics published by their professional associations. It also states that the district “may” report any ethics violations to the Professional Teaching Practices Commission.
The original amendment changed “encourages” to “expects.” It also changed “may” report to “must” report. Board President Matt Eisenhower was worried that “must” was not the best word choice, from a legal standpoint. The board agreed to delay voting in order to hear from the borough’s attorney.
According to the agenda statement for Wednesday’s meeting, the attorney recommended using “shall” instead of “must.” That new wording will be in front of the board this week.
Also Wednesday, the board will discuss revisions to board policy covering public complaints. The change would require the board to resolve problems as directly as possible with the person against whom there is a complaint. That wording replaces a sentence that says the board will resolve problems informally.
Wednesday’s Ketchikan School Board meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Borough Assembly chambers at the White Cliff building. Public comment will be heard at the start and end of the meeting.
