Advisory Opinion No. 2005-2

Re: Donna Walsh

QUESTION PRESENTED:

The petitioner, a member of the Charlestown Town Council, a municipal elected position, who is a full-time teacher employed by the Chariho School District, a municipal employee position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether she may participate in the Town Council's interim appointment to the Chariho School Committee.

RESPONSE:

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, a member of the Charlestown Town Council, a municipal elected position, who is a full-time teacher employed by the Chariho School District, a municipal employee position, may participate in the Town Council's interim appointment to the Chariho School Committee.

The petitioner represents that she is employed as a full-time teacher by the Chariho School District. In addition to her teaching duties, for the past fourteen years the petitioner has also performed administrative and budgetary duties at the school as the sixth grade House Leader. As House Leader, the petitioner receives an additional stipend of 5% of her annual salary. For most of the past fourteen years, House Leaders were elected by the teachers themselves. Beginning last year, House Leaders were selected by the Chariho School Committee based upon the recommendations of the school Principal, the Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent. Through this process, the petitioner was last selected as a House Leader in June of 2004. If interested in the position for the next school year, the petitioner will be required to reapply and go through the selection process anew.

The petitioner was recently elected to the Charlestown Town Council. Charlestown is a member community of the Chariho School District. The petitioner explains that, normally, each member community of the School District holds elections to select its representatives to the eleven-member Chariho School Committee. On November 15, 2004, two members of the School Committee submitted their resignations upon being elected to the Charlestown Town Council. According to the petitioner, the procedures of the School District require that the Charlestown Town Council appoint interim School Committee members to complete the terms of the resigning members. The petitioner states that if the appointed, replacement members wish to serve another term of office, they must seek election. When the matter of the appointments first came before the Town Council, the petitioner recused out of an abundance of caution. The remaining four Council members voted to appoint one member, but deadlocked 2-2 on the other. The petitioner represents that, without her vote, the Council remains deadlocked. Given these representations, the petitioner asks whether she may participate in the Town Council's appointment of a replacement School Committee member.

The Code of Ethics prohibits persons subject to Code from soliciting or accepting any reward or promise of future employment based on any understanding that the vote, official action, or judgment of the person would be influenced thereby. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(g). Here, the petitioner is already employed by the Chariho School District and has been a House Leader for the past fourteen years. There is no indication whatsoever that her continued employment as a teacher or House Leader is in any way dependent upon the subject appointment to the School Committee, nor is there any indication that she has solicited or accepted any reward or promise of future employment as a teacher or House Leader based upon her participation in the appointment. Furthermore, once the appointment is made the Town Council ceases to have any appointment authority over the replacement School Committee member, who becomes subject to the normal electoral process at the conclusion of the term being completed. For all of these reasons, and based upon the representations made to the Commission, the petitioner may participate in the Town Council's appointment of a replacement to the Chariho School Committee.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(g)

Keywords:

appointing authority

dual public roles