School board members must prepare statements of economic interest
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Oregon school board members make decisions that direct billions of dollars of public money annually. The secretary of state’s office thought the public should know what other financial dealings school board members have that could create a conflict of interest.
Starting this year, school district board members must file an annual “verified statement of economic interest” by April 15. Any board member who will be holding office on that day needs to file a report on their financial details from the full 2022 calendar year. The law does not apply to board members of education service districts, charter schools and community colleges.
Oregon law prohibits the use of public office for personal gain. Oregonians in more than 6,000 state and local public positions, including school superintendents and business officials, already are required to file an SEI, which discloses all sorts of financial dealings and potential avenues for corruption.
In 2021, a secretary of state’s office audit recommended school board members should be added to the list, and the Legislature made it law with House Bill 4114 in 2022. It takes effect this year.
School board members were split on the measure. Although, board members generally support transparency and accountability, witnesses told legislators during committee hearings that making personal information public could affect the safety of school board members, especially board members of color. There were also concerns that the additional paperwork could deter some people from volunteering for school boards.
School board members must report all sources of more than 10% of their total household income from the previous calendar year, even if not a school board member then. Households include spouses and children older than 18. School board members do not need to include amounts, only sources.
In addition, school board members must include transactions of $1,000 or more with entities that might have an interest in school business.
The form also asks for any property holdings in the school district boundaries other than a primary residence. School board members do not need to reveal their addresses on the form.
School board members have begun receiving emails from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, which oversees the reports, to register in its system. Every school district should have a jurisdictional contact, usually a business manager or school board secretary, who identifies board members for the commission and triggers the emails.
The commission will send school board members in its system another email when the filing window opens March 15.
Stephanie Heffner, trainer and program analyst for the commission, says the agency is ready to answer board members’ questions. To help, the commission is offering at least 12 live training sessions, starting with one Jan. 31. The commission has also created a “Statement of Economic Interest Filer Guide” that includes information on creating an account and what needs to be reported.
School board members who fail to file will be fined automatically. The fines start at $10 a day for the first two weeks and then go up to $50 a day up to a total of $5,000.
