NORTHAMPTON— The Charter Review Committee is considering recommending rules that would govern School Committee members and the employment of their family members in the schools.
Currently, two of nine elected members of the School Committee, Lonnie Kaufman and Edward Zuchowski, have spouses who work for the school district. During the past year, both had to recuse themselves from discussions of collective bargaining and part of the budget process.
“There was a concern that kind of disenfranchised some constituents because their School Committee members were not involved,” Charter Review Committee Chairman Stanley Moulton said.
At the committee’s meeting Tuesday, member Sam Hopper expressed her concern that two members did not participate in some parts of the budget process because they were tied to collective bargaining. “Having two people not involved in something, especially something that was so big this year, I felt was really detrimental,” she said. “My representative was not involved in this at all.”
Moulton said that the committee originally voted in July to recommend that immediate family members of anyone on the School Committee not hold a paid position in the Northampton School Department.
The committee recently rescinded its vote after getting advice from city solicitor, Alan Seewald, that the rule might not stand up legally, Moulton said. Instead, the committee is now considering making a recommendation that would bar a relative of a School Committee member from being hired while the member is in office.
Along with other changes to the charter, Mayor David Narkewicz proposed the original change about School Committee members.
“There is often distrust in terms of people being concerned about whether or not government employees are acting properly … It seems one way to address it is to have it be embedded in your core document,” he said.
Conflicts of interest have not been a major issue in Northampton, he said. “I’m not saying this has been any kind of a problem, but for me, it’s partly about perception (of conflict) as well as the potential for real conflict.”
He added that the rules should also apply to the Smith Vocational board of trustees, as “they are effectively a school committee for the second district in Northampton.”
Kaufman, whose wife works in the district, is running and said he is not in favor of the potential rules.
While he did recuse himself from negotiations, “the need to recuse oneself is a very rare event,” Kaufman said.
Regarding concerns about constituent representation, he said, “I find that concerning but surprising. Every constituent has three people to talk to.” If a member from a particular ward recuses him- or herself, there are two at-large counselors that represent all constituents in the city, he said.
Already, he said, there are conflict of interest laws governing School Committee members that he thinks work well.
While it’s “smart” to consider rules like this, he said, “I think we are again, potentially running the risk of taking things to far.”
Ultimately, he said, deciding if someone with family members in the school should be on the School Committee should be up to voters.
Zuchowski is not seeking re-election this fall to the School Committee.
“As an elected official I felt as though I was not able to fully meet my responsibilities,” Zuchowski said in an email to the Gazette. “Voting a budget is one of the most important roles I have on the committee, so I did not like not being able to be involved 100 percent.” Some of the discussions about the budget, Zuchowski said, were tied to collective bargaining and he had to recuse himself.
“I heard from constituents, faculty and staff on matters that I felt like I had no way of supporting them on,” he said. “It was frustrating to tell them that I had no way of sharing my thoughts with the committee because of conflict of interest … I do not believe that is right.”
In Massachusetts, it’s not an uncommon situation for a School Committee member to be related to someone employed by the district, according to Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
“It’s actually more frequent than people think,” he said. Koocher said his association does not have recommendations for the situation because he said state ethics laws sufficiently cover it.
At its Sept. 3 meeting, the Charter Review Committee plans to invite in School Committee members to share their thoughts on this. There will also be a public comment period.
The committee is currently reviewing the City Charter, the document that governs how the city government runs, and will submit recommended changes to the mayor by the end of the year. The mayor and City Council must approve any changes, and then it goes to the state Legislature.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com. Dusty Christensen contributed to this story.