Evesham Township K-8 Board of Education President Sandy Student recently was found to be in violation of state ethics standards by the state school ethics commission and was censured. The matter arose from a complaint filed on Oct. 16, 2009 by BOE members Lisa Mansfield and Bonnie Olt, who alleged Student violated the School Ethics Act by contacting TD Bank when the school district published a request for proposal for banking services.
The commission determined a censure was in order for Student.
A censure is not a legal punishment, but is a public reprimand that is read out loud at a board of education meeting. It has not yet been read at one a meeting.
The commission said Student was in violation for attempting to obtain an “unwarranted privilege or advantage” for TD Bank. The commission further said that by contacting TD Bank, which bid on the board’s RFP for banking services, Student took action beyond the scope of his duties that had the potential to compromise the Evesham board.
According to the report released by the school ethics commission, N.J.S.A. 18A:12–24(b) provides that “no school official shall use or attempt to use his official position to secure unwarranted privileges, advantages or employment for himself, members of his immediate family or others.”
Student said he contacted TD Bank to let the institution know it wasn’t going to be awarded the bid by the school district.
The agenda was already made public, it was public knowledge and had been posted on the district’s website, Student said, and his intent wasn’t to do anything wrong.
“It tells you that I did nothing that was illegal or immoral. I got nothing of personal gain and these charges are not criminal. It’s not civil — it’s administrative law. The actions say that I ‘may’ have jeopardized the board,” he said. “My intent was not to do anything. I think that we need some better clarification on the legislature on these items. They didn’t change their bid, they didn’t get the business and I never asked them to change it. In the scheme of things, it’s a small one.”
It’s a travesty, Student said, that this entire process has been going on for the past three years.
“I put this behind me as soon as it was announced. (Some) 10 years ago, I had a heart attack. I could have died in Washington, D.C., but I didn’t. I changed my life from that day forward to do more things for the good of the community,” he said. “My intent was to not bring any mistrust or non favorable press to the school district.”
To read the entire report, visit the commission’s website at www.state.nj.us/education/ethics.
