All In The Family In 135?

There are a lot of firsts that you never forget; your first kiss, your first soccer goal, your first car, etc.

For those of us who've been in the local political arena, you never forget your first Phil, as in getting Kadnered. My first time was in late March of 2005, right before we went for a referendum. We got slammed because we hired the superintendent's daughter for some contract PR work. Actually, I almost forgot about that until I saw that District 135 was looking into enacting a policy that prohibits someone from working under the direct supervision of a relative.

Most likely, this was brought on by the recent controversy surrounding an employee who was promoted, then demoted. Ultimately, being a board member's friend trumps being a Student Service Director's relative. That is until the grievance gets resolved and both people end up with the job. This could have all been avoided if this policy was enacted before she was promoted. Under the existing policy, her hiring was legal and that's why she'll prevail.

Now, I'm not one of those purists who think that the minute someone takes the oath of office, they should forget all of their friends and family. In a previous piece on the Fire District, I sided with some of their hires. I said then and I'll say now that there are some spoils that go with getting elected.

The potential for trouble occurs when a supervisor has a relative under him or her who is not doing the job. There's a risk that the supervisor may not want to discipline a relative. Loyalty to a relative may make the supervisor blind to the subordinate's weaknesses. There's also potential for trouble in that other employees may, rightly or wrongly, feel that there is favoritism especially if the supervisor's relative gets better assignments or more overtime.

When dealing with tax money, it's important that the best people get hired. The higher up you go, the more critical that is. A bad superintendent can cause considerably more damage than a bad janitor. Union rules and employment contracts make it more difficult to remove someone whose already been hired. Having said that, I don't think you need to do a nationwide search to hire a secretary.

For years, there have been relatives who work in District 135; long before I was there, while I was there and today. Until now, there's never been an issue. In light of what has happened, I think its a good idea to have a policy that keeps employees from directly supervising relatives. People should be able to work elsewhere in the district, but not directly for a relative. I don't believe that anyone should get a job solely because of their last name. But they shouldn't be denied one either.

Let's face it, in the "real" world, people are often hired because of who they know. For most jobs, there are hundreds of qualified applicants. A letter, phone call or email from someone inside the company is usually what separates an applicant from the pack. Again, they also have to be qualified and able to do the job.

As far as contract work goes, I have no problem with a board or superintendent hiring a relative, friend, or even a political supporter, as long as the work is actually necessary and the provider does quality work at a fair price. This actually makes sense if the contractor represents the district and/or board in public, such as an attorney or PR person. Certainly, you would want someone who is loyal and will best represent your interests.

I understand that an employee may be more loyal and work harder if their supervisor is related to them, but I also see where there may be problems too.

I hope the board can craft a policy that is fair and transparent because when all is said and done, the school district belongs to the community not the board or the employees.