Monday • April 27, 2020
Transparency Needed in Selection of New HCPSS Ethics Panel
This past week, it was reported that the HCPSS Ethics Panel had abruptly and unexpectedly been disbanded and that motions have been set in place to assemble a fresh Ethics Panel.
The reason for this unusual Ethics Panel disbanding has not yet been confirmed. One scenario described is that a confidential deliberation (or parts thereof) about ongoing ethics cases had been leaked. Another scenario described is that the leak was merely general advisory opinions about redistricting that had been initiated by the panel to be sent to the Board. These advisory opinions had been sent between members and debated for some number of days.
They were then leaked within hours of being sent to the central office. Since it was unclear which Panel member was the source of the leak and since no Panel member stepped forward to claim responsibility, the decision was made to completely disband the Panel and start fresh.
According to HCPSS Policy 2070 (Implementation Procedures – Ethics), the selection of the new Ethics panel begins with the Board of Education Chair (Mavis Ellis) appointing two Board members to serve as the screening committee for applicants, along with legal counsel and a Human Resources staff member. The two Board members selected by the Chair to serve on this committee then make recommendations to the full Board for candidate appointments to the new HCPSS Ethics Panel.