Clearing up the BVA nepotism policy
News articles and social media postings have caused some misunderstanding over a proposal to update our nepotism policy and eliminate questionable practices in the Belle Vernon Area School District.
The purpose is to keep a responsible hiring process as well as minimize cronyism and politics while we improve transparency, public trust and confidence.
Did people influence hiring at BVA in the past? Yes. Do people try to influence hiring now? Yes.
I have been a board member for 10 years. During this time, not one relative of a colleague or administrator has been hired to a full-time professional position. A few have been placed in part-time, substitute, summer-help and hourly positions and/or approved as volunteers, based on need and after evaluation, a practice not much different anywhere, including the private sector.
Because of several situations involving potential conflicts, the BVA board started revisiting the nepotism issue last year, part of a continuing series of updates of all policies, done in conjunction with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and our legal counsel to ensure compliance with state and federal law.
Those involved in the process reviewed and built upon the nepotism policies of Ringgold, Baldwin-Whitehall, Bethel Park, Hempfield, West Jefferson Hills, Peters Township and Elizabeth-Forward. Four other school districts we contacted had no nepotism policy at all.
While some policies did not go beyond conflicts at the school board and superintendent levels, we sought to be more comprehensive and to address assignments and reassignments of employees to avoid favoritism in direct supervision in the future.
The proposed policy would not exclude “hiring local.” It would not exclude a relative of management or other personnel to apply, as long as the employee would not be supervised by their relative, and provided they were judged to be a top applicant. However, the policy would continue to exclude anyone related to a school board member, superintendent or assistant superintendent.
Moreover, the proposed policy would continue the current practice of screening candidates at three levels, with a final round of interviews conducted by staff and board members to arrive at the best qualified, most meritorious hire.
There is no such thing as a “perfect” nepotism policy. There will always be friends, neighbors and others speaking on behalf of job candidates.
In the end, board members should recognize right from wrong, and good from bad, and act in the best interests of students and community.
Joe Grata
president BVA School Board