An open letter to the members of the Board of Education,
The Howard County Times reports today that the Board of Education plans to review the schools' ethics code following an announcement by Mr. Stephen Wasslis that he will seek election for Howard County Executive, a partisan election, while maintaining his role as a school administrator.
Mr. Wallis' position is that he sees no conflict with the job and a campaign for County Executive.
I applaud the Board of Education for under taking this review. It is prudent and justified. However, I would encourage you to go beyond a review of the schools' ethics code. I believe it is necessary to review the Hatch Act. The principle (pardon the pun) point is to review whether Mr. Wallis has control or influence over the use of federal funding received by the Board of Education If Mr. Wallis has any influence over federal funding I believe you should also seek an opinion from the Office of Special Council, as it may be a violation of the Hatch Act.
Federal guidelines regarding the use of federal funding are vey clear in this area.
Unfortunately, Mr. Wallis' only reported statements do little to assure me that he has done his due diligence on the matter.
He sent an e-mail this week stating:
"I see no conflice as achool principal. Others throughout the nation have run, while maintaining similiar postiions…I believe that both goals are noble, and I will devote the required time and effort to each."
He is correct, both goals are noble. However, I ask Mr. Wallis the same question I asked of former Chief of Police, Mr. Livesay. Have you reviewed federal statutes and are you sure that you are in compliance with the Hatch Act?
States and localities are required to provide assurance of compliance with 18 cross-cutting federal requirements contained in the SF-424, "Application for Federal Assistance," every single time a grant application is submitted to an individual federal agency. In addition, there are other cross-cutting assurances not contained in the Standard Form. These assurances, which consist of two pages in the standard federal grant application for state and local governments, stipulate that the applicant will comply with statutes such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Hatch Act and the Davis-Bacon Act (see Appendix C). States and localities submit thousands of grant applications each year and are currently required to recertify each time.
Without a review of these assurances the Board of Education may place its federal funding in jeopardy.
UPDATE: Read the rest of this entry »
