Avoiding Conflicts of Interest: A Guide for School Board Members and Superintendents

Several years ago, the Legislature adopted significant amendments to the basic conflict of interest statute for local elected officials, primarily in the area of financial thresholds, but also in the area of scope of enforcement. This is an important area of the law for board members and superintendents, so a current and thorough knowledge of the law is important. This publication reviews basic conflict of interest issues, with particular emphasis on how to structure district policies and board practices to comply with state law and public expectations when one or more board members (or the superintendent, beyond his or her contract) have an ongoing personal financial interest in the district's operations. [This is an update to the October 2007 guide "Avoiding Conflicts of Interest: A Guide for School Board Members and Superintendents" (ED521603).]