Pohl calls guidelines ‘administrative overreach’
By Holly Neumann
The Manawa School Board is reviewing proposed changes to its guideline regarding outside activities of support staff.
The proposed AG4231 guideline have the following changes:
So that staff members may avoid situations in which their personal interests, activities and associations may conflict with the interests of the Manawa School District, the following guidelines are provided.
A – Refrain from public utterances about private associations if such remarks are likely to violate community standards of propriety.
B – Avoid contact and associations outside of school which if known, could have an adverse or harmful effect upon the school.
C – Do not give job time to outside activities when there is no valid reason to be excused from assigned duties.
D – Do not use school property or school time to solicit or accept customers for private enterprises, without administrative permission.
E – Refrain from expressions that would disrupt harmony among co-workers or interfere with the maintenance of discipline by school officials.
F – Do not engage in political activities during assigned hours of employment.
G – Do not conduct unapproved solicitations on school property.
H – Do not reveal confidential information.
Board member Hélène Pohl expressed her concerns with the changes.
“How does a board even pretend to judge some of these?” she asked. “Why do we think they are necessary? Certainly we can think of ways to prevent unfavorable publicity to the district. A, B and E constitute an administrative overreach and should be taken out of this otherwise sensible document.”
She felt that all three clauses were overly broad, ambiguous and imprecise.
“First and foremost, we as a board should be guided by the principals that we have defined as essential to our mission; fostering a positive attitude towards change, expecting the highest degree of professionalism and creating a culture of competent, compassionate employees,” she said. “While I totally understand and support the idea of Manawa School District employees as role models, I cannot support these revisions of AG4231.”
“What constitutes a public utterance?” Pohl said, regarding guideline A. “What constitutes a private associations? And what is a violation of community standard of propriety?
Pohl felt that defining propriety is impossible.
“Which swear words do you want to put on that list? Is eluding to over indulging in adult beverages an affront to propriety?” she asked. “What community standards of propriety are agreed upon in our community? To borrow U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart saying, ‘I know when I see it,’ can’t hardly apply here.”
Pohl noted that a disgruntled employee who shares disparaging remarks on Facebook already faces consequences.
“Anything beyond this measure would have a chilling effect on staff speaking freely,” she said. “Including this clause in this document is not a wise choice for this board, who has worked tirelessly to restore trust bonds. If we sign onto this, administration would be responsible and burdened by any reported rumor of staff misconduct outside of school. Each report would have to be investigated.”
She believes that this would bring legal challenges as well.
“Just wait for when a staff member argues in court that his or her rights to constitutionally protected freedom of speech were infringed upon,” Pohl said.
Pohl also questioned the guideline about requiring staff to “avoid contact and associations outside of school which if known, could have an adverse or harmful effect upon the school.”
“Again, imposing restrictions outside of the district is not a wise move,” Pohl said. “What specific conduct? Too enthusiastic for a sports rival? Tipsy on Friday night? Dancing too suggestively at the local bar? What associations would you place on that list?’
She criticized the policy about staff refraining from expressions that would disrupt harmony among co-workers.
“Staff will risk punishment by criticizing anyone. Another staff member is upset, there goes the harmony,” Pohl said. “I am reluctant to have the administration in charge of playing referee on this issue and defining what constitutes a disruption to harmony. It will simply lead to more expensive litigation.”
Pohl felt that if the board’s goals are fair-mindedness, transparency and trust, then these policies will muddy the waters.
“This will have the unintended consequences of instilling a cloud of fear and staff resentment for obviously not trusting the employee’s judgment,” she said. “We must resist the temptation to control our staff and support staff words and actions outside of the school day.”
The board tabled the matter for further discussion.