Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Nepotism Laws


There's been a lot of discussions lately in Northern NJ municipalities of creating anti-nepotism laws.  Reading about them made me think about nepotism in our own schools.  We all know stories about people hired or a vendor being used because he is someone's cousin or brother-in-law.  The person hiring them probably thinks that they are being very generous & helping out a relative in need, but they are helping them with other people's money - the tuition payers' money.  They should be generous with their own money.  NJ is starting to crack down on nepotism in the public schools & charter schools, & we should be doing the same.  
Though nepotism has been a way of life in some New Jersey school districts, there are signs that change may be coming.
A bill being considered by the state Assembly would prohibit the state’s charter schools and 588 school districts from hiring staff who are related to the superintendent, a board member, personnel director, business administrator or the school district’s attorney.
According to the legislation, a relative is defined in the bill as a person’s child, sibling, parent, extended family, in-law, half- or stepchild, domestic partner, and anyone else related to the individual or their spouse "by blood, marriage or adoption."