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Superintendent Isaac
Joseph Violating State
Law
June 21, 2016
school boards website as a vacancy. The Ethics Board stated in its letter to
Patricia Adams stated that, The Board further instructed me to inform you that
La R.S. 42:1112B (1) would prohibit Isaac Joseph from participating in a
transaction with his governmental entity in which his wife has a substantial
economic interest. As such, La R.S. 42:1112C would require Mr. Joseph to
disqualify himself from participating in such transactions to avoid a violation of
Section 1112 (see Exhibit 3).
Page 1of1
Kathleen M. Allen
Ethics Administration Program
P. 0. Box 4368
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/PrintMessage
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6/20/2016
HAMMONDS, SILLS,
ADKINS & Gu1cE,11P
Robert L. Hammonds
Kenneth F. Sills
Harold J. Adkins
Jon K. Guice, APC
Elmer G. Noah, II, LLC
Neal L. Johnson, Jr., LLC
Carla S. Courtney-Harris
Alejandro R. Perkins
Linda K. Ewbank
Wayne T. Stewart
Pamela Wescovich Dill
ATTORNEYS
AT
LAW
Charles F. Hardie, VI
Melissa S. Losch
Eric M. Barrilleaux
Lykisha R. Vaughan
OfCounsel
Franklin V. Endom, Jr.
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3. to the board.
B. Every agency head, upon determining that he may be compelled to participate in a transaction involving the
governmental entity in violation of Section 1112 of the Code ofG<ivernmental Ethics, shall immediately, and prior to
such participation, report the details of the transaction, in writing, to his appointing authority and to the board.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Prornulgated in accordance with R.S. 42: l l 34(A).
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Civil Service, Board ofEthics, LR 23:1300 (October 1997).
A. The proposed disqualification procedure shall be implemented by the public employee and his immediate
supervisor, andthe public employee shall otherwise refrain from participating.in the potential transaction until such.
time as the board has, in writing, provided the public employee, his immediate supervisor, and his agency head with
instructions as.to.the procedure to avoid participation in the prohibited transaction.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 42: 1134(A).
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Civil Service, Board ofEthics, LR 23: 1300 (October 1997).
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STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE
Re:
-----
The Board concluded, and instructed me to inform you, that the Code of Governmental
Ethics would not prohibit Faith Joseph from being transferred to the position of Principal
of Higgins High School while her husband is employed asthe Superintendent. La. R.S.
42:1119A prohibits a member of the immediate family of an agency head .from being
employed.in his agency. However, La. R.S.42:ll19C allows a public employee that has
been employed for at least one year prior to her immediate family member becomingthe
agency head to continue her employment and receive. normal promotional advancements.
Finally;La. R.S . .42:1119B(2)(a)(iii) requires any school board member or superintendent
whose immediate family member. is employed by the. school board to file a disclosure
statement with the Board of Ethics, within thirty days after the beginning of each school
year, stating the facts.of such employment. Since Ms. Joseph has been employed by the
School Board for twenty-six years, it would not present a violation of the Code if she is
transferred to the.position of Principal . ofHiggins High School while .her husband .is
employed as the Superintendent. Nevertheless, Mr. Joseph is required to file a disclosure
statement each year that his wife is employed by the School Board in any position.
The B.oard furtherinstructed me to inform you that La. R.S. 42:1112B(l) would prohibit
Isaac Joseph.from participating in a transaction with his governmental entity in which his
wife has a substantial economic interest. As such,La. R.S. 42:11 l2C would require Mr.
Joseph.to disqualify himself from participating in such transactions to avoid a violation of
Section 1112. A disqualification plan must be confeeted in accordance with La. R.S.
42:1112C and Chapter 14 of the Administrative Rules for the Board of Ethics. The
disqualification plan, which must be approved by the Board of Ethics, should completely
remove Mr. Joseph from any responsibility regarding his wife's promotion and/or
employment. A copy. of Chapter 14 of 'the Administrative Rules for the Board. of Ethics
is enclosed.
This advisory opinion is based solely on the facts as set forth herein. Changes to the facts
as presented may . result in a different application of the provisions of the code of
Governmental Ethics. The Board issues no opinion as to past conduct or as to laws. other
than the Code of Governmental Ethics, the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act, the
Lobbyist Disclosure Act, and conflict of interest provisions in the gaming laws. If you
have any questions, please contact me at (800) 842-6630 or (225) 219-5600.
Sincerely,
L--/
STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE
Cedric Floyd
School Board President
Jefferson Parish Public School System
501 Manhattan Boulevard
Harvey, LA 70058-4495
Re:
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The Board concluded, and instructed me to inform you, that the Board appro".es the
disqualification plan submitted on beh'alf'of the Jefferson Parish Public School System and
Isaac Joseph, by virtue of which the Jefferson Parish School Board will contract with three
retired educators who have the experience and qualifications to interview and make a
recommendation to the Jefferson Parish School Board when an immediate family member
of Superintendent Isaac Joseph applies for a new position or other personnel related matters.
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La. R.S. 42:1112B(l) provides that no public servant shall participate in a transaction
involving the governmental entity in which, to his actual knowledge, any member of his
immediate family has a substantial economic interest. La. R.S. 42:1112(C) allows a
disqualification plan to be developed in accordance with rules adopted by the Board to
remove a public servant from participating in transactions that would otherwise present
violations of Section 1112 of the Code.
This advisory opinion is based solely on the facts as set forth herein. Changes to the facts as
presented may result in a different application of the provisions ofthe Code of Governmental
Ethics. The Board issues no opinion as to past conduct or as to laws other than the Code of
Governmental Ethics. If you have any questions, please contact me at (800) 842-6630 or
(225) 219-5600.
Sincerely,
LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS
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STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE
Cedric Floyd
School Board President
Jefferson Parish Public School System
501 Manhattan Boulevard
Harvey, LA 70058-4495
Re:
-----
The Board concluded, and instructed me to inform you, that the Board approves the
disqualification plan submitted on behalf of the Jefferson Parish Public School System
and Isaac Joseph, by virtue of which the Jefferson Parish Scn,ool Board will contract with
three retired educators who have the experience and qualifications to interview and make
a recommendation to the Jefferson Parish School Board regarding personnel matters of
currently employed immediate family members of Superintendent Isaac Joseph and
immediate family members who have applied for any position within the Jefferson Parish
Public School System. La. R.S. 42:1112B(l) provides that no public servant shall
participate in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which, to his actual
knowledge, any member of his immediate family has a substantial economic interest. La.
R.S. 42:1112(C) allows a disqualification plan to be developed in accordance with rules
adopted by the Board to remove a public servant from participating in transactions that
would otherwise present violations of Section 1112 of the Code.
This advisory opinion is based solely on the facts as set forth herein. Changes to the facts
as presented may result in a different application of the provisions of the Code of
Governmental Ethics. The Board issues no opinion as to past conduct or as to laws other
than the Code of Governmental Ethics. If you have any questions, please contact me at
(800) 842-6630 or (225) 219-5600.
Sincerely,
LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS
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For the Board
Page 1
Lexis Nexis
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
SYLLABUS:
[*1]
OPINION 97-93
100-SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS - TEACHERS, PRINCIPALS, SUPERINTENDENT, SABBATICAL LEAVE, EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, STUDENTS
LSA-R.S. 17:444; LSA-R.S. 17:444(B)(4)(c)(iv); LSA-R.S. 17:444(B)(4)(a)(i)
1) Provided it was clear to all parties involved that the "Acting Principal" positions were to be "temporary" until the
Justice Department made a decision concerning the mandated consolidation, the one-year contracts appear to be valid.
2) Unless one of the situations as specified in LSA-RS. 17:444(B)(4)(c)(iv) occurs, the School Board shall negotiate
and offer a new contract to the current principals at the expiration of their existing contracts.
REQUESTBY:
Honorable David P. Doughty
Assistant District Attorney
P.O. Box 857
Rayville, LA 71269
OPINIONBY:
RICHARD P. IEYOUB, ATTORNEY GENERAL; BETH CONRAD LANGSTON, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
OPINION:
I am in receipt of your request for an Attorney General's Opinion on behalfofthe Franklin Parish School Board
concerning the legality of some of the Board's contracts with the principals of the schools within their District.
You have stated that the Franklin Parish School Board has been under the cloud of a Justice Department [*2] mandated consolidation. You state that in the last few years they have not known exactly what schools would be open. As a
result, they had one-year contracts with several principals as they did not know whether these positions would be available in the future. Although some of the positions will still be in existence, the principals were hired as "acting principals" for a one-year term.
You state that at least one principal position is being eliminated. According to the School Board, the intent was for these
positions to be temporary until the consolidation issue with the Justice Department was cleared up. You have indicated
that there has been a consent decree entered into between the school board and the justice department where there will
now be three high schools.
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You state that the School Board would like the following questions addressed:
1) The validity of the one-year contracts in light of LSA-R.S. 17:444 and more specifically, whether or
not these positions will be considered to be "temporary" as an exception to the two-year contract.
2) Whether or not the mandatory offer ofany contract requirement of LSA-R.S. 17:444(B)(4)(c)(iv) is
applicable?
You have [*3] indicated that at least one principal position is going to be eliminated. If this occurs, it appears that a
reduction in force may be necessary. If so, there are several federal cases dealing with reductions that must be reviewed
and followed. Also, ifthe Franklin Parish School Board has a reduction in staff personnel policy, then the policy must
be reviewed and followed as well.
In your first question, you reference LSA-R.S. 17:444 B(4)(a)(i) which states the following:
The employment provided for in this Section shall be for a term of not less than two years, except when
such employment is for a temporary position, nor more than four years, and said term shall be specified
in a written contract, which shall contain performance objectives.
You inquire about the validity of the one-year contracts in light of this section of the statute and specifically ask whether
these positions will be considered to be "temporary" as an exception to the two-year contract. LSA-R.S. 17:444 does not
define what a temporary position is, but it is defined in Black's Law Dictionary as:
That which is to last for a limited time only, as distinguished from that which is perpetual, or [*4] indefinite, in its duration. Opposite of permanent...
Provided it was clear to all parties involved that these positions were temporary until the Justice Department made a
decision concerning the mandated consolidation, the one-year contracts appear to be valid.
In response to your second question, LSA-R.S. 17:444(B)(4)(c)(iv) applies in situations where positions are discontinued
because they are only temporary positions. This sub-section states:
The board shall negotiate and offer a new contract at the expiration of each existing contract unless the
superintendent recommends against a new contract based on an evaluation of the contract as provided for
in R.S. 17:391.5, or unless failure to offer a new contract is based on a cause sufficient to support a
mid-contract termination as provided in Item (iii) of this Subparagraph, or unless the position has been
discontinued, or unless the position has been eliminated as a result of district reorganization, provided
that should the position be recreated, the employee, if still employed by the board, shall have first right of
refusal to the recreated position.
Therefore, unless one of the situations as specified in LSA-R.S. [*5] 17:444(B)(4)(c)(iv) occurs, the School Board
shall negotiate and offer a new contract at the expiration of each existing contract. Even if the language in the principals'
contracts states that their jobs are only temporary, unless one of the positions as set forth in LSA-R.S.
17:444(B)(4)(c)(iv) occurs the Board shall negotiate and offer a new contract to the current principal. Additionally, if
comparable positions are still available after the consolidation, these "acting principals" cannot be replaced with new
permanent principals at the end of their one year due to the fact they were considered to be temporary positions while
the consolidation issue was pending.
Concerning the position that is being eliminated, the School Board must provide that ifthe position is recreated, the
employee, if still employed, shall have the right of first refusal to the position. However, during the interim, the principal would need to be transferred to an open position if possible.
In Rousselle v. Plaquemines Parish School Board, 633 So.2d 1235 (La. 1994), the Louisiana Supreme Court reviewed a
situation where the School Board decided not to renew a principal's contract even though they [*6] had no justified
cause for the nonrenewal. The Supreme Court held that the School Board could not arbitrarily decide not to renew a
contract. The Court set forth the conditions under which school boards may fail to offer new contracts relative to promotional employment contracts. [(See LSA-R.S. 17:444(B)(4)(c)(iv)]. The Court noted that the statute exhibits its reaffirmance of strong public policy of protecting teacher tenure. The Court held that the legislation prevents school boards
from arbitrarily deciding not to renew contracts of good teachers under a promotional contract who have received positive annual evaluations and recommendations.
I hope this opinion sufficiently addresses your concerns. If I can be of further assistance, please let me know.
Legal Topics:
For related research and practice materials, see the following legal topics:
Labor & Employment LawWrongful TerminationBreach ofContractEmployer HandbooksLabor & Employment LawWrongful TerminationBreach of ContractExpress ContractsLabor & Employment LawWrongful TerminationBreach of
ContractF ormation