New Mounds View School Board Member May Face Removal

By Elizabeth Mohr, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Jan. 9–She’s certainly not the first school board member in Minnesota to have a spouse working in the same district, but Susan Murphy might be the first removed from office because of it.

Murphy was somber and silent throughout the swearing-in ceremony Tuesday night — her first as a newcomer to the Mounds View school board — possibly bracing herself for what would come next.

Immediately after the oath of office was administered, the school district’s attorney addressed the board — and Murphy — to inform them that her seat — which she won in November’s election — is in jeopardy because of a possible conflict of interest.

Murphy’s husband works in the district as a custodian. The current school board will negotiate his union’s contract. And, Murphy’s role in that process poses a potential problem.

"We’re not talking about spousal relationship," said John Roszack, the school district’s attorney. "We’re talking about voluntary personal financial interest in, or benefit from, the making of that contract."

That financial interest is "prohibited," Roszack said.

In order to avoid that conflict of interest, Roszack presented the board with options: Murphy’s voluntary resignation or "removal for cause."

Neither needs to occur until a conflict of interest is actually proved, he said. Roszack recommended the board hire an independent hearing officer to conduct an investigation to determine whether such an issue exists.

The board approved the hiring recommendation

but questioned Roszack on privacy laws, the length of the hearing process and why it was needed.

Board member Bob Helgeson asked why Murphy, a Shoreview real estate agent, couldn’t just remove herself from the negotiation process. Roszack said he wasn’t able to offer a "succinct answer," other than the state Legislature makes the laws and the school board follows them.

In his written resolution, Roszack said "simple abstention will not be deemed legally sufficient."

He was equally unable to explain why there is an exemption for school board members whose spouses are teachers. If Murphy’s husband were a teacher, none of this would be happening, Roszack said in an interview earlier Tuesday.

"Why do those exemptions exist for teachers and not for other working groups?" he asked during the meeting. "All I can say is that we must follow the law."

He was referring to Minnesota statute 471.87, which outlines the conflict and its penalty — a gross misdemeanor.

Moreover, if Murphy is found to be conflicted and remains on the board, any member who votes on the contract in question is subject to the same penalty, Roszack said.

This isn’t the first time there has been a Mounds View school board member with a spouse employed by the district, according to district spokesman Colin Sokolowski. But it’s the first time someone has pointed out the law.

"Previous legal counsels hired by the District had not advised previous School Boards of this statute and its potential legal implications," Sokolowski wrote in a statement for the district.

Roszack said he didn’t know how "similar fact situations" had been resolved in the past or in other districts but that they were "legally irrelevant" in his advice to the board Tuesday.

District officials said they were aware of the potential conflict when Murphy ran in a five-person race for four seats last fall, but they didn’t believe it was appropriate to raise the matter then, in the midst of an election. The district took action only after Murphy officially took her seat Tuesday.

Elizabeth Mohr can be reached at emohr@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5162.

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