Meetings
 
Agenda Item
Docket No. 22-484
 
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RE:
Disqualification Plan request from Calcasieu Parish School Board regarding Robert and Dielle Barrentine.
Facts:
Robert Barrentine currently serves as Chief Operating Officer ("COO") of CPSB, and he has held that role since March 2019. Dielle Barrentine currently serves as Supervisor of Assessment & Accountability for CPSB, and has held that role since June 2020. Mrs. Barrentine has been employed by CPSB since January 1994.
In his role as COO, Mr. Barrentine is responsible for personnel decisions within CPSB, including recommendations for employee discipline. In her role, Mrs. Barrentine reports to the Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Jason VanMetre. Except for personnel decisions, Mr. Barrentine has no supervisory authority over Mrs. Barrentine. Mr. Barrentine did not participate in the promotion of Mrs. Barrentine to her current role.
CPSB has submitted a disqualification plan to avoid any potential violation of La. R.S. 42:1112, whereby Mr. Barrentine would recuse himself from participating in any employment matters involving Mrs. Barrentine. Any such decisions would be handled by Mrs. Barrentine's supervisor, Dr. VanMetre.
Law:
La. R.S. 42:1112B(1) states 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. 42:1112C 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.
La. R.S. 42:1119A states that no member of the immediate family of an agency head shall be employed in his agency.
La. R.S. 42:1119C(2) provides that the provisions of this Section shall not prohibit the continued employment of any public employee nor shall it be construed to hinder, alter, or in any way affect normal promotional advancements for such public employee where a member of public employee's immediate family becomes the agency head of such public employee's agency, provided that such public employee has been employed in the agency for a period of at least one year prior to the member of the public employee's immediate family becoming the agency head.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a)(i) defines "agency" to mean a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity. "Agency of the public servant" and "his agency" when used in reference to the agency of a public servant shall mean for public servants in the twenty principal departments of the executive branch of state government, the office in which such public servant carries out his primary responsibilities; ...except that in the case of public servants who are members or employees of a board or commission or who provide staff assistance to a board or commission, it shall mean the board or commission.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines "agency head" to mean the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency or any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(13) defines "immediate family" as the term relates to a public servant to mean his children, the spouses of his children, his brothers and their spouses, his sisters and their spouses, his parents, his spouse, and the parents of his spouse.
La. R.S. 42:1102(15) defines "participate" to mean to take part in or to have responsibility for action of a governmental entity or proceeding, personally, as a public servant of the governmental entity, through approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or the failure to act or perform a duty.
La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(a) defines "public employee" to mean any person, whether compensated or not who is: (i) an administrative officer or official of a governmental entity who is not filling an elective office; (ii) appointed by any elected official when acting in an official capacity, and the appointment is to a post or position wherein the appointee is to serve the governmental entity or an agency thereof, either as a member of an agency, or as an employee thereof; (iii) engaged in the performance of a governmental function; (iv) under the supervision or authority of an elected official or another employee of the governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102(19) defines "public servant" to mean a public employee or elected official.
La. R.S. 42:1102(21) defines "substantial economic interest" as an economic interest which is of greater benefit to the public servant or other person than to a general class or group of persons, except: (a) the interest that the public servant has in his position, office, rank, salary, per diem, or other matter arising solely from his public employment or office; (b) the that an elected official who is elected to a house, body, or authority has in a position or office of such house, body, or authority which is required to be filled by a member of such house, body, or authority by law, legislative rule, or home rule charter, (c) the interest that a person has as a member of the general public.
Recommendations:
Approve submitted disqualification plan.
Assigned Attorney: Charles Reeves
 
 
ATTACHMENTS:
Description:
2022-484 - Diqualification Plan
2022-484- CPSB Org Chart
2022-484 - Disqualification Plan Draft - CPSB