| Advisory opinion request by John Cook, on behalf of the Greater Louisiana Charter Foundation ("GLCF"), regarding whether the Code of Governmental Ethics prohibits the daughter of a member of the GLCF Charter School Board from working for a vendor of GLCF. |
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Greater Louisiana Charter Foundation("GLCF") is a Louisiana non-profit corporation incorporated on June 20, 2025 with Louisiana Secretary of State. GLCF intends to submit a charter school application to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education ("BESE"). It is anticipated that GLCF will retain Charter Schools USA ("CSUSA") a private for-profit entity, to serve as its educational service provider for its future charter schools.
The Management Agreement between GLCF and CSUSA provides that the employees of CSUSA are agents of the Charter School having a legitimate educational interest. Further the agreement states "the Board, subject to its discretion, hereby authorizes CSUSA to communicate with and negotiate on the Board's behalf with all state and governmental agencies, as directed by the Board."
The GLCF Board of Directors is comprised of volunteer members who receive no compensation except for the reimbursement of approved out-of-pocket expenses. The Secretary/Treasurer of the GLCF Board of Directors is Mark Gamble, CPA. Mr. Gamble formerly worked for CSUSA in Louisiana as the State Financial Director until his retirement in December of 2024.
Mr. Gamble's daughter, Lainey Gamble, currently works for CSUSA in Louisiana as a Governing Board Manager. The description for her role as a Governing Board Manager states that this individual will "effectively represent both CSUSA and their Governing Boards in a variety of capacities." In one of those capacities, this individual is to "ensure all board meetings are properly managed and participate actively in Board meetings through formulation, review, and execution oversight of the business decisions guiding the overall direction of CSUSA." As Governing Board Manager, Ms. Gamble also ensures compliance with management agreements. In all other respects, her role would be similar to that of an Executive Secretary. Ms. Gamble is a salaried employee and would receive no bonus or commission if GLCF were to ultimately contract with CSUSA.
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Docket No. 2024-384 -VCF/VCA, which holds the charter for a charter school, has a Management Agreement with CSUSA. One of the services CSUSA provides is transportation for VCF/VCA. Ms. Lewis is a board member of VCF/VCA and her spouse is a bus driver. The Board advised that the bus driver exception would not apply; statute says "local school board" and CSUSA is not a "local school board" so prohibited from hiring spouse. Therefore, Ms. Lewis's spouse was prohibited from entering into any transactions under the supervision or jurisdiction of VCF/VCA while Ms. Lewis is member of VCF.
Docket No. 2023-600 - Board advised a St. John the Baptist School Board member that a nonprofit corporation where the school board member's spouse and father-in-law worked could enter into transactions with the school board as long as they did not perform any of the services and the spouse was not compensated by the nonprofit corporation. The father-in-law was not prohibited from being compensated but he would have to file a R.S. 42:1114 disclosure.
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La. R.S. 17:3996(B)(20) provides that all officers and employees of charter schools are subject to the Code.
La. R.S. 42:1102(16) defines "person" to mean an individual or legal entity other than a governmental entity, or an agency thereof.
La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(a) defines "public employee" to mean anyone, 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" means a public employee or an elected official.
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.
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. 42:1113A(1)(a) states no public servant, excluding any legislator and any appointed member of any board of commission and any member of a governing authority of a parish with a population of ten thousand or less, or member of such a public servant's immediate family, or legal entity in which he has a controlling interest shall bid on or enter into any contract, subcontract, or other transaction that is under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant.
La. R.S. 42:1102(22)(a) "Thing of economic value" means money or any other thing having economic value.
La. R.S. 42:1102(22)(c) provides that a "thing of economic value" does not include salary and related benefits of the public employee.
La. R.S. 42:1119A No member of the immediate family of an agency head shall be employed in his agency.
La. R.S. 42:1114 provides that each public servant and each member of his immediate family who derives anything of economic value, directly, through any transaction involving the agency of such public servant or who derives any thing of economic value of which he may be reasonably expected to know through a person which (1) is regulated by the agency of such public servant, or (2) has bid on or entered into or is in any way financially interested in any contract, subcontract, or any transaction under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant shall disclose certain information as set forth in Section 1114.
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Adopt proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Kathryn Calmes |
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