Ethics Are Another Matter . . .

ACCOUNTABILITY

TRANSPARENCY

COMPETENCE

For the last two years, those who have opposed the Newberg School Board have argued for accountability, transparency, and competence in its operation. The firing of Dr. Joe Morelock at a November 9, 2021, meeting is emblematic of the board’s lack of accountability. Its lack of transparency. And its lack of competence, which led to multiple ethics violations. 

Finally, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission is taking notice.

The Newberg Graphic reported this week that the ethics commission has issued reports about the November 2021 meeting, affirming that the Newberg School Board violated state rules governing administrative boards when it chose to fire Dr. Morelock.

At the time, the board’s majority–Chair Dave Brown, Vice-Chair Brian Shannon, Trevor DeHart, and Renee Powell–failed to follow policies governing executive sessions, including notifying Morelock and other board members about the nature of the executive session. The three other board members, Rebecca Piros, Brandy Penner, and Ines Pina, were supposed to be notified alongside Morelock at least 24 hours in advance of the executive session, and were supposed to receive supporting material (including complaints made against Morelock) before the meeting.

Instead, the board majority violated Oregon administrative ethics by

• Adding the executive meeting agenda at the last minute, notifying the board only 1.5 hours before the meeting and without supporting documents. (The rules dictate that notice needs to be given 24 hours in advance.)

• Not telling three board members or Morelock what the nature of the executive meeting might be.

• Failing to accommodate Piros’ visual impairment with material about the meeting that would help her participate (an ADA non-compliance violation).

• Providing the board members with a packet containing the complaints regarding Morelock’s tenure as superintendent, and which presumably justified his firing.

• Transgressing OAR 199-040-0030, which states that Morelock should have been given information about his termination and the complaints at least 24 hours, or one business day, prior to the executive session. 

The complaints themselves suggest the baselessness of Morelock’s firing, and were focused primarily on  vaccine mandates and why Morelock might refuse to apply the board’s flag ban. It was unclear how the complaints were gathered, or how Morelock himself was responsible to rectify them. You can read all the complaints in the complaint, including “Why have you let go of good substitute teachers that aren’t vaccinated but other school districts aren’t requiring vaccines?” and “Why don’t you have more control over your staff? They are out of control, and are not following policies/procedures.”

You can access the case information on the Oregon Government Ethics Commission here. The Newberg Graphic also covered the story here, although the heroic efforts of three board members–Piros, Penner, and Pina–is buried by the story’s lead. Each woman self-reported her attendance at the executive session at which Morelock was fired, making them complicit in the ethics violations. 

And still, they were left with an untenable choice that night. They could leave the meeting right away, well aware of the ethics violations. Or, they could stay at the executive session, knowing that they represented their constituents and that the wrongful termination of Morelock might jeopardize some students and educators they had been elected to represent. 

They chose to stay, even though that meant they would also face investigation by the ethics commission. 

In the end, Morelock was fired without cause, costing the district $175,000 in his salary for the year, plus another salary for the newly-hired superintendent. 

The four board members were not transparent about their actions on that night in November 2021 and now, over a year later, we finally know just how troubling Morelock’s firing was. Led by their chair and vice chair, the board acted in a way that was not transparent nor ethical. It could be that Brown and Shannon were merely incompetent when they failed to follow well-established policies, but either through incompetence or unethical behavior, they violated rules set in place for a reason. 

Does Newberg really want school board members who can’t model the kind of moral, competent, transparent leadership our children deserve? The election on May 16 should answer this question.