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Decatur board retreat opens with ethics training stressing recusal, transparency and limits on board authority
Summary
At a board retreat, a governance trainer reviewed Georgia requirements for local codes of ethics, conflict-of-interest disclosures and executive‑session confidentiality, urging board members to recuse when relatives work in the district and to route staff direction through the superintendent.
Facilitator Dr. Emily Lebecque led a morning session at the City Schools of Decatur board retreat outlining the district’s legal and ethical obligations as a local board of education, including state training requirements and the need for clear local codes of conduct.
"You have to disclose if you have any close relatives working in the district," Lebecque said, urging members to recuse themselves from votes when appropriate. She cited state law that requires boards to adopt a local code of ethics and a conflict-of-interest policy and noted the governor’s authority under certain circumstances to remove a board that endangers accreditation.
Lebecque walked members through common ethical pitfalls in school governance — promising jobs, exerting undue influence on hiring, sharing executive-session material outside closed meetings — and stressed that routine questions should be routed through the superintendent rather than addressed to staff members directly. "If someone is presenting and it's your practice to address the person presenting, then it's okay. But if it's a direction that comes afterwards, it needs to go to the superintendent," she said.
Facilitator Robert Abosa and board members framed the session as part of broader work on norms and teamwork. Members raised concerns about staff capacity and the difference in norms between work sessions (more conversational) and formal board meetings (where direction should be more controlled). Lebecque recommended written protocols and consistent disclosure practices to preserve public trust.
The retreat did not produce formal policy changes; the training materials and a copy of the session slides were offered to Superintendent Whitaker for distribution to the board and staff. The presentation referenced Senate Bill 84 as the statutory anchor for annual ethics training and local code requirements.
