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NJ School Boards Association trainer outlines ethics duties, disclosure rules and social-media cautions
Summary
Tim Teehan of the New Jersey School Boards Association gave an ethics presentation emphasizing mandatory governance training, financial-disclosure rules, the 180-day complaint window, penalties (reprimand, censure, suspension, removal) and cautions about social media and confidentiality.
Tim Teehan, representing the New Jersey School Boards Association, delivered an ethics presentation to the Pinelands Regional School District board that covered mandatory training, financial and relative-disclosure rules, the difference between advisory opinions and ethics complaints, conflict-of-interest examples and practical social-media cautions for board members.
Teehan began with a legal disclaimer and a hyperlinked PDF of cases and advisory opinions, stressing the materials provide legal information rather than legal advice. He described the School Ethics Commission (SEC), recent vacancies on the commission, and the advisory-opinion process. He told the board that advisory opinions are proactive guidance while ethics complaints are reactive filings and that advisory opinions require a six-member vote of the SEC to be published.
Key points Teehan told the board included: Governance 1 must be completed within 90 days after a member is sworn in; Governance 2 and 3 have timing tied to years in the first term with Governance 4 required upon reelection. Board members must file annual financial and personal-relative disclosure statements (new members have 30 days to file initial disclosures; annual filings are due by April 30). Ethics complaints generally must be filed within a 180-day window measured from when a reasonable person would have known of the event. He described penalties that range from a reprimand to public censure, suspension for a set period, and removal.
Teehan also addressed conflicts and recusal: board members with a business interest or relatives in the district may need to recuse themselves from votes and negotiations; longtime examples included limited committee assignments and constraints on participating in superintendent evaluations when members are conflicted. He reviewed the four elements required to use advice of counsel as a defense: obtain advice before acting, use authorized counsel (the board attorney), provide full facts and comply with the advice given.
On confidentiality, Teehan emphasized that executive sessions are for confidential matters and offered a blunt rule-of-thumb: "Whatever happens in executive session stays in executive session." He cautioned members against discussing board business on social media and warned that open public-record requests may target personal device and email records if they are used for board business.
Teehan closed by pointing board members to the linked advisory opinions and case summaries for further reading and invited follow-up questions to the New Jersey School Boards Association.
The presentation provided procedural guidance rather than local policy changes; the board thanked Teehan and moved on to remaining agenda items.
