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Pat Bradford urges restoring Rockingham ethics language and adding fingerprinting to district policy
Summary
Pat Bradford presented a side‑by‑side comparison of NCSBA, Rockingham County, and district drafts and recommended restoring Rockingham language that lists specific prohibited acts and adding fingerprinting for board members aligned to volunteer level‑2 requirements. The committee directed Bradford to provide a redline for amendment review.
Pat Bradford urged the policy committee to restore language from Rockingham County and to add fingerprinting requirements to the district's ethics policy. Bradford said the Rockingham text lists specific prohibited acts and is stronger in places, and recommended copying those sections into the district draft. "In addition to the ethical requirements established above, the board recognizes that this is this is unethical and or inappropriate for a board member to do any of the following specific acts," Bradford said, pointing to the list of prohibited activities and arguing the language should be picked up verbatim where appropriate.
Committee members discussed whether tightened wording would increase compliance and where the proposed language duplicate provisions already in other policies. Doctor Barnes cautioned that "policy does not mandate behavior" and described the manual as "a shield, not a sword," noting that clearer rules do not by themselves guarantee compliance. After discussion, Bradford moved to pull the Rockingham language into the district draft and add fingerprinting language; the Chair accepted that motion and the committee placed the edits under "existing policies for amendment," with Bradford agreeing to share a redlined copy after the meeting.
