Archive for February 1st, 2009

By Mary Niederberger
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steel Valley school board President Joseph Ducar said he believed the $10,300 fine imposed by the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission upon his fellow school director, Edward McCallister, should stand as a warning to school directors everywhere to be absolutely certain about the votes they cast.

The state Ethics Code prohibits public officials from using their position for private pecuniary gain for members of their immediate family. Those members are defined as a parent, spouse, child, brother or sister, said Sean Fields, associate counsel for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

Edward McCallister was found to have violated that code when he voted to award supplemental contracts to his brother, Shawn McCallister, on six occasions and to authorize payroll checks 29 times for those contracts from 2003 to 2007.

[ Full story available at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09029/945256-55.stm ]