By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
CORRECTION NOTICE: A Monday story regarding nepotism in Pontiac schools incorrectly said Trustee Christopher Northcross’ Daughter Amanda Northcross works for the school district. She works for the University of California at Berkeley. In addition, Janice Tipton’s maiden name should have been listed as Jackson.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on nepotism in Pontiac schools. The second part will run Tuesday.
Nepotism, cronyism and favoritism? No, the words don’t describe a disease. But some critics have alleged the three ‘isms’ are an affliction of the Pontiac School District.
For years, a series of top district officials have been berated by some members of the community for hiring relatives and friends, or relatives of friends and influential people.
The Pontiac district was cited for all three ‘isms’ in the Chartwell Education Group report released in 2007, an in-depth analysis of the school district done in 2006 before the current administration and before the majority of school board members were elected.
Yet the hiring of friends and relatives is still commonplace in the district. One of the most recent examples is the hiring of board President Damon Dorkins’ uncle Darryl Cosby as new school security chief.
In addition, a laid-off financial analyst, who was recently recalled to her job, is the sister of Vice President Gill Garrett’s former supervisor in the Pontiac Police Department.
And the sister of Sandra Screen, co-director of special education services for the district, was recently added to the payroll, alleged teacher union President Irma Collins.
Not to be overlooked by critics is the fact that Trustee Christopher Northcross’s wife, Rosalind Northcross, is principal of Emerson Elementary School.
Several people interviewed for the nepotism report and a search through payrolls for two years have borne out allegations that many employees in the district are related to each other or connected by some other bond.
“The school district has so many people working in it that are related, you never know who’s kin to whom,” said a chief critic, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Dorkins and Garrett are new to the school board while the “ism’s” have been part of the fabric of the district for decades. Northcross had no part in hiring his wife, who was employed by the district long before her husband was elected to the board.
Even if he had a part in his wife’s hiring, a search through the district’s policies indicates there are none that prohibit the hiring of friends or relatives. However, to critics, these relationships in hiring are seen as fine examples of unethical hiring.
But to Dorkins and others who defend the hiring of people they know as long as they are good at what they do, it is not so simple.
In fact, it is common for activists who regularly attend school and city meetings and officials as well to voice their approval when people who have grown up in the city are hired and voice their disapproval when jobs go to what they call ‘outsiders.’
“The main thing our school district and city want (in their employment) are products of our city and school district,” Dorkins said.
“Fortunately, particularly in our city, somebody, no matter what job they are hired for, is going to be related to someone in the city.”
In light of that fact, an effort has to be made to hire people for their experience and skills and not “wrongfully just to get someone employed,” Dorkins said.
Nepotism not just local
Certainly, the Pontiac school district is not alone in a culture of searching out and hiring people who are part of the “family.” It happens in many private firms and governmental entities.
For example, the late President John F. Kennedy was accused of nepotism for his appointment of his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, as attorney general.
And now nepotism is being alleged again in connection to the possibility of Caroline Kennedy filling a New York Senate seat.
Mary Jo Murphy makes clear that nepotism is alive in national politics today.
In a New York Times column Dec. 20, she points out that the governor of New York, David Paterson, who is the son of state senator Basil Paterson, must appoint someone to fill a U.S. Senate seat most recently held by Hillary Clinton, the wife of President Bill Clinton.
Murphy notes that expressing interest in the seat are members of two important political families: Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President Kennedy and niece of two U.S. senators, Ted Kennedy and Robert Kennedy; and Andrew Cuomo, the son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who was married to Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, a niece of a president and a daughter of a senator.
In 2001, long-time Washington journalist Helen Thomas wrote about President George W. Bush after he followed his father into office.
“In some ways the Bush administration has become a family affair, reeking of nepotism. A staggering number of relatives of high administration officials have been appointed to government jobs, giving new meaning to ‘family values,” Thomas wrote.
“It’s as if other applicants were found unqualified simply because they lacked the right last name or didn’t have the right family connection.”
In part, Thomas’ article noted, “Vice President Dick Cheney’s son-in-law, Philip Perry, has been named deputy attorney general. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s son, Michael Powell, is the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.”
Closer to home, one of the most blatant and unusual examples of relatives working together is in the Flint school district in neighboring Genesee County.
Flint schools Superintendent Linda Thompson is the sister of Board of Education member Fred Bashir.
According to The Flint Journal, Thompson was hired while her brother was running for office earlier this year, so he did not actually vote to put her in the position.
However, since he was elected to the board, he has voted with other trustees to increase his sister’s salary. Bashir will also be responsible with the rest of the board for evaluating her job performance and voting on her recommendations, according to Journal reports.
Policies
The hiring of friends and relatives does not necessarily add up to nepotism, cronyism and/or favoritism. It depends on policies and rules and whether the people hired are best for the job.
Carroll Turpin, an activist in the Pontiac district who is serving on the district’s restructuring committee, said it isn’t the hiring of people with connections to others in the district that is an issue.
What is important, she said, is that procedures are followed to ensure that the people who are hired are qualified.
In Pontiac, a search of school policies indicates there is no district policy or rule that prohibits any of the three isms.
But even entities that have anti-nepotism policies don’t necessarily ban the hiring of friends and relatives.
Oakland Schools intermediate district, for example, does have an anti-nepotism policy but it permits the employment of qualified relatives or immediate family members of board members, superintendent and employees as long as such employment does not create problems with supervision or involve a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, nepotism is defined as “favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship.”
“Cronyism” is defined as “the giving of special treatment, preference, jobs, political appointments, or contracts to people who are friends, donors, or political cohorts rather than to people based on their abilities or qualifications.”
Therefore, nepotism and/or cronyism could be alleged if a friend or relative is hired when someone else who wants the job is better qualified. However, it may not be considered nepotism if the friend or relative is the most qualified.
Either way, proving that the relative or friend hired is not as qualified as others applying for a job makes it difficult to enforce an anti-nepotism policy.
Some policies caution against even the appearance of favoritism because it creates ill will among employees.
Examples of nepotism policies
At the University of Michigan, the nepotism policy states, in part, “There shall be neither favoritism toward nor discrimination against any individual in appointment, promotion ... based upon that individual’s being a relative of or having a close personal relationship or external business relationship to another person employed by the University.
“All supervisors are responsible for maintaining objectivity in their work relationships, and avoiding situations which raise the question of favoritism or discrimination is prohibited.”
The National Conference of State Legislatures says nearly half the states prohibit a legislator from hiring a relative either through statute or by constitution. In states where the practice is not prohibited, states have conflict-of-interest laws, which may restrict nepotism depending on interpretation of the law.
The Ethics Code prescribes standards of conduct for legislators, but does not directly address nepotism.
Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics in California’s Silicon Valley states that “favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism all interfere with fairness because they give undue advantage to someone who does not necessarily merit this treatment.” Markkula is the Jesuit university’s center for research and dialogue on ethical issues in critical areas of American life.
“In the public sphere, favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism also undermine the common good. When someone is granted a position because of connections rather than because he or she has the best credentials and experience, the service that person renders to the public may be inferior,” the statement reads.
“The biggest dilemma: almost everyone has drawn on connections, networking and family support in job hunting in the private sphere.
“Every president and governor names close associates to key cabinet positions. Mayors put those they know and trust on citizens committees and commissions. Friends and family can usually be counted on for loyalty, and officeholders are in a good position to know their strengths.
“Anti-nepotism can work against well-qualified individuals as well. This is especially true in the anti-nepotism that occurs when two people working together get married and one or both of them are fired. The business may also choose to not hire someone who is very qualified for a position because that person is related to someone in the company.”
Oakland Schools intermediate district’s nepotism policy permits the employment of qualified relatives or immediate family members of board members, superintendent and employees as long as such employment does not create an adverse impact on supervision or involve a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
“Board members and the superintendent shall publicly disclose their relationship to a candidate or current employee,” the policy states. The district’s employment application requires disclosure of family relationships.
In any matter directly involving the employment, assignment, promotion, individual compensation, discipline, suspension, or dismissal of any family member of a board member, the trustee must disqualify himself/herself from proceedings, votes, and discussions regarding such matters.
“The superintendent shall determine if the employment of an individual creates an adverse impact on supervision, a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest” and may reassign employees.
“The board president shall appoint a designee to review whether a conflict of interest exists in the event a family member of the superintendent is a candidate for employment,” the policy states.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress. com.
