Emailgate claims its first casualty but is there more to it?
We began writing about some employees of the Sarasota County School District using the internal taxpayer funded email system for political purposes on October 6th. Due to our coverage Gary Leatherman has now become the first casualty of “Emailgate.”
There appears to be a misunderstanding by some district employees about what publicly funded time, equipment and services can and cannot be used for.
There is confusion about what a public employee can and cannot do when engaged in even the “perception” of wrongdoing.
There is a “culture of corruption” in the Sarasota County School System but it did not begin with “Emailgate”.
This culture of corruption has been long in the making and caused, at least in part, by elected school board members, district staff and some employees pushing the envelope to the point that abuse of the taxpayer funded email system is now endemic. Violating not only district policy but Florida state statutes has become common place. Some historical perspective is in order.
BACKGROUND:
In doing background research for articles on the possible misuse and abuse of the Sarasota County School district email system we found the following:
1. In an August 18, 2010 Sarasota Herald-Tribune column titled “Teachers union using school e-mail to campaign” Kim Hackett wrote:
School officials say the e-mail blasts have not been an issue until now. And union president Pat Gardner said that because all her members are school district employees, the district’s e-mail system is the easiest way to reach them.
“I can use the e-mail to do my political stuff,” said Gardner, who heads the Classified Teachers Association. “As long as it is in my newsletter.”
2. We obtained two emails sent by SC/TA President Gardner dated September 11, 2014 Subject: List of Contributors to Bridget Ziegler and September 30, 2014 Subject: Information for Restricted Class. This prompted our first article published on October 6, 2014. Neither of these two emails appear to be “newsletters.” The full text of these two emails may be read by clicking here.
3. Further research discovered that the Sarasota County Schools Information Technology Guidelines and Procedures, page 28, under the heading “Appropriate Use of E-mail” states the following:
Sarasota County Schools guidelines prohibit certain types of e-mail. These include mail that may be perceived as harassment, political campaigning, or commercial solicitation. Chain mail is also prohibited. Violators will be subject to loss of computer access privileges, as well as additional disciplinary action as determined by the Sarasota County Schools disciplinary procedures. Certain types of e-mail, including but not limited to harassing e-mail, may also subject the sender to civil or criminal penalties.
4. In response to our media request concerning the SC/TA use of the district email system for political campaigning Scott Ferguson, Communications Specialist Sarasota County Schools, replied:
[Y]ou are correct that our procedures state that the district email system is not to be used for, among other things, political campaigning.
5. Our research found Florida Statutes 104.31 – Political activities of state, county, and municipal officers and employees, which states:
(1) No officer or employee of the state, or of any county or municipality thereof, except as hereinafter exempted from provisions hereof, shall: (a) Use his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or a nomination of office or coercing or influencing another person’s vote or affecting the result thereof. [ … ] (3) Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
6. Prompted by our initial article Superintendent White on October 6, 2014 sent an email reminder to all school board employees stating:
As our community is in the midst of a number of political campaigns, I want to remind all employees about the School Board’s Information Technology Guidelines and Procedures which prohibit, among other things, using the School Board’s email system for any communication that may be perceived as political campaigning. While I encourage all our employees to be civically engaged in the electoral process, this engagement should not occur on work hours, nor should the School Board’s email system be used for this purpose.
7. A third email was sent by SC/TA President Gardner dated October 8, 2014 Subject: Newlsletter [sic.] – Info for Restricted Class. The full text of this email may be read by clicking here. This email was sent after Sarasota School Superintendent Lori White reminded all district employees (see item 6 above) that it is “prohibited” to use “the School Board’s email system for any communication that may be perceived as political campaigning.” This email was in direct contravention of Superintendent White and district policy.
As a result of our research and four articles, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on October 17, 2014 picked up our story-line publishing an article titled “School spokesman worked on campaign while on duty.” In the article Lee Williams reports:
The communications director and chief spokesman for the Sarasota County Schools was disciplined this month for working on a political campaign while on duty, and for using the school’s email system for political purposes.
[ … ]
In his email accompanying the fundraising letter, Leatherman castigates Ziegler’s politics, saying the election was important because “having anyone elected from the Tea Party will force the Board to waste time in political wrangling and responding to frivolous criticism, rather than addressing the serious management issues involved in running a $750 million a year enterprise.” Leatherman declined to discuss the statement.
[ … ]
Superintendent Lori White issued Leatherman a “Letter of Instruction” Oct. 3, which acknowledged that he responded to a political campaign email during the work day. [ … ] T. Wayne Bailey, a political science professor at Stetson University for more than 50 years, echoed [School Board member] Ziegler that Leatherman should have been aware of state law. “I would think that a senior official would be very aware of what the rules for the School Board’s computer usage would be,” Bailey said. “This is a clear conflict of interest.”
The misuse of district assets for politicking by some district employees and even school board members has become common practice. The School Board is doing nothing to stop it. The Superintendent has been accused of not taking a strong enough stand against this abuse of taxpayer dollars in the Gary Leatherman case. A school board member has called for Letterman’s dismissal. This same school board member has called for an “investigation” to determine just how deep and wide spread these abuses are.
Taking the politics out of the district email system can be done by the “loss of computer access privileges” as stated in district policy.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The SC/TA classified and teachers contracts are being negotiated as we write this column. Perhaps it is time to rethink the SC/TA’s use of the district email system to communicate with its members? Perhaps it is time, in this digital world, to let the SC/TA run its own email system and do what it wishes with it?
What about those who, like Leatherman, have exhibited as Professor Bailey states “a clear conflict of interest?”
Will there be others who are punished under Florida Statutes 104.31? We will continue to cover this story as events unfold.
EDITORS NOTE: Below are the direct links to the four articles we have previously published on this issue:
Sarasota School Board Candidate Ken Marsh gets a little help from his union friends
