Principles of Ethical Leadership for School Business Officials (SBO) Christina berta, mba, sfo Chief financial officer – chesterfield county public schools SASBO/vasbo conference: spring 2019

Principles of Ethical Leadership for School Business Officials (SBO) Overview Principles and practices for success in your role. Real-life dilemmas and appropriate responses. Prepare you to handle unethical situations.

Organizational Ethics Involves Everyone Yes… Everyone involved in the school community

SBO’s Responsibilities More than accurate accounting records Protection of assets and investments Resources for instructional programs and initiatives Operational efficiencies in support areas

CCPS Professional Code of Ethics

CCPS Professional Code of Ethics Employees shall: Make the well-being of students the fundamental value of all decision-making and actions. Support the civil and human rights of all individuals. Maintain personal and professional behaviors that demonstrate positive role modeling for students, colleagues and the education profession. Refrain from discourse and actions that undermine their own personal integrity and that of other employees, and that compromise the professional standards of the school division. Fulfill job responsibilities with honesty and integrity. Maintain the high standards of the school division and seek to improve effectiveness through continuous professional development. Avoid using one’s position for personal gain through political, social, religious, economic, or other influence. Honor all contracts with honesty and integrity until fulfillment or release.

ASBO Professional Standards and Code of Ethics Published in 2005 and derived from highly trained and well recognized school business officials https://asbointl.org/asbo/media/documents/Resources/ ASBO-Professional-Standards.pdf Many standards can easily be incorporated into local documents

Book used as a resource The next section of this presentation draws from “Ethics for School Business Officials” written in 2005 by William T. Hartman and Jacquiline A. Stefkovich (Professors at Pennsylvania State University) in conjunction with ASBO.

Examining Personal and Professional Codes of Ethics List personal goals and professional goals separately Consider how you measure up Reflect on how you can improve Compare ASBO code of ethics to your professional code Source: “Ethics for School Business Officials” William T. Hartman and Jacqueline A. Stefkovich

Identify Your Personal Code of Ethics In an ethical situation, what comes to your mind first? deciding what is fair to the majority concern for individual rights how your actions may impact others use and abuse of power the best interest of students What incidents in your life have shaped your ethical perspective? What moral principles guide your ethical decision making?

Identify Your Personal Code of Ethics (continued) Examples may include: Treat others the way you would like to be treated Be loyal to family and friends Be happy with what you have; don’t envy others Be kind to elderly people Deal honestly with others

Identify Your Professional Code of Ethics Examples of a Professional Code of Ethics include: Be loyal to employers Treat others the way you would like to be treated Deal honestly with others Be straightforward Always be courteous and kind Act as a role model for others Serve as a mentor for others Balance time between, work, home, family, life!

Consider how you measure up How do you measure up to your own standards? Reflect on events that have shaped your career and reasons for your list of items.

Reflect on how you can improve Conflicts exist – how do you handle them? What factors control your decision making? How do you “right the ship?”

Compare ASBO Code of Ethics to Your Own Decide how important any differences are. Example: Perhaps your individual code calls for loyalty to an employer; however, the employer expects behavior that conflicts with the ASBO code of ethics. It is important to determine which lines can and cannot be crossed.

Headlines

Real World Example

Real World Example – What would you do?

Takeaways Be prepared for the unexpected Develop personal and professional code of ethics Courage to address issues that arise Morals vs Ethics “Your actions define your character, your words define your wisdom, but your treatment of others defines REAL you.”  ― Mayur Ramgir

Questions?

Principles of Ethical Leadership for School Business Officials (SBO) Christina berta, mba, sfo Chief financial officer – chesterfield county public schools SASBO/vasbo conference: spring 2019