IASB Walks Like a CIETC Duck

The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) placed its executive director, Maxine Kilcrease, on paid administrative leave Thursday after it was revealed she had convinced the former board chair and staffers to increase her pay without board approval. Evidently, she did not like the fact her $212,000 salary included deductions for the taxes for which she (and every other worker in America) is responsible. What?

This scandal looks, smells, quacks and walks like the stinky duck that was the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium (CIETC) scandal a few years back. A few people lost their jobs at CIETC and a few others went to jail. The same should happen at IASB. In the wake of CIETC, elected officials were falling all over themselves to express outrage. Grand promises were made that steps would be taken to protect taxpayer dollars in the future. IASB proves these steps were not taken. This time, elected officials need to save the platitudes and actually enact measures to ensure we won’t suffer a third outrageous theft of our money.

Step 1 – any entity that accepts dues, grants or other monies from government bodies must operate under strict open government rules. An exception should be made for independent businesses that provide products or services. But, organizations resembling IASB and CIETC that are established as collaborations even partly administered by, invested in or affiliated with government should be treated like government. The books of these entities should be open for public review and all activities should be conducted in the open air and sunshine for public scrutiny.

Step 2 – end the incestuous hiring and administrative practices in quasi-government entities like CIETC and IASB. CIETC exposed a shocking and shameful practice of relatives hiring relatives and financial back scratching between government (often elected officials) board members and CIETC employees. It appears the same was going on at IASB.

None of us have the IASB facts yet and I do not want to jump to conclusions. However, since this story broke in the Des Moines Register, I have been reminded that a former Des Moines School Board member currently serves as IASB’s legal counsel, one served as IASB chairman when IASB bought their sprawling building on Grand Avenue, another went to work for IASB when she left the school board, and a current school board member worked at IASB when she was running for office. These four are all fine people. I am not and would not suggest they did anything wrong. However, the fact so many Des Moines School Board members had and have relationships with IASB should make us all a little uncomfortable, especially now we know how much money was running through the sticky fingers of IASB staff.

Let me be perfectly clear, I have every reason to believe the Des Moines School Board members past and present involved with IASB had nothing but the best interests of the taxpayers in mind at all times. The same was probably true with many involved with CIETC. What both of these instances show is that without laws to protect taxpayers by mandating open disclosure of the finances and activities of these quasi-government entities, the taxpayers get burned. Let’s call a duck a duck and let’s put an end to the ability of organizations like CIETC and IASB to treat taxpayer resources as their own private slush funds.

Added to original blog post: I was alerted by a reader to further evidence of the IASB revolving door of Des Moines School staff and other board members. Former Des Moines Schools facilities director Duane Van Hemert and Jefferson Scranton School Board member Sam Harding were hired in 2009 by IASB to run the Iowa Construction Advocate Team (ICAT). ICAT was formed after the sales tax was extended statewide to pay for school construction projects. Ca ching!

The reader who brought this to my attention happens to be an architect. He says ICAT may be “walking the thin line of providing architectural design/planning services without a license.” He goes on to say ICAT makes “initial planning recommendations to school boards, and assists in the selection of architects and other construction professionals. This is a slippery way around fair bidding laws and directing work towards a chosen few.“ Did I hear a quack?

(It should be noted the Keystone Area Education Agency newsletter linked above also announced another IASB staffer, Larry Siegel, was heading off to be an “entrepreneur” with the help of IASB. Quack. Quack!)

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.