OUR VIEW: BCSD wise to protect district whistle-blowers
The Bakersfield City School District board of trustees deserves credit for taking swift action to address certain internal policies following an audit that alleged serious and chronic misconduct in the district's maintenance and operations department.
Trustees decided in a special meeting Monday to revise a number of district policies on topics such as cash collection, use of district property and disposal of equipment, and to ensure those policies are communicated to district staff and strictly enforced.
The trustees also agreed to create a new policy to protect whistle-blowers from workplace retaliation.
California law already provides general protections to employees of public and private companies who report suspected misconduct in good faith. It doesn't hurt that the BCSD is willing to reiterate these protections in district policy, but it would be better still if the district went beyond that and created a policy that clearly states how and to whom suspected misconduct should be reported, how whistle-blower reports will be investigated and, if feasible, what evidence the whistle-blower can provide to substantiate the report.
BCSD Maintenance and Operations Department employees told auditors they knew unauthorized activity was taking place in their department, but previous reports to administrators had been ignored and they feared losing their jobs if they pushed the matter further. So they remained silent. As a result, procedures that violated district policy and potentially state law continued, likely contributing to the disappearance of $30,000 in cash.
Employees have the right to report suspected impropriety and not fear retaliation. BCSD can help prevent this in the future with a policy that provides detailed and explicit procedures. In the process, they may be able to create a blueprint for other public agencies.
