Report sheds light on state superintendent's resignation
Ohio law prohibits state employees from using state time and equipment for personal business; however, a new report indicates former Ohio schools superintendent Stan Heffner may have violated that canon.
The state superintendent of Public Instruction resigned effective Aug. 10.
Heffner announced his resignation on Aug. 4, amid allegations of misconduct and ethics violations in office.
The Ohio Office of Inspector General Randall Meyer reported:
"At the time of his testimony before the Ohio Senate Finance Committee, Heffner had already interviewed and secured a position at Educational Testing Service (ETS). Heffner negotiated the conditions of his employment with ETS, signed an offer, and began the process of transitioning from Ohio to San Antonio, Texas. He had met with ETS officials out of state and allowed them to pay for his travel; he took time from attending an out-of-state conference on behalf of ODE to meet with ETS officials.
An Associated Press report this week shows Heffner had a flight to Texas – to meet with the vice president of Educational Testing Service – coordinated by his executive secretary at the Ohio Department of Education, Carolyn Jones, while she was on state time. "Jones also coordinated other air travel related to his job hunt and sent paperwork using state equipment for his purchase of a Texas home, records show," the AP reported.
Divisions (D) and (E) of Revised Code Section 102.03 provide:
(D) No public official or employee shall use or authorize the use of the authority or influence of his office or employment to secure anything of value or the promise or offer of anything of value that is of such a character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon him with respect to his duties.
(E) No public official or employee shall solicit or accept anything of value that is of such a character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon him with respect to his duties.
The term "public official or employee" is defined, for purposes of Chapter 102., in R.C. 102.01 (B) and (C), to include any person who is an official or employee of any department, division, institution, board, commission, authority, bureau or other instrumentality of the state. The term "anything of value" is defined for purposes of R.C. 102.03 to include money, goods, chattels, any interest in realty, a promise of future employment, and every other thing of value.
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A public official or employee is prohibited, by R.C. 102.03 (D) and (E), from accepting, soliciting, or using the authority or influence of her position to secure anything of value, where the thing of value is of such character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon her with respect to her official duties. A public official or employee is also prohibited from accepting, soliciting, or using the authority or influence of her position to secure anything of value that could otherwise impair the official's or employee's objectivity and independence of judgment with respect to his or her official duties.
After being appointed Ohio school superintendent, Heffner did not take the job in Texas.
In addition, Heffner's resignation comes at a time when Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost is investigation at least three public school districts for allegedly manipulating statistics that make their test scores look better.
According to his biography at the Ohio Department of Education, Heffner began teaching in South Dakota, where at age 24 he became the youngest high school principal in the state. He came to Ohio in 1984 where he held superintendent positions in Lorain and Sandusky counties. He spent 15 years as superintendent in the Madison Local School District in Lake County before joining the Ohio Department of Education in 2004 as associate superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. He was named superintendent of Public Instruction by the State Board of Education in July 2011, after serving three months as Interim Superintendent.
Heffner holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education from Northern State University in South Dakota and completed doctoral course work at the University of Idaho.