E-mail leads to ethics complaint

Kanaby may face a three-month school board suspension.

By: Eileen Oldfield
   Hillsborough Board of Education member David Kanaby may face a three-month school board suspension unless the state education commissioner intercedes on the School Ethics Commission’s suspension recommendation.
   The ruling stemmed from an e-mail Mr. Kanaby sent to former Superintendent Karen Lake regarding personal days his wife, Christy Kanaby, took in November 2005.
   Ms. Kanaby is a teacher in the district and requested two days of personal leave prior to the Thanksgiving holiday to escort her daughter to a cheerleading competition in Orlando, Fla.
   Dr. Lake granted one personal day with pay, but granted the other personal day without pay. Ms. Kanaby used her right to a decision from the Board of Education; the Board of Education upheld Dr. Lake’s decision at its Nov. 21, 2005, meeting.
   Mr. Kanaby did not attend that meeting, because he accompanied his wife and daughter to Orlando that day, but the Kanabys say Ms. Kanaby’s call about her absence was incorrectly recorded as a sick call, which caused Dr. Lake to schedule a meeting with Ms. Kanaby and a union representative about the disparity.
   Mr. Kanaby sent the e-mail after hearing about the meeting from his wife.
   ". . . If you’re asking her to bring representation with her to meet with you, I can’t assume it is something to take lightly," read the e-mail. "I’m also very upset at the fact that you are asking her to bring representation, and that it has been over a week since the board met before you are getting back to her."
   Dr. Lake filed the complaint with the School Ethics Commission on Dec. 15, 2005.
   The commission recommended a three-month suspension on July 24. The recommendation is before Education Commissioner Lucille Davy currently, said Mr. Kanaby’s attorney, David Rubin.
   According to Mr. Rubin, whose fees are being paid for by the school district, a decision on the suspension would not be made until September.
   Until the education commissioner decides about the suspension, Mr. Rubin could not comment on whether an appeal will be filed.
   "There’s nothing to appeal just yet," said Mr. Rubin. "We don’t have the right to appeal until a decision is made. Right now, it’s sitting and waiting."
   A suspension is typically immediate, according to Mr. Rubin.
   Mr. Kanaby issued a public statement about the incident on Monday.
   "The only possible benefit to her (Ms. Kanaby) from my e-mail would have been sparing her the indignity of being hauled before the superintendent on a charge that the judge himself found was unsubstantiated, and would have gone nowhere if I had just stayed out of it," read the statement.
   The complaint was referred to the Office of Administrative Law in 2006, after discrepancies in Dr. Lake’s and Mr. Kanaby’s written testimonies. Administrative Law Judge Joseph Martone heard the case on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 of this year.
   Judge Martone ruled Mr. Kanaby violated four sections of the School Ethics Act by attempting to secure unwarranted privileges, acting as a school board official, failure to confine his actions to policy making, planning and appraisal, and failing to support and protect the superintendent.
   He also determined that Dr. Lake would not have issued an ethics complaint had the e-mail been sent to her exclusively, according to the judge’s statement.
   Dr. Lake retired from the district on June 30, and could not be reached for comment.