During a called meeting Monday night, the Decatur County Board of Education took the first step in adopting a new Code of Ethics and conflict of interest policy.

Senate Bill 84, a wide-ranging law that reformed local boards of education, mandates adoption of such policies. The bill was signed into law last May.

The Decatur County board opted to consider adoption of the Code of Ethics modeled by the State of Georgia Department of Education. The alternative was to create a custom Code of Ethics and conflict of interest policy.

A vote will be taken at the Jan. 20 board meeting for official adoption of these policies.

“This is not one of those things a local board of education has a choice on,” said Superintendent Fred Rayfield. “You do have to have a code of ethics as mandated by state law by, preferably, February 8.”

The Code of Ethics modeled by the state department is broken down into eight sections detailing the appropriate behavior and standards dealing with various subjects.

Those sections include the following: Governance structure, strategic planning, board and community relations, policy development, board meetings, personnel, financial governance and conduct as a board member.

Conflicts of Interest

Code of Ethics