Costello, citing coaching job, pulls out of school board race

A candidate for the Springfield School Board has dropped out of the race after he found out he would have to give up his part-time position as a basketball coach if elected.

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ublished February 25, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Costello, citing coaching job, pulls out of school board race By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD – A candidate for the Springfield School Board has dropped out of the race after he found out he would have to give up his part-time position as a basketball coach if elected. Joseph Costello, one of five candidates for two open seats on the board, sent a letter earlier this week to Springfield Town Clerk Barbara Courchesne announcing he was no longer a candidate. Elections are held Tuesday during town meeting. Costello, an attorney with the Springfield law firm of Marchica Law Office, said Wednesday that his part-time position as girls varsity basketball coach put him in conflict with state law that prohibited any employee from a school district from running for the school board of that district. The law allows a waiver, but the waiver is good for only a year. “I was exploring how this waiver would apply to my candidacy when the petition to appear on the ballot was due,” according to his letter of withdrawal. “I was disappointed to be informed that I would have to resign from coaching to be eligible for a school board directorship.” Costello has also been assistant coach with the high school girls’ soccer and junior varsity baseball teams for the past three years. He has lived in Springfield since 2012. Costello said he decided he would have a great impact on the children of Springfield as a coach. “I thought I’d be able to serve the community in both capacities,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave the town in a position of uncertainty,” he said. The assistant positions are unpaid, he said. He receives a stipend of $3,668 to be varsity basketball coach. Costello said that he felt the law was unclear on whether a stipend position as coach qualified as “regularly employed” under the statute. “Forced into a difficult decision, I have determined that I am best able to serve our students and community by remaining a coach,” Costello wrote. Costello, who is married to Jade Costello, the interim assistant principal at Springfield High School, said that he had asked for clarification on the law from the staff attorney with the Agency of Education. He said he discovered the conflict after Courchesne in a “passing comment” pointed out the law that prohibits school employees from seeking elective office. Costello noted that there isn’t a law against the spouse of a school district employee from running for the school board, as Laura Ryan’s husband Kelly is an employee at the high school. School Director Steve Karaffa is employed as a teacher at River Valley Technical Center, which is independent of the Springfield High School and is run by a separate school board. Costello said he was trying to get the word out that he wasn’t running so that the people would select the new school board members. If he had been elected, he said, he would have to resign and the school board would appoint their fifth member. “I respectfully request that you submit your votes for the other candidates on the ballot,” he concluded in his letter. Will Senning, director of elections for the Vermont secretary of state’s office, noted that the state law prohibited the dual role of employer and employee. Courchesne said Wednesday that Costello had dropped off the undated letter to her office Monday. His letter was read out loud Tuesday evening by Ethan McNaughton, the moderator for the Springfield Chamber of Commerce candidates’ forum at Springfield High School. The other four candidates for the school board include Jeanice Garfield, the current chairwoman of the school board, and newcomers Michael Griffin, Samantha Snyder and Pam Young. Director Ken Vandenburgh chose not to seek re-election. susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com 2016-02-24 / Front Page ‘It’s the right thing to do’ School board candidate seeks no votes after regulation snag By Nancy A. Cavanaugh ncavanaugh@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — Joseph Costello, a candidate for school board, has an unusual request for the voters: don’t vote for him. “I want to give the voters a chance to choose a better candidate,” said Costello. Costello, a local attorney and head coach for the Springfield High School girls varsity basketball team, will be unable to accept the position if elected because he is an employee of the school district. He is also the assistant coach for the high school girls soccer and junior varsity baseball teams, which are not paid positions. Vermont law (Title 16:558) prohibits paid school employees from holding a position on the school board. The law states, “... a member of a school board may not be regularly employed by the school district or by a school district within the same supervisory union, or by the same supervisory union during the board member's term of office.” The law was created to prevent issues around conflict of interest. “If a member of [the school board] was negotiating employee contracts, there would be an inherent conflict of interest,” said Harry Frank, director of Education Services for the Vermont School Board Association. “School board members have to consider this at all times,” Frank continued. “If their business has put in a bid for a project, they would have to recuse themselves from the vote.” Costello wishes he’d found out sooner. “The timing was the worst part of it. Without the formal response, I needed to make a choice to submit the petition or not,” said Costello. “I got the response a few days later. The ballot cannot be changed.” If elected, he would be forced to resign, which would leave the selection of the fifth person for the board to the three current members of the school board. “There’s a lot of politics involved in that. I would like to avoid that by having the voters choose one of the other four candidates,” said Costello. “The person selected for that position should be chosen by the town, not three people.” There is a caveat in the law that would allow him to continue coaching and be on the school board. “The Secretary of Education can waive this for one year,” said Frank. The law states, “The Secretary may waive the provisions of this section for employment of a specific individual as a substitute teacher, coach, or supervisor of extracurricular activities for a period not to exceed one year, which may be renewed if the school district or supervisory union is unable to hire another qualified person through no fault of its own.” “There are a few options,” said Costello. “I could get the waiver, but then I’d be taking a chance on no one applying for the position. I don’t think that would be in the best interest of my long term goals or benefit for the community. “A lot of factors went into my decision,” he continued. “I feel I can better serve the community by remaining a coach.” His decision is also related to his job as an attorney. “There could be a perception of my trying to circumvent the law, which would impact my being an attorney,” Costello said. “There is an expectation that i would have knowledge about this. “Rather than have this come up 18 months into my term, I’d think it would be better if it was dealt with upfront and with transparency,” he continued. “It’s the right thing to do.” Costello’s official statement is available at the Springfield Town Hall.