Community Colleges of Spokane officials face ethics charges over relatives’ hiring

Three administrators at Community Colleges of Spokane who hired their own sons for unadvertised, part-time office jobs last year are facing ethics charges following a state investigation.

The college district’s Chief Administration and Human Resources Officer Greg Stevens, his executive assistant Frances MacDonald-Davis and Human Resources Information Systems Director Melody Matthews plan to contest the investigative findings of the state Executive Ethics Board. The trio’s sons were hired last spring to help convert thousands of paper personnel files into electronic form for a new computer system.

“We have a difference of opinion … and I respectfully disagree with the investigation’s conclusions,” Stevens said Friday. “We’ve got a couple of avenues we’re considering.”

All acknowledged during the investigation that their sons were hired into the temporary positions but insisted proper procedures were followed to avoid running afoul of ethics rules and nepotism policies.

Investigators were unconvinced, though.

The ethics board last month agreed that reasonable cause exists to believe that state laws prohibiting government employees from using their positions for special privilege were violated. The maximum fine could be $5,000 per violation. The investigation also concluded the hirings violated the district’s own nepotism policies.

A hearing date has yet to be set.

Last spring, a CCS project to convert nearly 3,000 personnel files to digital form for a new computer system was behind schedule, and a decision was made to create three temporary positions to get caught up.

Because the jobs included access to employee personnel files, which contain private information such as Social Security numbers, bank account routing details and health information, Stevens decided it would be best to hire family members of key office staff. He and others told investigators they thought it would help ensure the information remained private once the temporary jobs ended.

The 26- to 30-hour-per-week positions paid $10.30 an hour, and the total number of hours for each employee was kept below the 480-hour threshold to avoid eligibility for benefits. The district allows administrators to hire temporary part-time workers without advertising the openings when unexpected needs arise.

Chancellor Christine Johnson said she was aware of the hiring decisions, was assured that all procedures were being properly followed and supported the rationale.

“We take all of the policies of the board and the state very seriously and we expect ethical behavior of all our employees,” she said Friday. “The individuals involved are very ethical. What was at play is the privacy of the information.”