Gattis was right to step down from school board

Having used some pretty strong words in this space when talking about a land deal she was involved in with the Mat-Su Borough, it’s only fair that we now use this space to applaud a decision by newly elected House member Lynn Gattis.

Namely, we think it was right of her to decide not to serve in both the state Legislature and on the Mat-Su Borough School District Board of Education.

And we feel she made that decision for the right reason — that chairing the state House Education Committee while also serving on the school board would have created too many conflicts.

Borough laws dealing with conflicts of interest require public officials to recuse themselves from decision-making processes when it is clear that voting on the issue would cause them personal economic benefit or harm.

The word “personal” is key here. Gattis has nothing more or less at stake in these decisions than anyone else in the borough. The tax dollars on the line are not her money anymore than it is your money, or, our money.

We could envision a Department of Law opinion that would find nothing wrong with Gattis serving as both chair of that committee and as a local school board member. But Gattis seems to recognize that the line separating ethical right from wrong doesn’t always line up with what is legal.

In this case, it is simply too easy to imagine a situation in which Gattis could be asked to make decisions at a state level that could adversely affect the Mat-Su Borough School District. The state, after all, is the school district’s primary funding source. Statewide changes to that funding impact the Mat-Su. It just seems an impossible position to act in the best interests of both the state and borough.

We also think that even were she not appointed to lead that committee, stepping down would have been the right decision.

It seems hard to fathom that a legislator in the thick of budget fights and horse-trading would have time to properly serve a dual role as a school board member.

It also seems reasonable to assume that in that situation one or both of those bodies would not receive the full measure of Gattis’ energy.

So today, we applaud Gattis’ decision and wish her well in her new endeavors representing the people in the House of Representatives.