Letter: Moss must resign to restore public trust

When asked to explain his action, Moss responded, "There's nothing I did that was dishonest or dishonorable." Maybe.

But why can't he recall when he eliminated the old language or when he informed the board that his wife had applied for the new job? According to district staff, both the job posting and the ethics rule change occurred on or after Aug. 1. Too long ago to remember?

Even more disturbing is the reaction of school board Chairman Bill Evans and other board members who apparently see no problem with Moss directly supervising his wife's boss. Only board members JoAnn Orischak and Michael Rivers have expressed concern with the hiring.

In a shameless demonstration of governmental cowardice, the board declined to even address the matter at its meeting last Tuesday night in the hopes that the public will soon lose interest.

Moss may blithely dismiss objections to his wife's hiring as "Monday morning quarterbacking," but the board should not be allowed to abdicate its responsibility to preserve the public trust by avoiding actual and potential conflicts of interest and tacit favoritism by high-ranking school officials.

The first step in restoring trust is for Moss to resign.

Ted Kerrine

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 8:36 PM with the headline "Letter: Moss must resign to restore public trust."