Public schools: school superintendent contracts: ethics training.

(1) Existing law authorizes a county superintendent of schools for each county to be elected or appointed by the county board of education, as specified, and sets forth the qualifications and general duties of a county superintendent of schools, including superintending the schools of his or her county. Existing law also provides for the election or employment of a district superintendent of schools to, among other things, act as the chief executive officer of the governing board of the school district. This bill would provide that an employment contract for a district or county superintendent of schools that is executed or renewed on or after January 1, 2015, may include a loan for the purchase of a home only if certain conditions are met, including that the employee is relocating to an area with a high cost of housing. The bill would require the governing board of a school district, before executing or renewing an employment contract between the school district and the district superintendent of schools, to review the proposed contract, including each contract term and the value of each element of compensations at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board, and would make the proposed employment contract void unless all elements of compensation are listed on the agenda of the meeting. The bill would require a school district or county office of education that maintains an Internet Web site to post annual expenditures for its activities on its Internet Web site, including, but not limited to, the salary schedules for certificated and classified employees. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires all local agency officials to receive training in ethics, at specified intervals, if the local agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to those officials. Existing law defines "local agency" for purposes of those provisions. This bill would include a county office of education and a school district in the definition of "local agency." The bill would require local agency officials who serve a county office of education or school district as of January 1, 2015, to receive the ethics training before January 1, 2016, and at least every 2 years thereafter, except as specified. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.