Mystery surrounds education post as swearing-in nears

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 | 9:52 a.m.

Will he or won't he?

John Hawk, a former state Board of Education member who resigned his seat in July following an ethics flap surrounding his affiliation with a charter school co-founded by him and his wife, is slated to be sworn in to a second term Friday.

But he also told the state Ethics Commission at an August hearing that he would resign the seat if re-elected.

Hawk told the Sun in an interview following the September primary that he was exploring his options other than resignation, including an appeal of the ethics commission's $1,000 fine. He has since declined to discuss what course of action he is considering.

Phones calls to Hawk were not returned. His wife, Wendi Hawk, has taken a yearlong leave of absence from her job as an assistant principal in the Clark County School District to run Nevada State High School, a charter school that received sponsorship from the Board of Education in July. The charter school has about 60 students earning dual credits at Nevada State College in Henderson.

Hawk first resigned in July when the school's full charter was granted. But the Ethics Commission ruled in August that he should have resigned in May, when conditional approval was granted by the state board.

The resignation came too late for other potential candidates to file for the District 4 seat, leaving Hawk as the sole name on the September primary ballot.

At the Aug. 18 ethics hearing, Hawk told the panel he would resign his seat if re-elected. He was fined $1,000 for failing to fully disclose his fiduciary interest in the charter school. He received $34,000 as part of a federal grant given to help with the school's startup costs. The panel also sanctioned Hawk for not resigning in May.

The complaint lodged against Hawk marked only the second time the Ethics Commission had initiated its own investigation. The first time was an investigation of Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack in 2003, said Stacy Jennings, executive director of the commission.

The previous opinions and the Ethics Commission's August ruling didn't specifically instruct Hawk to resign from the board if he was elected by default on the September ballot, Jennings said.

However, Jennings said, the earlier opinions and the results of the August hearing clearly spell out the commission's viewpoint.

"If John Hawk or his wife are associated with the school in any kind of compensatory relationship it poses a conflict of interest with his role on the State Board of Education," Jennings said.

Education department officials confirmed that Hawk had requested travel and lodging arrangement be made for him to attend the State Board of Education meeting Friday and Saturday in Carson City.

A 4 p.m. ceremony is set for Friday to swear in newly elected board member Sharon Frederick of Las Vegas. Four incumbents ran unopposed and will also be sworn in: Barbara Myers, who represents Douglas and Washoe counties; Merv Iverson and Marcia Washington, who both represent portions of Clark County; and John Gwaltney of Washoe County.

Tom Sargeant, spokesman for the Nevada attorney general, said election results are not certified until candidates are sworn in. And apparently Hawk can't resign a seat he hasn't been sworn to uphold.

"In order to quit a club you have to be a member," Sargeant said.

Hawk has not revealed his intentions to the attorney general, either in writing or verbally, Sargeant said.

Nor is their written evidence of his prior resignation, Sargeant said.

By statute Gov. Kenny Guinn may fill vacancies on the Board of Education. A spokesman for the governor said nominations for the District 4 seat are not being accepted until it's known for certain that Hawk has resigned.

Board of Education President Gary Waters, once one of Hawk's staunchest allies, said he hasn't received a return phone call from him in months and is as much in the dark as anyone as to what will happen Friday.

"It's a complete mystery," Waters said.