This One's Scary-
Maybe
Just read this quote from last week and any good American should be up in arms....

Bob Lowe, associate deputy director of the Minnesota School Boards Association, said school boards may control off-campus behavior of their employees.

"In the end, it always comes down to whether or not the behavior of that individual has a direct impact on how they're able to perform their work," he said.
--Star-Tribune

It's from last week in a story in the Star-Tribune about a "campus supervisor" at a metro area high school who is being disciplined because he acts as a support and counselor for students outside of school. They can just up and fire him...

As an "at-will" employee of the Prior Lake-Savage school district, [he] could be fired "for any reason other than discrimination," according to Roslyn Wade of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

According to the worker himeself, what he is doing is religious support and counseling. It happens to be conservative in its approach and relies on some of the more conservative views on issues such as sex, homosexuality, etc.

Now I do not pretend to accept what he is telling the students. But on the surface I fear a problem arising here, especially in areas where a person lives, works, and perhaps even goes to church in the same community. Like say a teacher or campus supervisior who sees kids outside of school or even at their church. Like say an employee who helps chaperone events at their local church where local school students may attend. Like say a youth minister who supplements his part-time income by driving a school bus on a route where some of his youth group lives.

Hmmmm. Sounds kind of difficult to me. Sounds like control of personal life. I can see a "conservative" school board firing a "liberal" worker just as easily as a "liberal" school board can fire a "conservative" worker. Or, probably more to the point in most instances, a school board that is afraid of any negative parental reaction on any non-school issue firing a worker who may go a little too far over the edge - even in their off-school hours.

But there are always two sides. Last evening the school board fired the worker. Nowthey are also free to talk about some of the things that apparently led up to the firing...

"This is not about constitutional rights relating to freedom of speech or religion," a spokesperson said, "nor is it an attempt to unfairly restrict employee behavior outside of the workplace."

[The] statement detailed a progressive set of disciplinary actions against [the worker] while the district received complaints about him talking to students on campus about their sexual orientation. The district also warned him about maintaining appropriate boundaries with students and the need to separate the role of a supervisor for students and the role of a friend.

He was given a written reprimand in August, then a three-day suspension in January.

In May, [the worker] was placed on unpaid administrative leave after a student complained to a teacher that the student heard [the worker] tell another student at the high school that today was "National Pick-On Lesbians Day."
--Star-Tribune

With that reading things do begin to look a little differently. There does appear to be a blurring of edges and boundaries that are not approrpiate. The worker, of course, says he was not in the wrong and everyone will see that when he gets his day in court since he is now suing the school district.

But the original quote from the Minnesota School Boards Association at the top of this post still stands out as scary. I would guess that the spokesperson spoke too quickly in response to too little information about this case. He wanted to make sure he supported the local school board in what he said so he made a much too broad response, in my opinion, and has raised some of the issues I talked about above. Even if this situation turns out to be about on-campus behavior, as it probably will, since most school boards are savvy enough to know what they can and can't do, the bigger issue better not get lost.

Off-campus behavior may have an impact on a job, but it better be a really good reason or someone will end up using that power inappropriately.