Westerville Board of Education member potentially facing felony over votes for daughter

A Westerville City Schools Board of Education member could face felony charges after she voted on contracts and a one-time payment for her daughter, an employee of the school, the board president said.

At an Aug. 11 meeting, Westerville Board President Tracy Davidson said the school board informed the Ohio Ethics Commission at the beginning of the month about several votes that member Nancy Nestor-Baker made regarding her daughter's employment at the district.

During the meeting, Davidson said Nestor-Baker was potentially facing a felony and that a school board attorney advised Nestor-Baker to seek her own legal counsel. Nestor-Baker said she has her own attorney, who is "putting forward our own interpretation of what has happened."

Caley Baker, Nestor-Baker's daughter, is now the principal of Hanby Elementary, but has been with the district since 2007, when she began her career as a social studies teacher at Genoa Middle School. In 2017, she became an educational technology coach for the district.

In May 2018, the board voted to hire Baker to the position of gifted coordinator, the vote from which Nestor-Baker abstained, Davidson said. However, that June, there was a one-time payment to her daughter for which she voted.

On May 20, 2019, Nestor-Baker moved to adopt and voted for her daughter's two-year contract. On other votes, she abstained, like when she was made principal of Hanby Elementary. On May 22 of this year, there was a three-year contract that Nestor-Baker also moved to adopt and vote in favor for. She later abstained from another vote on the three-year contract because the initial one was invalid.

"Clearly there were times I thought it was improper to vote and times I believed it was proper to vote," Nestor-Baker said.

Susan Willeke, spokesperson for the Ohio Ethics Commission, said she would be unable by law to comment on whether an investigation was happening or its status.

As of noon Tuesday, no charges appeared against Nestor-Baker in online court records.

The Ohio Revised Code prohibits an elected official from participating in any decision, or using a public position to secure any decision, that affects the continuation, implementation or terms and conditions of a family member's employment.

For example, the Ohio Ethics Commission says an official is prohibited from participating in "matters related to the renewal, modification, or termination of a family member's public employment."

Under Ohio Revised Code, violation of nepotism laws after a family member has been hired is a fourth-degree felony with a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Willeke said the standard generally used is "definitely direct impact," which means there are are instances where voting on a family member would be acceptable if the impact is uniform across a district.

In a statement provided Tuesday, Nestor-Baker's attorney Mark Weaver said his client reached out to the OEC when she was first elected to the board for guidance and and "has followed it to the best of her ability ever since." He said in the recent instance where someone has questioned her voting, she had also sent a letter to the Ohio Ethics Commission seeking guidance.

"In the few instances where her vote for a group of employees was tallied and her daughter was in that group, the vote was unanimous and her abstention would not have changed the result,” Weaver said.

Nestor-Baker has served six terms as board president and four terms as vice president over her 22 years as a board member, according to her district bio. She has also acted as board liaison in areas such as finance, curriculum, personnel, policy, strategic planning, governmental relations, facilities and business operations and communications.

During the meeting, board Vice President Kristina Meyer said unethical behavior can "erode trust" in public officials.

"I find it really hard that we're here — I hear what you're saying that you're going to allow the process to play out and your lawyers see it differently," Meyer said to Nestor-Baker. "But I do think it's important for our district to understand what has occurred."

Nestor-Baker's term expires in 2025.

Davidson said the Board of Education would keep the community informed of developments in the Ohio Ethics Commission process.

Davidson could not be reached for comment Tuesday as she is out of the country, but Meyer said in a response to The Dispatch's questions that the school board is working to be as transparent as possible and informing the public about what happened was a part of that transparency.

"The fact that our board identified the potential issue, worked with legal counsel on the proper steps to address it, and then self-reported the matter to the appropriate state agency should indicate to our constituents that we are taking this matter seriously," Meyer said.

Meyer said she continues to support Baker as principal of Hanby elementary, saying she is a "highly experienced educator." She also said the hiring process removes the possibility of preferential treatment, adding the board relies on the due diligence of administrators and human resources for hiring.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Westerville school board member potentially faces felony over votes