“The same prudence, which, in private life, would forbid our paying our money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the disposition of public moneys.”
— Thomas Jefferson

I love the Thomas Jefferson quote above.

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) released its first-ever Ethical Standards & Code of Ethics for school district-level chief technology officers (CTOs). As the premier membership organization for CTOs, CoSN is uniquely positioned to issue guidance on the ethical standards to which its members are expected to adhere. CoSN developed the Code and Standards to define and clarify the ethical responsibilities of and expectations for district technology leaders/CTOs.

“High ethical standards and accountability are critical to any leadership position, and as educational leaders, district technology leaders have a responsibility to be exemplars of ethical behavior in the communities they serve,” said Bev White, CoSN Board Member and Chief Information Officer, Wake County Public School System, Raleigh NC.

“The CTO’s decision-making must always support the district’s responsibility to provide educational opportunities to each child that will enable students to graduate prepared for the future. The CTO’s decisions should align technology in support of district goals and strategic directions and emphasize accountability and results,” reads the Code.

According to CoSN’s Code of Ethics, CTOs are expected to:

· Respect and obey the law;
· Demonstrate high standards of integrity and professional conduct;
· Accept responsibility for his/her own actions;
· Continually seek to enhance his/her professional capacities;
· Exemplify fairness and honesty; and
· Encourage others in the profession to act in an ethical and professional manner.

For the full text of CoSN’s Ethical Standards & CTO Code of Ethics, visit www.cosn.org.

Contrast that with…

• Ruben B. Bohuchot, the former Chief Technology Officer at the Dallas Independent School District (DISD), was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 11 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Bohuchot, 59, of Dallas, and Frankie Logyang Wong, 46, a businessman from Houston, Texas, were convicted in July following a three-week trial on all counts of a federal indictment involving offenses related to their operation of a bribery and money laundering scheme involving DISD technology contracts. Judge Lindsay ordered that Bohuchot surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 20, 2009. Read Source
  

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