According to his agreement with the state Ethics Commission, Cohen hired the principal's son for a summer teaching position without following the school's standard hiring procedures.
Alan CohenBOSTON -- A guidance counselor at Agawam High School was cited on Wednesday for violating the state's conflict of interest law by hiring the school principal's son to a one-month, physical-education teaching job without adhering to hiring rules.
The state Ethics Commission said it cited Alan R. Cohen. In an agreement, Cohen admitted to the violation and paid a $1,000 civil penalty, the commission said.
According to the agreement, Cohen hired the principal's son for a four-week summer position. Cohen, who was supervised by the principal, was in charge of hiring summer staff and knew that the previous summer physical education teacher was retiring, the agreement said.
Cohen and the principal would often talk about their children with each other, and Cohen knew from those conversations that the principal’s son would soon be graduating from college with a degree in physical education, the agreement said.
Cohen contacted the principal’s son, who expressed an interest in the summer job. The principal’s son then submitted his resume, transcripts and an application, the agreement said.
Cohen hired the son without following the school’s standard procedures, which required that the position be posted internally and that a hiring committee be convened to review applications and interview candidates, the agreement said.