Roland “Ron” Michaud’s candidacy for the Regional School Unit 23 school board was ill-advised from the start. The RSU has a very clear conflict of interest policy that prohibits employees of Thornton Academy, or the spouse of a Thornton Academy employee, from serving on the RSU board.

The reason for this is clear, of course. It’s simply not appropriate to put someone in the position of having to decide whether their allegiance lies with keeping their job or doing what’s best for the district, should it come down to that.

Saco has a long-standing relationship of Thornton Academy serving as its high school, so it would not be any more appropriate to have Michaud on the board than to have an employee of any other Saco school. In addition to his own employment with TA, Michaud is doubly unqualified for the board since his wife also works at the high school.

Michaud has been a trustworthy, productive public official as mayor of Saco during these past four years, and previously as a city councilor, but has placed himself in a tricky situation with this run for office. He says he received the OK to run from former Superintendent Michael Lafortune, but common sense should have led him away from a school board campaign due to the obvious conflict of interest, even if no policy did exist against it.

The same issue has arisen in Lyman, where Steven Marble ran for the selectman’s seat ”“ and won it ”“ even though being in the position presents problems because he is a town employee, operating the transfer station. In both situations, the conflict is clear. Lyman is now in the midst of a divisive and expensive legal process to sort out the legality of the situation, and we hope RSU 23 doesn’t find itself in the same position.

However it ends up, Michaud’s continued candidacy has brought to light other issues in the meantime.

RSU 23 has sought a legal opinion on the issue at Michaud’s request, and that opinion is now in hand. However, Superintendent Patrick Phillips is refusing to release the legal opinion to Michaud or anyone else. The Journal Tribune has been forced to file a Freedom of Access request in order to gain access to this opinion.

First off, withholding the attorney’s take on this matter seems nonsensical, as Michaud has stated he would end his candidacy if the school district’s attorney deemed it illegal. If the opinion is in the district’s favor, it would be logical to make Michaud aware of it so the issue will be laid to rest. If the attorney has found that the school policy does leave open the possibility of his candidacy, then Michaud ”“ and the voters ”“ should be made aware of that as well.

The most troubling part about this is that RSU 23 is refusing to release a legal opinion that was paid for with taxpayer money. The district is a publicly funded entity, and its constituents have a right to know how their money is being spent and what the results are. It’s troubling ”“ and perhaps illegal ”“ to see that Phillips, who has only been superintendent for a few months, would choose to withhold information.

It seems the district is keeping the legal opinion secret in case this issue goes to litigation, though Michaud has already stated that it is not his intent to take it that far. We also hope it doesn’t come to that and believe Michaud will respect the attorney’s opinion if he or she finds that his candidacy is not valid.

In the meantime, it would behoove the district to be more open about this matter. When it comes to spending our tax money and choosing the people who will represent us, voters must step up to make sure they are getting all the information to which they are entitled. And potential candidates should keep in mind the cost to taxpayers when they push the limits of impartiality on an official board.

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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune editorial board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.