Imagine for instance the mayor of a city who owns a shop in a nice area of town and decides to make the street where her business is located more attractive to potential customers: enlarging the sidewalks, developing the street greenery, improving the lightning for the dark winter evenings, etc. At the same time, other areas of the city, in dire need of infrastructure renewal, are neglected.
Another example, this time in real-life and a rather blatant one, is the situation in which one of the Woluwe APEEE board members finds himself: not only does he coordinate the association’s Board work-group on extracurricular activities (see page 5; screen shot), but he is also employed by the association to deliver one such activity: 3315 STEAM (screen shot), which, for the record is one of the most expensive extracurricular activities offered by the APEEE. For his work in the APEEE he receives a financial remuneration.
Through voting and discussion steering, as a Board member the Board Member in question has some power to influence decisions that could benefit him directly. However, his coordinator post in the Extra-curricular activities work-group definitely gives him a very privileged position to influence any decisions affecting the Woluwe APEEE’s Extra-curricular activities.
While I do not wish accuse this Board Member of any perpetrated or intended wrong doing, for transparency’s sake and to clear the air of this most awkward and blatant situation of potential conflict of interest, I call on the Board Member to offer his resignation from his position as member of the APEEE Board with immediate effect.
Even the perception of conflict of interests is a serious matter that can easily tarnish our association’s name and reputation, and it should be addressed appropriately and transparently without any further delay. Failing (or even hesitating) to do so will only cast a shadow of doubt over the APEEE, its services and its administration.
For reference, the Woluwe Parents association manages a quite sizeable budget of several million euro, with an estimated expenditure of over 6.000.000,00€ for the current (2020-2021) budgetary exercise (see page 3). Definitely not peanuts!!!
Fabrício Santos is a parent at the Brussels European School 2 in Woluwe.
As an engaged parent he is often involved in actions that aim at improving and increasing the transparency and accountability of the school’s parents association.