Editor,

First of all, I would like to once again congratulate Fred O’Neal on his appointment to the South Whidbey School Board and thank him for serving our community.

I appreciated the opportunity to apply for the vacant seat and to be interviewed by the board for the position. During the interview, Damian Greene asked me to explain what I do as port clerk/accountant for the Port of South Whidbey. I provided the list of duties I perform including accounting, office administration and records management. My response made it very clear that I am not in a position of authority or decision making at the port, nor do I have any influence on actions or decisions of the port commissioners. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge there are no conflicts of interest between the port and the school district. I am therefore very confused that Greene expressed concern that my employment with the port would in any way create conflicts of interest for me or impact any decision I would make as a school board member.

It’s unfortunate that Greene didn’t express his concern during the interview because I would have easily been able to address it. Simply put, there are no possible conflicts of interests associated with my work, so there would not be any impact on my decision-making down the road. Given his unsubstantiated allegation of “conflicts of interest,” it appears likely that Greene is one of the two board members who recruited O’Neal in December as their choice prior to the at large seat being vacated.

MOLLY MACLEOD-ROBERTS

Langley