Taxpayers Irked Over Hire of School Board President's Relative

Several in the community are sounding off on the recent hire of Kelly Nash as the Fox School District's food service director. The issue? Nash is the daughter-in-law of school board president Linda Nash.

At Tuesday's school board meeting, Pat Cullen, of Imperial, told board members he was very disappointed with them and the district's Human Resources Department.

"I don't appreciate the way you're going about hiring," he said. "It's an abomination. You've gone above and beyond state statutes. You can't hire any family members while you are on the board."

Mark Paul, a Republican committeeman for the Imperial Township, told Patch after the meeting that he had planned to speak on the matter. However, he was informed that he had not filled out paperwork in time to address the board.

"It's a black eye to the community," Paul said in an interview. "The board is there to do a service in our absence, not to do themselves a service for personal gain."

On his Facebook page last week, Paul said he was disgusted with the board and asked his followers to share his opinion. The post received more than 40 shares and comments. 

"What qualifications does Kelly Nash have to be responsible for the nutrition of the food your children eat?" Paul asked in his Facebook post. "She has no college education and currently works at McDonald's."

Here is the job description for the position: 10 Job Openings In and Around Arnold. The requirements were a high school diploma and five or more years of job-related experience. The applicant also had to agree to get his/her nutrition certificate or be registered as a dietitian within two years. 

Nash has a high school diploma and 17 years of experience as manager of a fast food restaurant, according to a recent "You Paid for It" report by Elliott Davis at FOX 2. The district is giving her the two years to get the required designations.

Todd Scott, of the district's Human Resources Department, told Fox 2 that Nash was the best person for the job and said that her family connection did not play a role in her hiring.

Scott told Patch the district does not have any policies in effect regarding nepotism. He said the district has several employees of family members, and the issue usually only comes up when the board is involved.

Patch has a call into the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding the state's policy on nepotism. We'll update this story as soon as we hear back.

See previous stories:

• Fox School Board President's Relative Hired as Food Service Director