By KAREN KELLER
HERALD NEWS 

PASSAIC -- A school district employee quits, then a few weeks later, her firm lands a consulting contract with the district -- it doesn't seem right, Board of Education members are saying.

So they're creating a policy that would require former employees to wait six months before they or their companies apply for vendor or professional services contracts.

The issue surfaced last week after the board voted 5-0 to hire a law firm in which Derlys Gutierrez, the district's former human resources director, is a partner. Gutierrez, an attorney, worked for the district from 1997 until resigning Jan. 31. On Feb. 1, she helped found Adams, Stern, Gutierrez & Lattiboudere, a Newark-based firm specializing in education and labor law for private and public sector clients.

Board members said Gutierrez deserves the contract, and there's no ethical problem. But hiring her firm so soon after her resignation did appear odd, several members said. Plus, board members themselves are already barred from getting a district job less than six months after their term ends.

READ MORE: http://www.myheraldnews.com/view.html?type=stories&action=detail&sub_id=36285

---