Investing While Loathing

Type: Article
Topics: Ethics, School Administrator Magazine

October 01, 2025

Ethical Educator

Sketch of robot pushing wheelbarrow full of money bagsScenario: The school district’s finance director bought shares in an artificial-intelligence company as part of the investments in the district educational foundation’s account. The stock has since risen fourfold, making significant profits for the fund, which supports teacher projects and students’ extracurricular initiatives. But the company’s CEO recently made comments alluding to schools indoctrinating children with leftist ideology and opposition to vaccination requirements that the finance director and most public school leaders strongly disagree with. Is it ethical to continue holding this stock, and does a district’s finance director hold ethical responsibility when investing in public companies?

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The Ethical Educator panel consists of 

  • Sheldon H. Berman, author of Implementing Social-Emotional Learning: Insights from School Districts’ Successes and Setbacks.
  • Susan Enfield, executive director, University of Washington’s Center for Educational Leadership, Seattle, Wash.
  • Arthur Schwartz, president, ; and 
  • Maria G. Ott, Irving R. and Virginia A. Melbo chair in education administration, University of Southern California.

Each month, School Administrator draws on actual circumstances to raise an ethical decision-making dilemma in K-12 education. Our distinguished panelists provide their own resolutions to each dilemma.

Do you have a suggestion for a dilemma to be considered?
Send it to: magazine@aasa.org

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