After the Brian Morris fiasco last month, in which a former Baltimore city school board president was forced to resign from a high-paying, unadvertised job as a school administrator after it was discovered he had a long history of bad debts, foreclosures and other financial problems, the state school board says that from now on it will take responsibiity for vetting applicants for such posts.

 Among the questions the state panel expects to ask prospective city school board members are whether they've paid their taxes, been convicted of a crime, have a civil judgment against them or been barred from practicing law or had a professional license revoked.

That would seem to cover most of the important bases, but just to be sure The Sun's Liz Bowie reports the panel will also include a more general question: "Is there anything that the state board should know about you that has the potential for causing embarrassment to the citizens of Baltimore City if you were selected?"

That's the kind of catch-all question intended to elicit a multitude of sins, but it also makes it far to easy for ethically challenged applicants to prevaricate with such artful dodges as "can't recall," "not to my knowledge" or the classic "it depends on what you mean by the word 'embarrass.'"

So to ensure there's no room for evasion, we think the panel needs to get down to the knitty gritty of the vetting process:

1) Have you ever rented out a house you didn't own and then collected rent on it until the real owners showed up?

2) Been to Argentina lately?

3) Played footsie in an airport men's bathroom?

4) Organized a $60 billion ponzi scheme that ruined your family and friends?

5) Dated a hooker during an out-of-town junket? 

6) Used gift cards meant for needy children or accepted a fur coat from a developer doing business with the city and not reported it?

Answer each question separately; if your answer is "yes" to any of the above, explain on the line below. Failure to answer truthfully is a violation of state law and may subject you to a fine, imprisonment or both. Thank you for your interest in the Baltimore City School Board.