School board member Bill Graham says he’s running for reelection in 2010 and pledging to serve a full four-year term despite being enrolled in a state retirement plan that will pay him a $260,795 lump sum if he leaves office in January 2012. If he wins, Graham says he’ll defer collecting the lump sum and $3,988-a-month pension.

School board member Sandra Richmond is also up for reelection this year and also enrolled in the same retirement program. She can collect a $354,691 lump sum and begin drawing a $5,480 monthly pension in September 2011 if she’s not on the school board.

Richmond has said in the past she’ll probably run this year, but hasn’t made any formal announcement.

Read about it in this week’s Politics column.

State Attorney Michael McAuliffe and Palm Beach County commissioners today urged the school board and local governments to put themselves under the scrutiny of a proposed corruption-fighting inspector general.

School board Chairman Bill Graham said the school board is “conceptually on board” but wants to examine details.

The discussion came as county commissioners, school board members, state lawmakers and municipal officials held a joint meeting.

With five elected officials jailed on federal charges since 2006, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said local politicians will feel the wrath of voters if they don’t approve reforms.

“If anybody says ‘No, we don’t want to do it,’ your constituents are going to tell you you’d better do it because there’s another election coming up. And anybody that doesn’t want to join in possibly won’t be an elected official the next time around.”

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A majority of Palm Beach County school board members likes the idea of bringing the $2.7 billion school district under the eye of a proposed county ethics watchdog — but not if county commissioners have the final say on filling the position.

After watching five local elected officials go to prison on federal corruption charges since 2006, county commissioners this summer endorsed the concept of an independent inspector general’s office with subpoena power to monitor public officials and government contracts.

But who would hire and fire and approve the budget of the inspector general remains an open question.

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