A Wethersfield, CT city councilman summed it all up when he observed, “Common sense lost it’s voice on this one.”

Turns out that there was an ethics compliant against the local school board’s chairwoman because her son had taken a $400 high school course for free.

The town’s ethics board then conducted more than 60 hours of hearings over 11 months. The bill, $407,000 in legal expenses.

Remember this is over a $400 course.

Eventually the ethics board voted 3-2 to uphold the complaint and ask the chairwoman to pay for the course.

But then the board voted to absorb all of the legal costs involved. $407,000.

This perfectly describes how lost most of our institutions have become. And don’t tell me this is just in the public sector, my email is full of these kinds of stories from private companies too.

Don’t get me wrong, we need lawyers and rules to keep things running smoothly. But we also need common sense to be sure that $407,000 is spent on education for the kids of Wethersfield and not on absurd follies like this investigation.

Common sense seems so uncommon in so many organizations today.

About the Author: Bob Rosner is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. For free job and work advice, check out the award-winning workplace911.com. Check the revised edition of his Wall Street Journal best seller, “The Boss’s Survival Guide.” If you have a question for Bob, contact him viabob@workplace911.com.