April 22, 2009
Kristin Rushowy
EDUCATION REPORTER
Ontario school boards should have codes of conduct for trustees that could require them to respect others, "act with integrity," and not speak out against decisions they disagree with, says a just-released report from the Ministry of Education.
The 63-page Governance Review Committee report, also says trustees who violate the code of conduct could be censured by the school board, lose their honoraria or be barred from up to three meetings. It also recommends that boards be allowed to appoint a third-party to "investigate alleged violations of the code of conduct or to hear appeals with respect to a sanction and to advise the board accordingly."
Education Minister Kathleen Wynne struck the committee last November, seeking input on ways to update the Education Act with respect to school board and trustee duties. Trustee expenses and pay were not to be included, despite a scandal earlier last year at the Toronto Catholic District School Board that uncovered reckless spending by several trustees, including one who charged taxpayers for a holiday in the Dominican and expensed lingerie and treats from Dairy Queen.
The report notes many boards already have their own codes of conduct, but they aren't required to under the Education Act.
It also recommends that boards review conflict-of-interest rules with trustees. That recently became an issue in the Toronto Catholic board, when former chair and trustee Oliver Carroll was found to have contravened the municipal conflict act 10 times. He was ordered by a court to pay almost $50,000 in costs to the complainant, ratepayer Michael Baillargeon.
The governance review committee was chaired by Madeleine Chevalier, a trustee and former chair of an Ontario French Catholic board.