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Trustees on the Ottawa public school board won’t be able to discipline each other for expressing their personal political views if Donna Blackburn has her way.
Blackburn wants the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to amend its proposed trustee code of conduct to help prevent the rules from being used to muzzle outspoken trustees such as she.
Trustees began debating a code of conduct earlier this year after Blackburn used a profanity and made rude comments about fellow trustees, calling them “whackjobs.” The proposed code, similar to those in place at many Ontario school boards, says trustees should, among other things, behave professionally, act with “decorum” and avoid making comments that are personal, demeaning or disparaging.
The code emphasizes that complaints should be resolved informally if possible, but it also sets out a detailed procedure for investigating allegations trustees make against each other, including hiring an outside investigator.
Blackburn, who fears the code is a back-handed way to shut her up, proposes an amendment specifying that trustees can express their “personal political views.”
By deadline Tuesday night, trustees had not yet debated her motion. However, they did recommend at their meeting to limit the penalties trustees can impose on each other. Proposed penalties include censure, banning a trustee from a meeting, or banning a trustee from committee work for as long as the board determines.
At the suggestion of board chair Shirley Seward, trustees recommended that six months should be the maximum time a trustee can be barred from committees. Anything longer is “unjust,” said Seward. She noted the case of Karen Round, a trustee in the Muskoka area who was censured at an in camera meeting by fellow trustees and banned from committee work for 3 1/2 years, which was the remainder of her term. Round quit last fall, saying she couldn’t perform the job she was elected to do.
Trustee Theresa Kavanagh said she couldn’t fathom removing an elected trustee for six months, while Blackburn said even MPs can’t be disenfranchised from their constituents in such a manner. The board’s committee of the whole, which includes all trustees, is where much of the policy debate occurs.
Trustee Chris Ellis said he had confidence that trustees would give “great thought” before imposing a six-month penalty.
Another controversial part of Ottawa’s proposed code says the chair is the “spokesperson to the public on behalf of the board,” a phrase that is open to interpretation. Seward says trustees should check with her first, for example, before speaking to the media. Blackburn argues that elected trustees have the obligation to speak for themselves.
The code of conduct still must be approved by the full board.
查看原文...
Blackburn wants the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board to amend its proposed trustee code of conduct to help prevent the rules from being used to muzzle outspoken trustees such as she.
Trustees began debating a code of conduct earlier this year after Blackburn used a profanity and made rude comments about fellow trustees, calling them “whackjobs.” The proposed code, similar to those in place at many Ontario school boards, says trustees should, among other things, behave professionally, act with “decorum” and avoid making comments that are personal, demeaning or disparaging.
The code emphasizes that complaints should be resolved informally if possible, but it also sets out a detailed procedure for investigating allegations trustees make against each other, including hiring an outside investigator.
Blackburn, who fears the code is a back-handed way to shut her up, proposes an amendment specifying that trustees can express their “personal political views.”
By deadline Tuesday night, trustees had not yet debated her motion. However, they did recommend at their meeting to limit the penalties trustees can impose on each other. Proposed penalties include censure, banning a trustee from a meeting, or banning a trustee from committee work for as long as the board determines.
At the suggestion of board chair Shirley Seward, trustees recommended that six months should be the maximum time a trustee can be barred from committees. Anything longer is “unjust,” said Seward. She noted the case of Karen Round, a trustee in the Muskoka area who was censured at an in camera meeting by fellow trustees and banned from committee work for 3 1/2 years, which was the remainder of her term. Round quit last fall, saying she couldn’t perform the job she was elected to do.
Trustee Theresa Kavanagh said she couldn’t fathom removing an elected trustee for six months, while Blackburn said even MPs can’t be disenfranchised from their constituents in such a manner. The board’s committee of the whole, which includes all trustees, is where much of the policy debate occurs.
Trustee Chris Ellis said he had confidence that trustees would give “great thought” before imposing a six-month penalty.
Another controversial part of Ottawa’s proposed code says the chair is the “spokesperson to the public on behalf of the board,” a phrase that is open to interpretation. Seward says trustees should check with her first, for example, before speaking to the media. Blackburn argues that elected trustees have the obligation to speak for themselves.
The code of conduct still must be approved by the full board.
查看原文...
