Officers tight-lipped over reasoning behind sanctions; it is the second time the trustee has been investigated by integrity commissioner this 12 months
Sarah Beitz, a trustee with the Simcoe County District College Board, has been sanctioned as a part of a second integrity commissioner investigation this 12 months, and is banned from attending conferences all through November.
Nonetheless, the explanation why and the occasions informing the grievance are usually not being made public by the board.
“The subject of the code of conduct was a confidential personnel matter… so this matter was addressed in a closed session of committee of the whole,” Chair of the board and Orillia/Severn/Ramara trustee Jodi Lloyd in an interview following the assembly.
“As part of the board’s obligation to protect the privacy of those involved, any related documentation related to this matter remains confidential as well,” she mentioned.
Throughout an increase and report following the prolonged in-camera session on Oct. 23, trustees introduced Beitz, who represents New Tecumseth, contravened sections 3.3 and eight.4 of the board’s code of conduct for trustees.
Having decided a breach of the code of conduct, trustees voted to censure Beitz via a proper reprimand and ban her from conferences for the month of November, excluding one organizational assembly scheduled for Nov. 18.
Confidential paperwork the board says are referred to within the integrity commissioner’s report should even be returned to the director’s workplace by Nov. 18.
Part 3.3 of the SCDSB’s trustee code of conduct states that “trustees, as leaders of the board, must uphold the dignity of the office and conduct themselves in a professional manner, especially when attending board events, or while on board property.”
Part 8.4 states that “each trustee shall comply with board policies, board bylaws and applicable procedures.”
In response to the Ontario Ombudsman who investigates complaints about administrative points within the broader public sector, municipalities are required to make sure that studies obtained from an integrity commissioner are made accessible to the general public.
Nonetheless, these guidelines come from the Municipal Act, so they don’t seem to be in impact for public faculty boards.
All faculty boards in Ontario are anticipated to abide by the provincial Training Act. At present, the Training Act doesn’t require faculty board integrity commissioner studies be made public.
Work being completed via the Ontario Ombudsman’s workplace, nonetheless, might be altering that follow.
“In a submission to the Ministry of Education in April 2024, the Ombudsman proposed that in cases where an integrity commissioner finds that a member contravened the code of conduct, the integrity commissioner’s final report should be made public,” mentioned Ashley Bursey, communications supervisor with the Ontario Ombudsman’s workplace, in an e-mail.
The Ombudsman additionally prompt via this submission that college board trustees must be required to debate integrity commissioner studies in open session, until the dialogue squarely suits inside one of many exceptions to open assembly guidelines.
As such, there are amendments coming to the Training Act in January 2025 that can change the necessities for making details about integrity commissioner selections public.
As of Jan. 1, 2025, below part 218.3.2 (11) of that act, faculty boards “shall keep records and publish information on its website about each of the following”: a matter referred to an integrity commissioner, a call of the integrity commissioner and a dedication of an integrity commissioner.
When requested why the board is sticking with the previous guidelines, as a substitute of taking the chance to observe the brand new adjustments supposed to enhance transparency at college boards, Lloyd mentioned as of now, the board has a strict obligation to protect confidentiality.
“We have to follow the regulation that is in place at this time,” she mentioned.
This marks the second time Beitz has been discovered to have run afoul of the trustee code of conduct this faculty 12 months.
In September, she was discovered to have breached the board’s code of conduct primarily based on feedback she made throughout a presentation to New Tecumseth council concerning a location for the brand new Banting Memorial Excessive College, and for behaviour following the presentation.
That report, with some particulars anonymized, was made public by the board in September.
Additionally as a part of the particular board assembly on Wednesday, trustees authorised a advice of the board’s code of conduct committee to not pursue a proper inquiry into one other integrity commissioner grievance and to remain proceedings on that matter. No different data is offered within the replace on the third grievance.
When contacted following the assembly, Beitz referred to as the general course of an “illuminating studying expertise.”
“The method has been extremely tough for me and my household,” she mentioned. “I am anxious to maneuver ahead and proceed to serve.”
