The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has been directed to reverse a decision that reprimanded a trustee for violating the code of conduct and to pay her $20,000 in costs.
Court documents indicate that trustee Kathy Doherty-Masters was accused of misconduct through an anonymous email in December 2023.
In December 2024, some board members determined that Doherty-Masters had breached the code of conduct, leading to her being banned from attending meetings and participating in any board committees for six months. Additionally, she was prohibited from serving on specific committees such as audit, governance, and the Catholic Parent Involvement Committee until November 2026.
In April 2025, Doherty-Masters sought a judicial review of the board’s ruling – a process that examines decisions made by government bodies or public officials.
On February 27, three judges from the Ontario Superior Court found that the school board was “unclear about the misconduct it found trustee Doherty-Masters to have engaged in.”
“Given the board’s failure to explain its findings and the fact that those findings are not supported by the record before it, it is impossible to understand how the board could rationally reach the conclusions it did,” stated their decision.
“The decision is untenable and must be set aside.”
Doherty-Masters expressed to via email that she is “pleased that the court has provided clarity. The judicial review findings speak for themselves.”
Renée Kraft currently serves as chair of the board of trustees. In an emailed statement to , Kraft mentioned there have been legislative changes regarding how code of conduct issues are handled and noted that they’ve updated their procedures “should future matters of this nature arise.”
“The focus now is on moving forward. Trustees were elected to serve the WCDSB community, and the board remains committed to working together and carrying out its responsibilities,” Kraft stated.
Timeline of Events
The court documents outline a series of events over more than a year leading up to trustees addressing alleged violations of conduct and resulting in court action. Feb. 15, 2023: The Catholic Parent Involvement Committee reached out to Kathy Doherty-Masters’ husband, Fred Masters. Fred Masters is known for his work in financial literacy; he’s authored a book titled Lessons on Mastering Money and runs his own money management business. He also taught with the board previously in business and co-operative education. Fred Masters agreed to present at an event for a “compromised speaking fee along with payment for selling 100 copies of his books” which would be given out at this occasion. The Catholic Parent Involvement Committee voted unanimously to proceed with hosting him. Trustee Doherty-Masters wasn’t part of this committee nor was she present during this meeting. The court documents noted that funding for Fred Masters’ presentation would have been included in a budget approved prior to Doherty-Masters becoming a trustee. March 2, 2023: Fred Masters emailed Judy Merkel, who is the superintendent of education at WCDSB because Doherty-Masters had asked if there might be an actual or perceived conflict of interest involved. Merkel replied indicating Fred Masters had previously worked with WCDSB before his wife became trustee and had delivered similar presentations back in 2018 and 2019. April 27, 2023: The speaking event took place without Doherty-Masters being present. May 17, 2023: The Catholic Parent Involvement Committee approved minutes from their meeting which noted Fred Masters’ talk. </galle-layawithdlo)
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