Teacher loses licence for one year over misconduct

A Saskatchewan teacher and longtime volleyball coach in Wakaw will lose his teaching licence for one year after he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct earlier this year.

According to a decision posted Thursday on the website of the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board (SPTRB), Lyle Gartner, who taught and coached at Wakaw School dating back to the 1990s, will also have to pay $10,000.

Reached by phone on Thursday, Gartner declined to comment.

According to an agreed statement of facts outlined in the decision, Gartner admitted he inappropriately touched a student on the buttocks on Sept. 15, 2015. The next day, while speaking alone to the student in his classroom, he asked the student to write a letter denying the act, claiming it was an accident and saying that if she did so she could gain a spot on a more “competitive” volleyball team.

He also asked the student to apologize to him for filing the initial complaint. The one-on-one meeting with the student, according to the decision, went against prior instruction from school officials who advised him not to meet with the student alone to discuss her complaint.

The decision states that the student, which it refers to as “Student A,” felt threatened by Gartner’s insistence that she write the letter.

Gartner also admitted to three other instances of inappropriate touching of a student’s buttocks, including an incident between himself and a student listed in the decision as “Student D.” The decision says Gartner would assist Student D, who had suffered a groin injury, with applying tape and stretching out the injury, which at times made a student feel “uncomfortable.” Those incidents happened between Sept. 1, 2011 and Nov. 1, 2015.

The decision, posted online after a 30-day appeal period, says Gartner admitted the behaviour was professional misconduct.

Trevor Smith, chief operating officer and registrar for the regulatory board, said it’s critical that members of the public can follow these processes from start to finish.

“The Registered Teachers Act requires that the SPTRB regulate the teaching profession in the public interest,” Smith said. “In order for the public to be assured that is occurring, the processes are open and transparent.”

He said people with concerns about teacher conduct should work to resolve the issue with school and division officials where appropriate, but noted the regulatory board expects to be informed of serious concerns about teacher misconduct.

“The vast majority of teachers aren’t ever going to be involved with the SPTRB, and it’s the rare