DSBN trustees look into conduct code

Ad hoc committee examining ramifications of acting on Bill 177

ST. CATHARINES — A committee of District School Board of Niagara trustees is contemplating a code of conduct for its elected members.

Theboard has formed an ad hoc committee to examine the ramifications of adopting such a code.

The code would serve as a reminder of the need for professional behaviour among trustees, said trustee Cheryl Keddy-scott, who chairs the committee.

“As an elected official, we represent our communities,” she said. “A code of conduct reiterates the importance of working together on behalf of student achievement.”

The Ministry of Education recommends the code covers topics such as conflict of interest, civil behaviour and dignity of the office. The province introduced Bill 177 in December 2009 and the legislation allows boards to establish a code of conduct for trustees if they wish. That bill, for the first time, set out the duties of board chairs and trustees, and included the option for the code.

Along with rules for the trustees, the code also sets out potential punishments for those who violate them.

Keddy-scott sits on an Ontario Public School Boards’ Association committee that is working to create a code of conduct template for all school boards. That work will then be brought back to the DSBN committee for consideration.

“We’re looking at all boards across the province, not just the board in Niagara,” she said.

“We’re elected officials, we all have our own internal codes of conduct … I think it just gives a guideline and brings it all together on paper.”

Trustee codes of conduct became a hot-button issue in May 2008 when areportcommissionedbytheprovincialgovernmentuncoveredabusesby sometorontodistrictcatholicschool board trustees, which included inappropriately expensing meals, promotional materials and other prohibited perksonthetaxpayers’dime.

A provincial supervisor was appointed to oversee board operations in the wake of the scandal.

Only 14 of the 72 public boards across the province have adopted trustee codes of conduct.

DSBN legal counsel Brenda Stokes Verworn said the introduction of Bill 177 has raised a number of questions for trustees.

“Once that legislation came into play, a number of boards were saying, ‘ What formats should this take?’ ”

Stokes Verworn added that it is still up to the board to decide if it will implement a code. The committee will further debate the topic before the start of the board’s next meeting in two weeks.