York trustee quits school board
Members agree to a byelection to replace longtime Vaughan representative
York Region’s public school board will hold a byelection to replace a longtime trustee following her surprise resignation.
In a letter sent Wednesday to the board’s director and chair, Anna DeBartolo, who has represented the Vaughan area for 15 years, said: “After much thoughtful consideration, I am submitting my letter of resignation, effective immediately … I am making this very difficult decision for personal reasons, and request privacy at this time.”
She went on to “thank the staff, families, and constituents, and, especially, our students who have and continue to inspire me.”
DeBartolo, who was sworn in for the new term at the beginning of December, could not be reached for comment.
A special board meeting was held Thursday night for trustees and decided to hold a $177,000 byelection, not appoint a replacement.
Some parents had been pushing for the runner-up in last October’s election, Charline Grant, to be appointed.
Grant is the parent who took the board to task for racist incidents at school involving her son.
She, was later referred to with a racial slur by a trustee who used the N-word.
“The board has the choice to do the right thing,” Flavio Volpe said.
Volpe is a parent (who is also president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association) who supports Grant.
“They have just finished an election. The runner-up has expressed her desire to be the trustee, and there is a precedent to have the position backfilled with a runner-up.”
Grant, he noted was one of the “central catalysts for the teardown and rebuild” of the board after it was hit by the string of controversies.
“There is no justification for a byelection one month after a swearing-in.”
DeBartolo, herself a former chair of the board, was closely aligned with now-disgraced former director J. Philip Parappally.
He was ousted from the board in 2017 in the wake of a review by two investigators sent in by then-education minister Mitzie Hunter to probe incidents of racism, Islamophobia, trustee misbehaviour and a “culture of mistrust” that Parappally was accused of fostering.
Parappally’s unusual 10-year contract with a “job for life” provision as a senior staffer at the end also came under fire.
It was a contract extension negotiated under DeBartolo and was done without a proper jobperformance appraisal.
Questions were raised about the frequency of overseas travel under DeBartolo’s leadership, including a trip she took with Parappally and one staffer to the Netherlands.
Hunter later ordered the board to make a number of changes, including hiring an integrity commissioner and providing improved trustee training.
On Thursday, Grant told the Star that, “if there is a byelection, I will definitely run again, and I would want to be considered for an appointment.”
She said she will “always be an ally for the board, and I will always hold the board accountable.”
“Considering all the other things the board has to deal with, the quicker they are to settle this, the better it is for the board,” she added.
Meanwhile, the York board has been grappling with how to deal with Trustee Elizabeth Terrell-Tracey, who won the 2018 election despite racist comments that appeared on her Facebook page during the campaign.
While the board’s integrity commissioner cannot investigate any incidents during the election, she is now looking into complaints regarding comments Terrell-Tracey made after she was sworn in.
One complainant told the Star that “Ms. Terrell-Tracey is insinuating that women are to stay quiet in the kitchen, but since she has ‘many male qualities’ she won’t stay in the kitchen.
“This is a disgraceful statement by her. I am offended by her derogatory remarks that keep appearing from her … whether it be in social media statements or media interviews.
“She continues to treat people with disrespect and this is not acceptable.”
Terrell-Tracey told the Star via text message that “the majority of people that voted for trustee in both WhitchurchStouffville and East Gwillimbury elected me.” “My supporters are from many religions, all genders and many cultures.”
Of her detractors, Terrell-Tracey said that she is “one of the boys and this is why they do not like me.”
“A person that doesn’t stay quiet in the kitchen is why they do not like me. I have many male qualities, that traditionalists do not like. I accept everyone equally.”