Martino chosen as chair of embattled TCDSB

After two rounds of ballots at Thursday’s board meeting, trustee Joseph Martino was selected chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board in a 7-5 vote over trustee Markus de Domenico.

The incoming chair says he’s inheriting a divided board reeling from a battered public image.

“There are issues with our image and the rift between trustees,” Martino said. “I have to try and quell some of those issues.”

Embattled trustee Michael Del Grande did not stand. Del Grande, who was vice-chair heading into the meeting, was not nominated for that post.

Del Grande declined to comment when approached by the Star’s reporter.

Del Grande had been at the centre of a major board controversy.

The board was updating its code, as required by the Ministry of Education and human rights law, to add protection from discrimination based on gender identity and expression, and family and marital status, when Del Grande brought forward a12-page amendment listing acts such as bestiality, pedophilia, sadism, polygamy and vampirism that should be added to things deserving of protection against discrimination. Del Grande argued he was demonstrating how trustees were on a “slippery slope” by including gender identity as deserving of protection against discrimination. His motion was ruled out of order.

Officials with the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA) confirmed Thursday that Del Grande had stepped down from his position on its board.

Del Grande’s resignation from that agency comes on the heels of OCSTA taking the unusual step this week of publicly rebuking Del Grande, saying “regrettably, the actions of one of our colleagues failed to meet the high standard of behaviour and good example expected of and provided by Catholic trustees throughout Ontario.”