Grand Erie trustee barred from performing duties fights school board

A longtime Grand Erie District School board trustee, barred from performing her duties, is asking the public whether she should resign or fight for her job.

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Carol Ann Sloat, who was first elected to the school board in 2003 and re-elected five consecutive times, posted a public statement on social media Thursday in which she says her troubles with the board relate to her objection to the use of “in- camera” meetings to discuss school board matters. These closed-door meetings, which exclude the public, are used to discuss items of a sensitive nature, including legal issues, labor relations and issues related to specific employees.

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“The board has increasingly utilized in-camera meetings – meetings that mean you, the public, whose taxes fund the school board – are not allowed to know what’s being discussed,” said Sloat in her post. “I strongly objected to what I believed to be the overuse of this process. I believe that our discussions should not be hidden from the public, without very good reason.”

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Sloat’s post said she attempted to resolve disagreements internally, “through diplomacy,” but “despite my best efforts, openness and transparency were pushed aside.”

This is when Sloat said “things took a troubling turn.”

“There are a group of trustees and members of the senior administration team who resent the fact that I have challenged them in defending your right to know,” Sloat said in her post.

A statement posted on the Grand Erie District School Board website on Friday said Sloat’s social media post includes “regrettable and misleading public statements about the board, board staff, and her role as trustee.”

The statement refers to a Code of Conduct that governs the conduct of all trustees – rules that “ensure the orderly operation and work of a student-focused school board.”

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“The statutory obligations and rules apply equally to us all, we cannot choose which to follow or ignore, and through the oath of office, we promise to uphold them.

“Regrettably, trustee Sloat has repeatedly violated those rules. In each case, the board, as authorized by the Education Act, found her to be in violation of the Code of Conduct, resulting in her being barred from board and committee meetings for a period of time. Trustee Sloat, through her own deliberate actions, has received sanctions which are authorized under the Education Act, to address the behavior.”

Sloat has been barred from participating in any board business since last May, is currently barred from attending school board meetings until the end of February, and from sitting on any board committees until November.

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“They have gone as far as telling me that I’m not allowed to even watch a public YouTube feed of the board meetings as a taxpaying member of the public,” Sloat said in her post.

An in-camera report from a school board meeting held on May 29, 2023, says trustees identified Sloat breached several sections of the trustee code of conduct, including those related to respect, confidentiality and responsibility, in three separate incidents. Specifically, that trustees shall respect the differing points of view of colleagues, staff, students and the public; trustees shall maintain confidentiality of privileged information discussed in closed sessions; trustees shall uphold the implementation of a majority decision after it has passed; trustees shall fulfill duties as set out in the Education Act; and trustees “shall base their actions on unimpeachable conduct, acting at all times with utmost good faith in accordance with their fiduciary duty to act with a view to the best interests of Grand Erie District School Board.” In a recorded vote, four of 10 trustees voted against the motion, including Greg Anderson, Rita Collver, John Bradford and Liz Whiton.

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An in-camera report from a special board meeting held on Nov. 6, 2023 indicates Sloat was further barred from attending board meetings in October and November and sitting on committees until the end of March. Two of 11 trustees – Anderson and Collver — voted against the motion.

In December 2023, trustees further barred Sloat from attending board meetings from December to February 2024 and from sitting on committees until the end of November 2024. Voting against the motion were Anderson and Collver.

Sloat, who said in an interview there is “no rational basis for the board’s sanctions against me”, appealed, under the Education Act, the original decision but trustees upheld the sanctions. Determined to fight back and clear her name, she is taking the matters to court at her own expense. She said the first case will be heard in a Hamilton court on June 3.

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“I shudder to think what this fight is costing our board, both in terms of wasted hours that could be spent working on our real issues and the cost of paying the numerous lawyers they are keeping busy,” Sloat said in her post. “But what I do know is that all of the money spent on lawyers is money that could otherwise go to the classroom – rather than fighting a democratically-elected school board trustee from fulfilling her mandate.”

Sloat said in the interview she is fully dedicated to being a trustee and hasn’t missed a single meeting in more than 20 years, called the situation “gut-wrenching, to say the least.”

“I find it almost impossible to make this decision autonomously and am hoping for feedback from my constituents. Do I resign my position to stop the board from taking even more money out of the classroom or do I stay and fight for my constituents and for our students?”

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