The lawyer points the finger at everyone. Vision Vancouver points the finger at the B.C. Liberals. The NPA points to “other trustees,” without naming anyone specifically.
It’s been an exercise in assigning blame in the week since the full, but redacted, investigation into workplace bullying at the Vancouver School Board was released.
Prepared by Vancouver attorney Roslyn Goldner, the 79-page report is ripe with condemnation, specifically pointing to how the partisan makeup of the former nine-person board continually undermined the work of senior staff for an extended 18-month period.
“Well-functioning boards must rise above personal and political issues to ensure the work of the board is carried out in a manner that encourages a free exchange of ideas and fosters collaboration that will enable the district to reach its goals and fulfill its legislated mandate,” Goldner said.
The Courier spoke to former NPA trustee Penny Noble and ex-Green Party trustee Janet Fraser about the report. Former Vision board chair Mike Lombardi did not respond to emails or phone calls requesting an interview.
“Having read this report makes you re-live the whole situation again, so I wouldn’t say emotions have necessarily changed in that time,” Noble said. “It’s very difficult to read that report and re-live what was a very, very difficult situation.”
Goldner’s report suggests trustees continually attempted to “micromanage” staff. It also said trustees would ask staff to change their work to better align with party lines.
Excessive workloads were also thrust upon staff, creating a severe imbalance: 80 per cent of staff time was spent “servicing the board,” compared to 20 per cent devoted to the work of the school district. Interviewees said those numbers are reversed in most other districts in B.C. The “toxic work environment” cited in the report is such that working at the VSB has gone from a “coveted position” to a “as a less sought after place of employment.”
“Witnesses reported that this is a widely-held view in the education community in British Columbia,” Goldner wrote.
Fraser was the lone trustee not affiliated with either the NPA or Vision on the nine-person board ousted by Education Minister Mike Bernier in mid-October. She’s now vying for the Vancouver-Langara seat for the provincial Green Party in May’s election.
“I have seen disrespectful behaviour by trustees towards staff in the meeting, but I didn’t realize the impact that it was having on the staff,” she said. “To read about that in detail is quite hard.”
Should her attempt at provincial politics fail, Fraser has not ruled out running at the school board level again. Lombardi said he would run again when he spoke to the Courier in October. Noble all but ruled that out.
“I wouldn’t run again now in this current environment, that would just be repeating the same things,” she said.
Vision has consistently called for a byelection to return a democratically-elected board to replace current official trustee Dianne Turner. Bernier has repeatedly said Turner will remain in place until the end of 2017, if not beyond.
That ex-trustees might seek re-election is a source of serious concern for some at the VSB. Their attendance at subsequent meetings after being fired was deemed as “inappropriate and intimidating.”
“Staff believe that some ex-trustees continue to intermeddle in district affairs,” Goldner said. “Several expressed the view that it is uncomfortable to attend meetings or events when they know ex-trustees will be present.”
Though he didn’t respond to interview requests, Lombardi took to Facebook to point out that union reps for teachers, maintenance workers and other staff weren’t interviewed as part of Goldner’s investigation. He also called for a byelection in his March 10 post.
“We welcome a frank appraisal of our behaviour and specific comments or actions that could be characterized as disrespectful or abusive,” he said. “Asking hard questions of a publicly-funded system does not equate disrespect or verbal abuse. Asking questions about programs and directions of the board is a duty of representation outlined in law.”
