Which is the most dysfunctional school board in Ontario: GECDSB or WRDSB?

A grandparent stands up to the school board bullies

GECDSB

By Elton Robinson

Dr. Frances Widdowson was an associate professor of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary for 13 years. Unfortunately she was let go in December 2021 by the university, whose slogan “You belong here,” should also have included, “But not if we disagree with you.” 

A recent incident, involving Dr. Widdowson's attempt to speak at Lethbridge University is comparable with the dynamics of a Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) meeting I attended on January 17^th 2023. Referring to the Lethbridge ordeal, Dr. Widdowson said the University is no longer an academic university and had become an environment where activism is allowed to proceed without any kinds of checks in terms of open inquiry, academic freedom and a discussion of a diversity of ideas. 

Well, the situation at  the GECDSB is similar in many ways.

Approximately seventy parents attended the meeting on January 17.  There were seven speakers,  five of them generally sharing the same concerns.  Even though most of the parents in attendance disagreed with two of the speakers, they all sat and listened respectfully. 

A parent named Robin Ghanam spoke passionately on her concern with Gender Identity Theory, but was interrupted near the end of her delegation because of the strict imposition of the board's five minute rule. Robin’s mic was cut, but she can be heard saying, to the sound of applause, that five minutes is not enough time!

When the brief moment of applause died down, similar to the Dec 6 meeting,  Chair Trustee Gale Simko-Hatfield began lecturing parents  -  “this is one of the few boards that gives the public the right to sign up and come to speak to us in an open forum. This is not typical across the province of Ontario and I know that for a fact.” Trustee Simko-Hatfiled stated that the board has shown nothing but appreciation for parents presence at meetings and repeated her request for respect or threatened she would “clear the room.”

My guess is Chair Simko-Hatfiled  did not review Patsy Copus' speech and answer period from the previous meeting on Dec 6.^. At that meeting, which was covered in these pages last week,  Patsy, a grandmother, was publicly bullied by Trustee Cathy Cooke for not having answers readily available, even after making it clear at the beginning of her speech that she has a disability and that it was her first time speaking in public.  Does Chair Simko-Hatfiled feel attacking a person with a disability is ok?

At one point, while lecturing parents, Chair Simko-Hatfiled asked “that the speakers respectfully also follow the rules please.” This I found appalling as I truly believe that she as the Chair should have apologized when Trustee Cooke, who bullied Patsy at the previous meeting, would not. It also would have been appreciated if the Director of Education, Erin Kelly, had risen above the chaos and done what was right. Well, all three let the parents down.  Unfortunately this just shows, like the WRDSB and other such dysfunctional Canadian school boards, we have a problem with leadership and trustees need to wake up and realize parents want representatives on the board who look out for the needs of all students. 

Greater Essex County taxpayers need a Director of Education and Trustees to take stock in the Swedish proverb: “Rough waters are truer tests of leadership. In calm water, every ship has a good captain” 

The only reason I believe most of these trustees are still here is that the general public is largely oblivious of the zoo we have going on at the GECDSB. Director Kelly announced her retirement February 8^th, so hopefully we get a new Director of Education that values diversity of viewpoints from all parents with an  interest in the success of the GECDSB. 

Bullied at the December 6th meeting after speaking on age inappropriate books in school libraries, Patsy Copus came back on January 17th to address the topic of bullying and demand the apology she was certainly owed.

Patsy started her speech thanking Director Erin Kelly and Chair Simko-Hatfield for the phone call she received the night before the meeting. She stated that she was not sure what the purpose of the call to her was. Other parents had never heard of such a practice either.

In her delegation, Patsy described how she was bullied in school over 50 years ago, explaining how bullies find something about you - your economic status, your clothing and or a mental or physical disability - she added, when you get bullied at a young age it affects you the rest of your life, it makes it difficult to speak out in public, especially at school, but you know what happened to the bullies then? Nothing.  

She referenced 2007 when 2 students started pink shirt day as a result of a boy in Nova Scotia who was bullied for simply wearing a pink shirt like the one Patsy was wearing.  Amazingly, this was a student lead initiative!

Patsy was in shock when she found herself being bullied again but this time as an adult and at a televised public school board meeting. Patsy reminded them  that her ward trustee Lina Qin was the only trustee to come to her defense, and asserted that out of all the trustees she is the only one who gets back to parents in a timely manner.

The school board serves as a role model for the education system and the community.  Under section 169.1 of the education act it says promote the prevention of bullying. Patsy pointed out the reference to trustees as community leaders who have a responsibility to all the families in their community, and that trustees demonstrate their leadership by establishing a respectful caring professional climate throughout the GECDSB. 

Patsy mentioned she was not comfortable at the last meeting and neither was the other parents. Patsy and I both want all parents to feel safe from harassment and bullying when they bring their concerns and speak at these public meetings.

Patsy suggested that all trustees go for refresher training so they can better practice the board's code of ethics and conduct and commit to no bullying - the training is here.  In closing she demanded a public apology, which she rightly deserves, for the Dec 6 incident. Trustee chair Simko-hatfield thanked her for coming out. But no apology. Patsy was in disbelief and asked - “I don't get an apology?”  Chair Simko-Hatfield replied that it was not the purpose of the speaker period, and that speeches are for the trustees to hear your point of view.

Myself and many others in attendance were in disbelief at no action from Trustee Cooke. Patsy ended by commenting that she will expect to get an apology when she emails her speech in. As soon as Patsy finished,  you could see Trustee Cooke smirk childishly.

Smirking Trustee Cathy Cooke

Michael Zwaagstra was spot on when he wrote last month about the WRDSB as a serious contender for most dysfunctional school board in the country:

 “If parents with traditional views feel disrespected in their neighborhood schools, they will soon start looking for other educational options. Making parents feel unwelcome is one of the fastest ways to undermine support for the public education system.

 The WRDSB prides itself on being a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students. However, inclusion is about more than celebrating different races, genders, and sexual orientations. True inclusion recognizes that children come from families who hold vastly different religious beliefs and ensures that they are all treated with respect.

The last thing students need is to be told their parents’ religious beliefs and values are wrong. And yet, this is the message that gets sent home loud and clear when school boards turn a parent’s presentation into an opportunity to issue an open letter denouncing that parent for raising those concerns at all.”

Well I guess we should be grateful as GECDSB parents. We do not have to wait for a condescending open letter, like the one published by a woke faction of trustees at the WRDSB, instead we get our lashings from our own publicly elected Trustees and publicly appointed Director of Education, when we dare speak at the podium.

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Thanks for reading. For more from this author read Parents bullied and disrespected at school board meeting

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