Policy 1.1.12 TRUSTEE CODE OF CONDUCT

Trustees are elected or appointed members of District School Board Ontario North East Board of Trustees who is entrusted with the responsibility to represent the public and act in the best interests of students, staff, and the community.

Conflict of Interest is a situation in which the decisions and/or actions of a Trustee may be affected, or may be perceived by others to be affected, by the Trustee’s personal, financial, or business interests, or those of a relative or business associate.

Pecuniary Interest is a direct or indirect financial interest as defined in the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, requiring disclosure and recusal from discussion and voting on related matters.

Confidential Information is information obtained during a Trustee’s duties that is private, confidential, or legally privileged, including student, personnel, financial, business, and legal information, and information discussed in closed (in-camera) meetings.

Board Resources are all resources belonging to the Board, including financial resources, facilities, technology, equipment, staff services, and proprietary information. Trustees may not use Board resources for personal, financial, or business gain.

Gift is any item, hospitality, favour, or benefit received by a Trustee from an individual or entity that has dealings with the Board. Gifts may only be accepted under specific circumstances and must be reported where required.

Trustees of District School Board Ontario North East shall conduct themselves with integrity, professionalism, and respect at all times. Trustees are expected to act in the best interests of the Board and the public it serves, uphold the dignity of their office, and conduct all Board-related activities in a manner that inspires public confidence in the governance of the Board.

4.1 Trustees shall at all times act with decorum and shall be respectful of other Trustees and members of staff, students, as well as the public.

4.2 Trustees of the Board shall discharge their duties loyally, faithfully, impartially and in a manner that will inspire public confidence in the abilities and integrity of the Board.

4.3 When acting or holding themself out as Trustees of the Board, a Trustee shall conduct themselves in a manner that would not discredit or compromise the integrity of the Board.

4.4 When acting or holding themself out as a Trustee, the Trustee shall treat persons equally without discrimination based on a person’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status or disability.

4.5 Trustees of the Board shall recognize that the expenditure of school board funds is a public trust and endeavour to see that the funds are expended efficiently, in the best interests of the students.

4.6 Trustees, as leaders of the Board, must uphold the dignity of the office and conduct themselves in a professional manner, especially when attending Board events, or while on Board property.

4.7 Trustees shall ensure that their comments are issue-based and not personal, demeaning or disparaging with regard to Board staff or fellow Board members.

4.8 Trustees shall endeavour to participate in trustee development opportunities to enhance their ability to fulfill their obligations.

4.9 Any Trustee who resists the rule of the Board, uses offensive language, disobeys the decision of the Chair or the Board on points of order, or makes any disorderly noise or disturbance may, unless an apology is offered, be ordered by the Chair of the Board to leave for the remainder of the meeting, and in the case of refusal to do so, may, on the order of the Chair, be removed from the Board Room and Board Office. Such removal is to be recorded in the Minutes of the Meeting. (See section 207(3) of the Education Act).

5.1 Trustees shall comply with Board Policies and Procedures, Ministry of Education requirements, as well as the provisions of the Education Act and Regulations, Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and any other Act or Regulation

that may be applicable to the Trustee’s duties.

5.2 Every Trustee of the Board shall comply with this Code of Conduct and uphold the spirit of the Code.

5.3 Every Trustee shall respect and understand the roles and duties of the individual Trustees, Board of Trustees, the Director of Education and the Chair of the Board.

3.0 Civil Behaviour

5.4 A Trustee of the Board shall not advance allegations of misconduct and/or a breach of this Code of Conduct that are trivial, frivolous, vexatious, made in bad faith or vindictive in nature against another Trustee of the Board.

5.5 When expressing individual views, Trustees shall respect the differing points of view of other Trustees on the Board, staff, students and the public.

5.6 Trustees shall at all times act with decorum and shall be respectful of other Trustees of the Board, staff, students and the public.

5.7 All Trustees of the Board shall endeavour to work with other Trustees of the Board and staff of the Board in a spirit of respect, openness, courtesy, and co-operation.

6.1 Trustees shall communicate absences from the Meeting of the Board forty-eight (48) hours in advance, not including Sundays, before the time of the meeting.

8.1 All Trustees are expected to comply with the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, R.S.O., 1990, c. M-50 provisions, which requires a Trustee to declare and disclose the general nature of the interest for all direct and indirect pecuniary conflicts of interest and abstain from discussions and voting.

8.2 In all situations where a Trustee or their spouse, child or parent has a pecuniary interest in a matter before the Board, that Trustee must declare a conflict of interest, disclose the general nature of the interest, and abstain from discussions and voting with respect to that issue. Where such conflict of

interest arises during an in-camera session of the Board, the Trustee must absent themselves from the room during discussion and deliberation of the issue for which they have a conflict.

8.3 It is an expectation of the Board that Trustees will not only comply with the requirements of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, but also avoid conflicts of interest as defined by this Code of Conduct.

8.4 Pursuant to this Code of Conduct a conflict of interest exists when the decisions and/or actions of a Trustee during the course of exercising their duties are affected by or perceived by another party or person to be affected by the Trustee’s personal, financial or business interests or the personal, financial or business interests of a relative, and/or business associate of the Trustee.

8.5 Every Trustee is responsible and accountable for exercising good judgment and avoiding situations that might present a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, and where a conflict of interest might exist each Trustee has an affirmative duty to disclose such conflict when it becomes apparent and filed in the Chair of the Board’s office.

8.6 No Trustee shall use their position, authority or influence for personal, financial or material gain or personal business purposes or for the personal, financial or material gain or business purposes of a relative and/or business associate. Every Trustee shall uphold and enhance all Board business

operations by:

• • 8.6.1 Maintaining an unimpeachable standard of integrity in all their relationships, both inside and outside the Board;
  • 8.6.2 Fostering the highest standard of professional competence amongst those for whom they are responsible;
  • 8.6.3 Complying with and being seen to be complying with the letter and spirit of:
    
    • 8.6.3.1 The laws of Canada and the Province of Ontario,
    • 8.6.3.2 Contractual obligations applicable to the Board; and
  • 8.6.4 Rejecting and denouncing any business practice that is improper or inappropriate or may appear to be improper or inappropriate.

8.7 A Trustee shall not use their position, authority or influence to give any person or organization special treatment that might, or might be perceived to, advance the interests of the Trustee, or the interests of a relative and/or business associate of the Trustee.

8.8 A Trustee must not participate in any decision or recommendation in which they or a relative or business associate may have a financial, commercial or business interest.

8.9 All Trustees shall disclose a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest, and the general nature of the interest, to the Board of Trustees.

10.1 All Trustees acknowledge that as part of their duties to the Board they may be privy to private, confidential and/or legally privileged financial, business and/or commercial information belonging to the Board that may provide a financial, business, commercial or competitive advantage, and that they may be privy to private and confidential student and personnel information, and/or legal

matters and opinions. Such information may include, but is not limited to, information relating to the Board’s organizational structure, operations, business plans, technical projects, business costs, research data results, inventions, trade secrets or other work produced, developed by or for the Board.

10.2 No Trustee shall disclose confidential information obtained or made available to them in their role as a Trustee except as authorized by law or the Board. Confidential information includes personal information about an identifiable individual or information subject to solicitor-client privilege.

10.3 Every Trustee shall keep confidential any information disclosed or discussed at a meeting of the Board or committee of the Board, or part of a meeting of the Board or committee of the Board, that was closed to the public, and keep confidential the substance of deliberations of a meeting closed

to the public, unless required to divulge such information by law or authorized by the Board to do so.

10.4 No Trustee shall use confidential information, including confidential information obtained by them or made available to them in their role as a Trustee for the purpose of personal gain or for the gain of the Trustee’s parent, spouse or child and shall not use such confidential information in a manner

that would be detrimental to the interests of the Board. [Parent, spouse and child have the same meaning as in Section 1 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.]

10.5 Except as required by law, all Trustees and former Trustees agree not to use, directly or indirectly, for the Trustee’s benefit or for the benefit of any person, organization, firm, or other entity, the Board's proprietary or confidential information disclosed or entrusted to that Trustee, and Trustees

recognize that such inappropriate use of confidential information for their benefit may constitute a criminal breach of trust contrary to s.122 of the Criminal Code (Canada).

10.6 The confidentiality of business/corporate information received in the course of duties must be respected and should not be used for personal gain. Information given in the course of fulfilling duties should be true and fair and not designed to mislead. For example, it is considered unethical and damaging to the Board's reputation to allow vendor's proprietary/confidential information to

pass to another vendor, potential vendor or any person with a financial interest in the information, whether potential or actual, direct or indirect.

10.7 Except as required by law, and in accordance with the Education Act and Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, all Trustees agree not to use or disclose the personal and/or educational information of students and their families that may come to the attention of such

Trustee. Information received should not be discussed or reviewed in public or where another student, parent or member of the school community could accidentally overhear or read such information.

10.8 Except as required by law, and in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, all Trustees agree not to use or disclose the personal and/or employment information of Board employees and their families that may come to the attention of a Trustee. Information received should not be discussed or reviewed in public or where another employee or

member of the public could accidentally overhear or read such information.

10.9 A Trustee’s duty of confidentiality with respect to private and confidential financial, business and/or commercial information, personnel information, student information, and legal matters and opinions survives their term as Trustee.

11.1 No Trustee shall use or permit the use of Board resources for any purposes other than the business of the Board. No Trustee shall permit relatives and/or business associates to use Board resources. Trustees recognize that such inappropriate use of Board resources directly or indirectly for their

benefit may constitute a criminal breach of trust contrary to s.122 of the Criminal Code (Canada).

11.2 All Trustees shall abide by Board Policies and Operational Procedures regarding the use of Board resources including information technology resources.

11.3 No Trustee shall accept a gift from any person, group or entity that has dealings with the Board if a reasonable person might conclude that the gift could influence the Trustee when performing their duties to the Board, unless

(a) the gift is of nominal value,

(b) the gift is given as an expression of courtesy or hospitality, and

(c) accepting the gift is reasonable in the circumstances.

11.4 A Trustee shall not use his or her office to advance the Trustee's interests or the interests of any family member or person or organization with whom or with which the Trustee is related or associated.

11.5 No Trustee shall use his or her office to obtain employment with the Board for the Trustee or a family member. An invitation to attend a function where the invitation is connected directly with the performance of a Member’s duties of office (i.e. for which the Trustees has a ceremonial, presentational or representational official role) is not considered by this Code of Conduct, to be a gift. This type of attendance is considered to be fulfillment of official public duties.

13.0 All Trustees of the Board shall accept that authority rests with the Board, and that a Trustee has no individual authority other than that delegated by the Board.

13.1 Each Trustee shall uphold the implementation of any Board resolution after it is passed by the Board. A proper motion for reconsideration or rescission, if permitted by the Board's Rules of Order, can be brought by a Trustee.

13.2 A Trustee should be able to explain the rationale for a resolution passed by the Board. A Trustee

may respectfully state his or her position on a resolution provided it does not in any way undermine

the implementation of the resolution.

13.3 Each Trustee shall comply with Board policies, procedures, by-laws, and rules of order.

13.4 The Chair of the Board is the spokesperson to the public on behalf of the Board, unless otherwise determined by the Board. No other Trustee shall act as spokesperson to the public on behalf of the Board unless authorized by the Board. When individual Trustees express their opinions in public, they must make it clear that they are not speaking on behalf of the Board.

15.0 The Chair of the Board, on their own initiative, or at the request of a Trustee of the Board (without a formal written complaint) who alleges a breach of the Code of Conduct has occurred, may meet informally with a Trustee of the Board who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct. The purpose of the meeting is to bring the allegation of the breach to the attention of the trustee and to discuss possible remedial measures to correct the offending behaviour. The informal review process is conducted in private.

15.1 If the allegation is against the Chair of the Board, the Vice-Chair of the Board will conduct the review. If both the Chair of the Board and the Vice-Chair of the Board are involved in the allegation, the alternate Chair of the Board and alternate Vice-Chair of the Board will conduct the review. (By- Law No. 1)

15.2 As a remedy, the parties may agree to a remedial measure that is appropriate to the nature of alleged breach, for example, an apology.

15.3 If the Chair of the Board and the trustee alleged to have breached this Code of Conduct cannot agree on a remedy, a formal complaint may be brought against the Trustee alleged to have breached this Code of Conduct and that complaint will be dealt with in accordance with the Formal Review Process below.

16.0 A Trustee who has reasonable grounds to believe that another Trustee of the Board has breached the Board’s Code of Conduct will bring the breach to the attention of the Board by first providing to the Chair of the Board, a written, signed complaint setting out the following:

16.0.1 the name of the Trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct;

16.0.2 a statement of fact about the alleged breach of the Code of Conduct;

16.0.3 information as to when the breach came to the trustee’s attention;

16.0.4 the grounds for the belief by the trustee that a breach of the Code of Conduct has occurred;

16.0.5 the names and contact information of any witnesses to the breach or any other persons who have relevant information regarding the alleged breach.

16.1 If a written complaint is filed with the Chair of the Board then a Formal Review shall be undertaken, unless the complainant subsequently withdraws the complaint or agrees that the complaint may be dealt with in accordance with the Informal Review Process.

16.2 The Chair of the Board shall provide to all Trustees of the Board a confidential copy of the complaint within ten (10) day working days of receiving it. The complaint, any response to the complaint and the investigation of the complaint shall be confidential until it is before the Board of Trustees for a

decision as to whether or not the Trustee has breached this Code of Conduct.

16.3 If the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board when conducting the formal review cannot agree on the final finding of facts, it shall be referred to an outside investigator to complete the formal review.

16.4 If a formal review of an allegation of a breach of the Code of Conduct is undertaken, it shall be done by:

16.4.1 The Chair of the Board and Vice-Chair of the Board, if appropriate or the alternate Chair of the Board and Vice-Chair of the Board;

16.4.2 An outside consultant chosen by the Chair of the Board and Vice-Chair of the Board.

16.5 The Chair of the Board and Vice-Chair of the Board shall determine if the formal review will be undertaken by an outside consultant.

16.6 Regardless of who undertakes the formal review, it shall be undertaken using the following steps:

16.6.1 Procedural fairness and the rules of natural justice shall govern the formal review. The formal review will be conducted in private and, to the extent possible, protecting the confidentiality of the parties involved.

16.6.2 The formal review may involve both written and oral statements by any witnesses, the trustee bringing the complaint and the trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct.

16.6.3 The trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct shall receive details of the allegation and have an opportunity to respond to the allegations both in a private meeting with the person(s) undertaking the formal review and in writing.

16.6.4 It is expected that the formal review will be conducted within a reasonable period of time which will depend on the circumstances of the case. The trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct shall provide a written response to the allegations within 10 working days of receiving the written allegation, or such extended period of time as the investigators deem

appropriate in the circumstance.

16.6.5 If the trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct refuses to participate in the formal review, the formal review will continue in their absence.

16.7 If the investigators, when conducting the formal review, discover that the subject-matter of the formal inquiry is being investigated by police, that a charge has been laid, or is being dealt with in accordance with a procedure established under another Act, the formal review shall be suspended

until the police investigation, charge or matter under another Act has been finally disposed of. This shall be reported to the rest of the Board of trustees.

16.8 Once the formal review is complete, the investigators shall provide a confidential draft copy of their report containing the findings of fact to the trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct and the complainant. The purpose of providing the draft report to the parties is to ensure

no errors of fact are contained in it. The two trustees shall have up to ten (10) working days (or such greater period of time as deemed appropriate by the investigators) from the receipt of the draft report to provide a written response. The written response is to respond to any inaccurate facts, no new details are to be provided.

16.9 The final report of the investigator(s) shall outline the finding of facts, but not contain a recommendation or opinion as to whether the Code of Conduct has been breached. This will be determined by the Board of Trustees as a whole.

17.0 The final report shall be delivered to the Board of Trustees, and a decision by the Board of Trustees shall be made as soon as practical after receipt of the final report by the Board.

17.1 The Board shall consider only the findings in the final report when voting on the decision and sanction. No trustee shall undertake their own investigation of the matter.

17.2 The determination of a breach of the Code of Conduct and the imposition of a sanction must be done by resolution of the Board at a meeting of the Board, and the vote on the resolution shall be open to the public. The resolution and the reasons for the decision shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Both resolutions shall be decided by a vote of at least 2/3 of the Trustees of the Board elected or appointed.

17.3 Despite s. 207 (1) of the Education Act, the part of the meeting of the Board during which a breach or alleged breach of the Board's Code of Conduct is considered may be closed to the public when the breach or alleged breach involves any of the matters described in clauses 207(2) (a) to (e) being:

17.3.1 the security of the property of the Board;

17.3.2 the disclosure of intimate, personal or financial information in respect of a member of the Board or committee, an employee or prospective employee of the Board or a pupil or their parent or guardian;

17.3.3 the acquisition or disposal of a school site;

17.3.4 decisions in respect of negotiations with employees of the Board; or

17.3.5 litigation affecting the Board.

17.4 The trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct:

17.4.1 may be present during the deliberations;

17.4.2 shall not participate in the deliberations;

17.4.3 shall not be required to answer any questions at that meeting; and

17.4.4 shall not vote on a resolution to determine whether or not there is a breach or the imposition of a sanction.

17.5 The trustee who filed the complaint may vote on the resolution to determine whether or not there is a breach and/or the imposition of a sanction.

17.6 The trustee who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct shall not, in any way, after the final report is completed, influence the vote on the decision of breach or sanction, except to appeal after the decisions have been made.

18.0 If the Board determines that there has been no breach of the Code of Conduct or that a contravention occurred, although the Trustee took all reasonable measures to prevent it, or that a contravention occurred that was trivial, or committed through inadvertence, or an error of judgment made in good faith, no sanction shall be imposed.

18.1 The Board shall not impose a sanction that is more onerous than the above but may impose one that is less onerous such as a warning.

18.2 If the Board determines that a Board member has breached this Code of Conduct, the Board may impose one or more of the following sanctions:

18.2.1 censure of the Board member;

18.2.2 barring the Board member from attending all or part of a meeting of the Board or a meeting of a committee of the Board; or

18.2.3 barring the Board member from sitting on one or more committees of the Board, for the period of time specified by the Board, not to exceed six months.

18.3 The Board has no power to declare the Trustee’s seat vacant on its own.

18.4 A Board member who is barred from attending all or part of a meeting of the Board or a meeting of a committee of the Board is not entitled to receive any materials that relate to that meeting or that part of the meeting and that are not available to the members of the public.

18.5 A sanction barring a trustee from attending all or part of a meeting shall be deemed to be authorization for the trustee to be absent from the meeting, and therefore, not in violation of the Education Act regarding absences from meetings.

19.0 If a Board determines that a Board member has breached this Code of Conduct, the Board shall:

19.0.1 give the Board member written notice of the determination and of any sanction imposed by the Board;

19.0.2 the notice shall inform the Board member that they may make written submissions to the Board in respect of the determination or sanction by the date specified in the notice that is at least 14 working days after the notice has been received by the Board member; and

19.0.3 consider any submissions made by the Board member and shall confirm or revoke the determination within 14 working days after the submissions are received from the Board member.

19.1 If the Board revokes a determination any sanction imposed by the Board is also revoked.

19.2 If the Board confirms a determination that a Board member has breached this Code of Conduct, the Board shall, within the 14 working days above, confirm, vary or revoke the sanction(s) imposed by the Board.

19.3 If a sanction is varied or revoked, the variation or revocation shall be deemed to be effective as of the date the original determination was made by the Board.

19.4 The Board decision to confirm or revoke a determination or confirm, vary or revoke a sanction shall be done by resolution at a meeting of the Board and the vote on the resolution shall be open to the public. Both resolutions shall be decided by a vote of at least 2/3 of the Board members elected or appointed.

19.5 The Board shall provide to the Trustee alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct written notice of the decision to confirm or revoke the determination together with reasons for the decision and written notice of any decision to confirm, vary or revoke a sanction. The Board member alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct shall not vote on those resolutions. The Board member who brought the complaint may vote.

19.6 The Board member who is alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct may be present during

the deliberations regarding the above but may not participate in the deliberations and shall not be

required to answer any questions at that meeting.

19.7 If appropriate, the original sanction may be stayed pending consideration of the appeal by the Board of the determination or sanction.

20.0 A formal review shall not be conducted, unless the Board of Trustees are of the opinion that the

complaint is:

20.0.1 trivial, frivolous, vexatious;

20.0.2 not made in good faith;

20.0.3 there are insufficient grounds for a formal review; or20.0.4there are no grounds for a formal review;

20.1 A confidential report stating the reasons for not conducting a formal review shall be provided

21.0 The Board shall do the following things by resolution at a meeting of the Board, and the vote on the resolution shall be open to the public:

21.0.1 Make a determination that a Board member has breached this Code of Conduct;

21.0.2 Impose a sanction on a Board member for a breach of this Code of Conduct;

21.0.3 Confirm or revoke a determination regarding a Board member’s breach of this Code of Conduct; and

21.0.4 Confirm, vary or revoke a sanction after confirming or revoking a determination regarding a Board member’s breach of this Code of Conduct.

21.1 The meeting may be closed to the public if the breach or alleged breach involves:

21.1.1 The security of the property of the Board;

21.1.2 The disclosure of intimate, personal or financial information in respect of a member of the Board or committee, an employee or prospective employee of the Board or a pupil or their parent or guardian;

21.1.3 The acquisition or disposal of a school site;

21.1.4 Decisions in respect of negotiations with employees of the Board; or

21.1.5 Litigation affecting the Board.

21.2 A Board member who is alleged to have breached this Code of Conduct shall not vote on any of the resolutions listed above regarding the alleged breach(s).

21.3 In an election year, a Code of Conduct complaint involving a Trustee who is seeking re-election shall not be initiated during the period September 1st and ending after the first Board meeting following the election. If the trustee who is the subject of the complaint is not re-elected, no review shall be undertaken.

21.4 The Statutory Powers Procedure Act does not apply to any of the enforcement provisions under section 218.3 of the Education Act. No formal trial-type hearing will be conducted.

21.5 Nothing in this Code of Conduct prevents a Board member’s breach of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act from being dealt with in accordance with that Act.