Vancouver School Board releases redacted report on toxic workplace

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The Vancouver School Board has released a redacted report on an external investigation that found trustees created a toxic work environment in which staff were bullied and harassed.

A two-page summary of lawyer Roslyn Goldner’s findings was released last week, but the 44-page report issued today in response to a freedom-of-information request provides a clearer picture of turmoil with the board.

The report says trustees relentlessly and aggressively questioned staff, and this conduct escalated during 2016 amid a “highly politicized” budget and school closure plan.

It says Vision Vancouver trustees’ response to the closure plan, which culminated in two motions by then-trustee Patti Bacchus in September, constituted a “tipping point” in the relationship between staff and the board.

The four former Vision Vancouver trustees released a statement last week in which they said they treated all staff with respect and courtesy and did not participate in or witness workplace bullying or harassment.

Goldner was tasked with investigating allegations of bullying and harassment in October, shortly before Education Minister Mike Bernier fired all nine trustees for failing to pass a balanced budget.

Bacchus says things were heated and intense while the board wrestled with school closures and budget decisions but, “I can tell you that after those meetings, no one came forward to us, no one to say, ‘you were behaving as a bully’ or ‘ someone was behaving as a bully.”

Bacchus says there has been a lot of speculation about what happened so she’s happy Goldner’s report is being shared.

“This is what it is, it’s not terribly exciting stuff, this is the work we do with me bringing motions forward. there’s even criticism of us tweeting during meetings. That to us is us communicating out and I don’t see how tweeting in a meeting is any form of harassment or toxicity,” She says.

“My overall sense is that this is some attempt, sort of a political smear I suppose.”

“It was a tricky time, but those meetings are a matter of public record, there was a whole range of people in the room, some were heckling us, some were students so to dismiss them I don’t think is fair. There’s information in the report that is not accurate.”

Bacchus says it’s always a concern when staff members are worried but says trustees were very careful.

In a written release, Vision Vancouver is taking issue with the report highlighting difficult questions at public meetings, “audible sighs” and claims of a toxic environment.

Vision is calling on the Education Minister to hold a by-election as the Vancouver Shcool Board has been lead by a government-appointed trustee since the fall.

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