Vancouver School Board workplace made toxic by trustee behaviour, report finds

Areview of the Vancouver School Board ordered by WorkSafeBC has found that the behaviour ofindividualtrustees and the conduct of the board itself played a role increating a toxic workenvironment.

"The evidence gatheredthroughthis investigationsupports the claims that members of this board routinely engaged in conduct toward one another that wasuncivil,disrespectfuland rude," wrotereport author RoslynGoldnerin her executive summary.

"Such conduct not only affected the ability of the board to function but also affected individuals, who, although not directly the target of the conduct, experiencedthe stress of a workenvironment marked by ambient bullying."

Goldner, a labour and employment lawyer,was commissioned to investigateafter allegations of bullying andharassment at the VSB were forwarded toWorkSafeBCby B.C. EducationMinisterMikeBernier.

By the end of September 2016, the entire six person senior management team of the VSB was on indefinite leave, including superintendent Scott Robinson.

The harassment claims came to light amidst the high profile conflict between the VSB's elected trustees and Bernierover funding and school closures.

Goldner states that actions by certain trustees in relation to the school closures process and the staff recommendations related to that process were "of particular significance."

"By September 2016, it was untenable for members of the senior management team to remain in the workplace," wrote Goldner.

In October 2016, Bernierfired all nine VSB trustees and appointed ministry employee DianneTurner to replace the entire board.

Goldneralso noteda number of "systemic factors that contributed to the development of a toxic work environment at the VSB,"including the partisan composition of the board and the lack of consistent role definition amongtrustees.

In response to the report, Vision Vancouver's elected VSB trustees Joy Alexander, Patti Bacchus, Mike Lombardi and Allan Wong issued a statement that read in part:

"We treated all VSB staff with respect and courtesy and we did not participate in or witness workplace bullying or harassment ... We continue to be concerned by the political interference in the democratic process by the provincial government as a way to deflect from itsneglect of public education."

Vision Vancouver's response

Former trustee calls for release of full report

In an interview with On The Coast guest host Gloria Macarenko, Lombardi called for the full report to be released so trustees could defend themselves against any allegations made about them as individuals. Friday only saw the release of parts of it.

"I want to know what the details are," he said. "To me, it's incredible trustees can be charged with an allegation without any substantiation. ... I feel very bad for the rest of my trustee group who now have a smear on them without any evidence whatsoever of something having occurred or being alleged."

He also says at the time the VSB was under "incredible" stress in the face of budget constraints and cuts ordered from the province.

Lombardi called for the minister of education to call an immediate byelection for the Vancouver School Board's vacant seats, which he says he intends to run in.

In a statement, the VSB wrote itispreparing a redacted copy of the report for release that will comply with privacy laws.

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

To hear the interview with Mike Lombardi, click the audio labelled:Vancouver School Board workplace made toxic by trustee behaviour, report finds