Fired VSB trustees want education minister to say sorry
Posted October 26, 2016 12:31 pm.
Last Updated October 27, 2016 11:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Four fired members of the Vancouver School Board are demanding a retraction and an apology from British Columbia’s education minister, saying he made defamatory statements about them.
Mike Bernier dismissed all nine board members on October 17th after months of claims of bullying cited by six seniors managers who went on medical leave at the end of September.
The four trustees alleging defamation are with the reigning Vision Vancouver party, while another four are members of the Non-Partisan Association, and one is from the Green party.
In a letter sent to the minister, the Vision trustees say they’ve hired a defamation lawyer because the minister accused them of creating a toxic work environment. “The implication that you left with the public at large was that my clients were bullies who intimidated senior management to the extent that six of the senior management staff at the Vancouver School Board found the situation so toxic that they had no alternative but to leave en masse claiming medical leave.”
Bernier had said he fired the entire board because of the result of an audit that deepened his concerns over the lack of a balanced budget that was due before the school year.
The statement says the Vision trustees are also seeking an apology from BC School Superintendents Association President Sherry Elwood, saying she was the source of the bullying and intimidation allegations.
