A Kimberley resident is accusing the Bluewater District School Board of ignoring the recent plagiarism scandal.
Peter Ferguson began making a delegation to the board on Tuesday, but he was quickly interrupted by Chair Jennifer Yenssen.
Yenssen told Ferguson any personnel matters cannot be discussed in a public forum.
When Ferguson continued to read from his paper titled “Thief, Liar, Thug”, Yenssen called for a twenty minute recess.
Ferguson accuses the board of meeting secretly for the last ten months and believes what they’ve been doing may very well be illegal under the Education Act.
But Yenssen says under the Education Act, all personnel issues must be conducted in a closed-door session.
She says the board has received legal advice that they cannot receive delegations at public meetings from people wishing to speak about specific employees.
Yenssen adds the board has a legal obligation to protect employees from harassment in the workplace, which includes board meetings.
While Ferguson was denied the opportunity to speak, he did hand out a written copy of “Thief, Liar, Thug”.
In it, Ferguson says while the board has finally made a statement about the plagiarism scandal, it wasn’t enough.
He insists he does not want to see heads to roll, but says those involved do need to be punished.
Ferguson says that could involve suspension without pay for three months and a 20 per cent reduction in salary for three years.
He’d also like to see those involved complete an educational ethics course and be denied publication in any but internal documents for three years.
Yenssen says as far as the board is concerned the plagiarism issue has already been closed, other than a policy on plagiarism will be developed.
The board announced on September 9th that no action will be taken against the three employees, who have been admonished by the Ontario College of Teachers.
Plagiarism complaints were filed against Director of Education Mary Anne Alton as well as Superintendents Alana Murray and Jean Stephenson in November, after an article was sent to a local Chamber of Commerce magazine.