220: Appendix B - Code Of Conduct Complaint
1.0 A Trustee who wishes to commence an official complaint, under the Code of Conduct, shall
1.1 File a letter of complaint with the Chair, or Vice Chair in the absence of the Board Chair, or in cases when the complaint is about the Chair,
1.2 Indicate the nature of the complaint and the section or sections of the Code of Conduct that are alleged to have been violated by the Trustee.
2.0 The Trustee who is alleged to have violated the Code of Conduct, and all other Trustees, shall be forwarded a copy of the letter of complaint by the Chair, or where otherwise applicable by the Vice Chair, within five (5) days of receipt by the Chair/Vice Chair of the letter of complaint.
3.0 When a Trustee files a letter of complaint, and a copy of that letter of complaint is forwarded to all Trustees, the filing, notification, content, and nature of the complaint shall be deemed to be strictly confidential, the public disclosure of which shall be deemed to be a violation this Trustee Code of Conduct.
4.0 Public disclosure of the complaint and any resulting decision taken by the Board may be disclosed by the Chair only at the direction of the Board, following the disposition of the complaint by the Board at a Code of Conduct hearing. Upon receipt of a complaint, a special meeting of the Board of Trustees shall be called. The Chair shall indicate at the commencement of the meeting, the nature of the business to be transacted and that the complaint shall be heard in an in-camera session of the Special Meeting.
5.0 Violation of the Code of Conduct may result in the Board instituting, without limiting what follows, any or all of the following sanctions:
5.1 Having the Board Chair write a letter of censure marked “personal and confidential” to the offending Trustee, on the approval of a majority of those Trustees present and allowed to vote at the Special Meeting of the Board. Trustees are allowed to vote if they do not have a conflict of interest and/or personal bias relative to the matter under consideration. The Trustee filing the complaint as well as the Trustee alleged to have violated the code shall not be eligible to vote;
5.2 Having a motion of censure passed by a majority of those Trustees present and allowed to vote at the Special Meeting of the Board;
5.3 Having a motion to remove the offending Trustee from one, some or all Board committees or other appointments of the Board, passed by a majority of those Trustees present and allowed to vote at the Special Meeting of the Board.
6.0 The Board may vote, at its discretion, to make public its findings at the Special Meeting, or at a Regular Meeting of the Board, where the Board has not upheld the complaint alleging a violation of the Board’s Code of Conduct or, where there has been a withdrawal of the complaint or, under any other circumstances that the Board deems reasonable and appropriate to indicate publicly its disposition of the complaint.
7.0 Procedures for a Code of Conduct Hearing are found in Appendix C.
Board Policies II. School Board Governance and Operations