Critics say changes are still needed, but Hamilton’s public school board now has a whistleblower policy protecting students, staff, parents and others who allege wrongdoing from “unfair disciplinary actions or reprisals.”
Trustees approved the policy by a 6-5 vote after more than an hour of debate at their Jan. 30 board meeting, with those in support rejecting calls to refer it back to committee to add details on how whistleblower complaints will be handled.
“Getting this in place is long overdue,” said board chair Dawn Danko, who voted in favour, recalling multiple requests for a whistleblower policy since she became a trustee in 2014.
“We always have the opportunity to improve, but we need to start somewhere, and I believe we need to start as soon as we can.”
The approval completes a process that began in November 2021 and prompted an initial draft last March that mostly focused on suspected financial improprieties, conflicts of interest and criminal acts like theft and fraud.
The final version widens that scope to include concerns about human rights violations, bullying, child protection, violence, harassment and “abuse of positional power.”
But trustee Todd White said although the policy made sense to him when he supported it at a Jan. 11 policy committee meeting, he found afterwards that others in the community and around the board table are still confused about some wording and the complaints process.
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