Greater Victoria School District suspends 2 trustees over bullying and harassment

The Board of Education for School District 61 (SD61) announced they have censured and suspended two trustees of their duties until October.

The trustees, Diane McNally and Rob Paynter, were accused by staff of harassment and bullying. A third-party investigation substantiated the allegations.

"Our staff deserve to come to work and feel that they can perform their duties in a safe space, and that is exactly why we have acted the way that we did," said Ryan Painter, Board of Education chair.

Two formal complaints were filed by staff concerning incidents that occurred in the summer of 2021, when Painter says the trustees allegedly made "disparaging comments" about staff in public.

After reviewing a report detailing the findings of the allegations in a closed meeting, board members decided to censure and suspend the two trustees from their duties for the remainder of the term. 

The report also recommended revising the trustee code of conduct and bylaws around social media use.

"There must be zero tolerance for bullying in the Greater Victoria School District. All employees and students deserve to feel safe when they enter our schools and workplace," said SD61 in a statement.

During the suspension, Paynter and McNally will not be allowed to attend meetings in their role as trustees, or have access to confidential board information. The two trustees maintain the right to seek a judicial review of this decision.

Paynter and McNally were allowed to respond to these allegations to the Board of Education following the investigation, although the school district and the chair of the board did not say if they did.

McNally did not respond to a request to comment on this story. Paynter declined to comment.

Painter says the Greater Victoria School District is committed to providing a safe environment for all staff and students.

"We are committed to ensuring that we address these issues when they come up and doing our best to make sure this does not happen again," he said.

"As trustees, our job is to create safe learning spaces. This is what we were elected to do."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said they are aware of SD61's decision.