OCDSB Trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth sanctioned for code of conduct violations
CTV
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees have voted to declare that Trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth violated the board's code of conduct and voted to impose sanctions.
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees have voted to declare that Trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth violated the board's code of conduct and voted to impose sanctions.
The vote to declare Kaplan-Myrth violated the code of conduct passed unanimously.
The breaches of the code related to outbursts and social media posts surrounding a special board meeting on Sept. 11, during which Kaplan-Myrth was facing a different code of conduct complaint, a vote on which failed because two-thirds of trustees did not support it.
The complaints against Kaplan-Myrth were detailed in a lengthy integrity commissioner's report, which found Kaplan-Myrth's actions breached the code of conduct and undermined public confidence in the school board.
Trustees voted 10-1 to sanction Kaplan-Myrth by barring her from attending the regular board meeting on Jan. 30, 2024 and by barring her from sitting on five committees for a period of three months, from Jan. 1 to March 30, 2024. Those committees are Committee of the Whole, Committee of the Whole Budget, Ad Hoc Policy Review Committee, Advocacy Strategy Committee, and Advisory Committee on Equity.
The original motion called for barring Kaplan-Myrth from sitting on the committees for six months, but Trustee Lyra Evans argued that instituting the maximum penalty for a first offence would leave the board with nowhere to go should another breach occur.
Trustee Justine Bell was the only trustee to vote against sanctions, saying at the meeting that Kaplan-Myrth has endured trauma related to threats of violence and antisemitism.
