Trustees with the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Ombudsman of Ontario.
This follows more than 300 complaints filed over the naming process of the new Erie Migration District School in Kingsville opening this fall, including three in-camera meetings held in February, March and April.
"The ombudsman office conducted a detailed review of the complaints and confirmed that the board acted in accordance with all board policies, regulations and the governance by-laws with respect to naming the new school," said board chair and trustee Gale Hatfield.
"In addition the review concluded that there was no wrongdoing during the in-camera private session meetings," she added.
In his report, ombudsman Paul Dube, stated that concerns raised about the conduct of individual trustees not fall under his responsibilities as his office is "not responsible for examining the conduct of democratically elected officials".
He stated complaints about a trustee should be made to the chair of the board, and complaints about the chair should be made to the vice-chair.
Also under investigation was the board's decision to limit in-person board meetings last year to staff and trustees only for safety and security reasons surrounding the gender expression policy.
Following the Sept. 11, 2023 meeting, the board’s then-vice chair publicly stated that two trustees had received death threats, including a threat of a shooting, before the public gallery was closed.
Dube stated his office was told that a protest took place outside of the GECDSB's administrative building on Sept. 20, 2023, and during this protest, a window in the board’s private meeting room was shattered and one or more people defecated outside of the building in view of staff members’ offices.
"The report concluded that there was no wrongdoing when the decision was made to temporarily to close board meetings to in-person attendance," Hatfield said. "I can tell you that I'm very pleased that there were no findings of wrongdoing and we can now put these complaints behind us."
In-person attendance resumed Sept. 19, 2024 once a safety plan was in place, something Dube commended the board for.