Education minister’s next stop Steinbach after trustee complaints

Manitoba’s education minister says the Public Schools Act is working exactly as its supposed to, despite mounting complaints regarding school trustees.

For the second time in a week, Education Minister Nello Altomare is set to meet with a rural school division after complaints about its board of trustees.

A letter from concerned parents calls for the removal of six of the nine-person Hanover School Division board of trustees in Steinbach, including its chair and vice chair.

“We want to work with school boards,” Altomare said Monday. “We’re here to support them. I do want to work with this board … ensuring that they’re creating safe, inclusive spaces for their kids.”

The letter, penned by the Hanover Parent Alliance for Diversity, claims a recent vote to involve trustees in the hiring process of music and gym teachers violates the Public Schools Act. A presentation made before the board in which a parent asked gender-neutral washrooms be installed in schools was also condemned.

“The well-being of Hanover students is in jeopardy, given the ongoing pattern of discriminatory and illegal actions of several Hanover School Board Trustees,” the letter sent to Altomare’s office states.

The letter also called out two trustees for allegedly attending a “1 Million March 4 Children” parental rights rally in Steinbach in September 2023.

The group is asking Brad Unger, Jeff Friesen, Shayne Barkman, Lynn Barkman, Cheryl Froese and Dallas Wiebe be disqualified from serving on the board.

On April 2, a motion brought forward by trustee Shayne Barkman to give the school board hiring authority over gym teachers and music teachers without input from school principals passed in a 5-4 vote, as reported by The Carillon.

Traditionally, assistant superintendents and principals hire teachers.

The letter alleges the move is an attempt to reduce the number of queer-friendly staff in the division.

“Giving trustees with unchecked anti-2SLGBTQIA+ ideology the authority to impact hiring puts these teachers at great risk of discrimination in violation of the Human Rights Code,” the letter says.

The Public Schools Act states a trustee is disqualified from holding office if they are found to be in violation of any provision of the act. A school board can also censure, suspend or bar a trustee from attending meetings.

Altomare said he will be meeting with the board this week and the parent alliance afterwards. He said he has faith in the province’s legislation.

“As outlined in the Public Schools Act, the number one responsibility is to make sure that kids feel safe and included at school.”– Education Minister Nello Altomare

“As outlined in the Public Schools Act, the number one responsibility is to make sure that kids feel safe and included at school,” the minister said.

A representative of the alliance declined an interview, citing safety reasons.

Altomare plans to ask the Steinbach trustees if they know the role they’re supposed to play in the education system and if they received any training after being elected.

Unger, the Hanover board chair, said prospective trustees are given a package of information on the responsibilities of a trustee before they put up their name in school board elections.

“When you become a trustee, you are expected to even further familiarize yourself with the policies of the division and the province,” he told the Free Press. “We’re always trying to improve through professional development.”

He declined to say if he would step down as a trustee if he’s found to be in violation of the legislation. Unger has served on the board since 2014. He said the board is reviewing the contents of the letter.

Altomare said his office has received numerous complaints after the Hanover school board vote.

The minister met last week with the board chair of the Mountain View School Division after a trustee made a presentation earlier this month called “racism/anti-racism” with the subtitle “nice until it isn’t.”

Trustee Paul Coffey argued “name changing is a form of erasure,” and said he would “continue to use the word ‘Indian’ in his presentation to acknowledge and honour the enduring heritage of the North American Indian.”

He also stated “white privilege” is a racist concept, and it was just as unacceptable as “red savage” and other racial slurs or stereotypes.

Mountain View’s board of trustees posted a statement on its website denouncing the trustee’s remarks. The division’s superintendent, Stephen Jaddock, also condemned the comments.

The province is launching a review of the incident.

Altomare said he told Mountain View’s chair to “remind” the board of what their roles as trustees are.

“I told him in no uncertain terms I want to ensure that kids feel safe and included in their schools in Mountain View,” he said.

An online petition started by the Steinbach parents group calling for Unger and his colleagues’ removal gathered more than 1,200 signatures as of Monday.

— with files from John Gleeson, Brandon Sun

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca