Trustee to fight dismissal

TORONTO - Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Oliver Carroll says he will fight his dismissa l from the board.

While Carroll withdrew a motion to appeal an Ontario Superior Court decision which found him guilty of conflict of interest charges scheduled for Feb. 18, he told The Register that he would be filing an appeal of the decision within a month, along with an appeal to stay on as trustee while the court hearings take place.

On Feb. 6, Justice Jane Kelly ruled that Carroll had “committed a number of acts of conflict of interest” when he participated in discussions and votes on budget decisions last year. Carroll’s daughter had been employed as a teacher with the board when he was the chair. As such, he was not supposed to take part in budget discussions.

“While I do have some sympathy for trustee Carroll and while I do appreciate his commitment to the community and civil service, the conflicts of interest in this case are serious and indefensible,” Kelly wrote.

The board removed Carroll as a trustee after Kelly’s decision was announced.

In other board news, an interim director of education has been appointed to the Toronto Catholic board. In a statement, the supervision team said current director of education, Les Nemes, is on medical leave.

Ann Perron is a former teacher at the board and served as the director of education at the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.