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Home My WebLink AboutPublic school board censures Donna Blackburn for 'disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee - Ottawa Citizen - 02/28/2018 - Ottawa Citizen - 02/28/20182/28/2018 Public school board censures Donna Blackburn for `disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee I Ottawa Citizen Public school board censures Donna Blackburn for 'disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee JACQUIE MILLER IMoire firorn Jarn,uiie Killer (HTTP://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/AUTHOR/JMILLEROTTAWACITIZENCOM) IPulblliished orn„ 1February 28,2018 11 IL st U, pdaUed,: Februairy 28,201812:25 AIM IEST http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/school-board-debates-whether-to-d iscipl in e -trustee -don na-bl ackburn 1/6 2/28/2018 Public school board censures Donna Blackburn for `disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee I Ottawa Citizen I /Il � �eii ��; fod tl wle,1_ee �dl'ina �P?L lbl°I"7 a�y s "I. �r,.!.: f, l�dl„crfr f„„ lt,tPl;;lt✓II �;flu�t t l�„I a;' :'III I;° 'frl f (el"I'(t �'/t 1 Iia �'tl!�I [ of t/01'11aI SII [I ., Y'n f"It "",g I S I by �< h,"db ASHLEY FRASER / POSTMEDIA The Ottawa public school board voted Tuesday to censure Donna Blackburn for disrespectful behaviour, a penalty one of her fellow trustees likened to a "public shaming." Trustees decided that an email Blackburn sent to trustee Erica Braunovan violated the board's code of conduct. The vote was unanimous except for Blackburn, who was not allowed to vote. In the email, Blackburn called Braunovan "arrogant” and suggested her fellow trustee was neglecting school board business while seeking higher political office. Braunovan had just lost her bid to become the NDP candidate in Ottawa Centre for the provincial election in June. The email also accused Braunovan of diverting attention from the "corruption” at the board's advisory committee for special education. Trustees are supposed to be leaders who model attributes the board expects of students, such as respectful behaviour, said trustee Sandra Schwartz. The censure is more than just a slap on the wrist, Schwartz said, calling it a formal expression of disapproval akin to a "public shaming” http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/school-board-debates-whether-to-discipline-trustee-donna-blackburn 2/6 2/28/2018 Public school board censures Donna Blackburn for `disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee I Ottawa Citizen 000S5 first.... Donna Maekbuum azionnae blrackbuarrngf =h;b,ca,, To: EnrR SSrAwpov;an vEaW»wa.knmanrau�v rku{, , na+raft'a.u'�rr:M Cc ,'' hktey sewaua 4.5nttf0V 3awaarcdit0Cdnbtw, Dear Dkaa krl StOuNaOvara.,wratC4,bmaarrv*V3knt rucd%b.c,%> ""oars, CNA 29 20 G7 uk M07 fpm I have pM boaen Wormed, as k krmttuEctmi YOU have Wk Zta War b5r ars NDP nnrevN 4jeooro. 0 trrcaaa auww Noewbw¢gg doMwrarg p+wW Wi Ww pg fmm mta,*.rkaats or 0o0 O OSS above WhM of p out C,Yuoa°ksmar gav&rfauvrd gaoMs, t kava no urarntlna, gglva vu prroar ararogmwne ynaa °wnA nary abet 49,101 for aanoMcrr ruoWnrat in, E§W Gam Mwa leis d`)4"SC'YSU ra Muck vrlfgnynla waa I aunapuraat YOU rarau rra Rune (o Narwaaaen.nr an tas mdd�snakoiya C,r�ezdf,f,vit. atr my p atnvamroed fhat yoar ware &ndoaerttvd by C tl&s IS =WhO ream r ro vary ^ bad rep WaCnlun, habjdy mwat¢ts to mwnak vMh �. Q co'l r em J a± 'k &uk a J Kudos era y ,at (or do' eg ng eaParwSu^u,fra Oda -a tr^ aw Brvawa areuti vaarrrt Ctn „ rrt A,.w,; awrturkd rrpulPaza e pvrdC art flknr,^ tette" a¢w, pr¢»auwakr k: a "kiWdT a � 6Go+ne o "3&td f A e'er a8a a hPotl rho a'0."arnklption OW hanv w Pa On Ar ,SFYW,'� But you slurs vtd know thele h,a no Two o#a nf1 df9e Roap,k who °wrrtl xYA'$& utia Nrluch dhY4e befroI%d kM it oe 'lnUk3tAk&4 ER'Mmkrl F'8bN5. ¢„fy,'F! aunt g 4M Blau Mod d of tha 0C,:r't ,?m uA 910 wrmn nrusuwry. "rho ouulh Ira uu mt rxwva ng ous . YOU have tkee pnotenOA W be a decent 7rppot a, f hm cannot tIv aaKI F"br C' yr a and hhaowrn, Lost eaumru FX*ra. $v, rrrrwR¢rat NNV ward B blak k¢pa°wv'arrtd to *wuxMkpnnq With yf„wa irr a guar»WY0 Myr NorGhe bePMomernp ua aarr sfmUaegu, mor slafN. rake cm a uonanw sond frarn runy Biaea:E{rr,amy 1G7 on, hrU v Bkragera rw tw»wa9t_ 1 ft..!.lila la/ _')01 -I c.,. aIJPI I Irl"ft(', feHfO! ru..l.,l e: F,I I?� fti ok,' Ip a, 1-1 r �� .�t, f 1J,I r lJl rwlra, l f li fd f,l;L;Jnto,,,rl t f Lal ,l1, I c r "`;r.. f00i "I',?,,aal'tf , cof,'la, of m,r`n""Jflct ,f all! / ,'I ,u 0V all e,ralrl t Ir,';rff„I k.:,fl ted t,"1” talk, f l.t" 11„rl,le,t!,! ,re6,"'M r,""”) d„r; I U 'rt;'r,ac WL� i tk'da,o— jiff ,r� /f..,fl , adflfer ”, 31x11 rt'.".. t"I, t", rril"rl fCf' r,a l„ 11 ,,1 / erl fti co - f; :,i:, ra LIof OTTWP However, Swartz joined other trustees in voting down a motion to bar Blackburn from attending a special -education committee meeting as a further penalty. That vote lost on a 5-5 tie. Braunovan filed a formal complaint against Blackburn over the email, saying it was offensive and mean-spirited. But Braunovan said was uncomfortable with the idea of preventing an elected official from attending a meeting. Trustee Shawn Menard agreed, saying the voters in Blackburn's ward will have the final decision. Trustee Christine Boothby argued that Blackburn should be banned from a meeting because it would send a strong message of support to the volunteers on the special -education committee. Blackburn's allegation that the committee was corrupt is "beyond despicable," said Boothby. Chair Shirley Seward said banning her from a meeting was symbolic and would send a message. Democracy doesn't include the right of an elected http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/school-board-debates-whether-to-discipline-trustee-donna-blackburn 3/6 2/28/2018 Public school board censures Donna Blackburn for `disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee I Ottawa Citizen official to harass or intimidate others, she argued. Trustee Chris Ellis had proposed that Blackburn be banned from the special -education committee for the rest of her term, but a board lawyer said that wasn't allowed under the Education Act. Trustee Lynn Scott said the board's code of conduct isn't perfect, but it's necessary to help ensure trustees behave respectfully. "If we let behaviour slide forever, we can expect it will just get worse." Blackburn, in an interview after the meeting, said she agrees she should not have sent the email. "It was wrong." She would have apologized if given the opportunity, said Blackburn, saying the formal complaint process didn't allow for that. Blackburn had declined to be interviewed by the outside investigator hired by the board to investigate the complaint. "What's the point?" she said. It would just have cost the board more money, said Blackburn. The board spent between $8,000 and $12,000 for the investigation. Blackburn maintains that the code of conduct is being used as a political tool to silence her. Her fellow trustees have filed four other complaints against Blackburn since the code was adopted in 2016. Two of the complaints — a previous one from Braunovan and one from trustee Chris Ellis — were settled informally after Blackburn apologized. Two other complaints by Christine Boothby against Blackburn were dropped. Boothby accused Blackburn of berating a volunteer at a meeting of the special education advisory committee, then filed a second complaint against Blackburn for violating the confidentiality clause by talking about the first complaint with the Citizen. Blackburn denied she harangued the volunteer, and produced a tape recording of the meeting that she said proved it. Blackburn says she filed a code of conduct complaint against Boothby in connection with that sequence of events. "She code of conducted me, so I sent it to (the Citizen), so she code of conducted me for doing that, so I http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/school-board-debates-whether-to-discipline-trustee-donna-blackburn 4/6 2/28/2018 Public school board censures Donna Blackburn for `disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee I Ottawa Citizen code of conducted her for a frivolous and vexatious code of conducting of me. "51,000 later, it was all dropped" The board spend that amount on legal fees and mediation to deal with the first four code of conduct complaints against Blackburn. jmiller@postmedia.com (mailto:jmiller@postmedia.com) TRENDING STORIES or Comments Click to view the article in a new tab 161 < Previous We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/story.html?id=7195492) for more information. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/school-board-debates-whether-to-discipline-trustee-donna-blackburn 5/6 2/28/2018 Public school board censures Donna Blackburn for `disrespectful' email she sent to fellow trustee I Ottawa Citizen 1 Comment Add a comment... Sort by Oldest John Burke the board's attempt to stifle vigorous debate and criticism should not go unnoticed. Like - Reply - 30 mins Facebook Comments IPllugin "t, A I -"s J, h 1-11,11 I )17 t , I, 1 I o I ,O C/11, I [11�"`Utlalr, � 1-1 n I "'; "'111 1 o -I o 'k�/r G"Y") �A ;.,I'%'i" 0 C V !/,�, !:�C-l�` http://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca1-news/school-board-debates-whether-to-discipline-trustee-donna-blackburn 6/6