Trustees criticized for missing school board meetings
Manitoba's education minister is being urged to look into spotty attendance records among school trustees in southeast Winnipeg.
Two elected officials in the Louis Riel School Division — both of whom represent residents of Ward 4 — have missed a third or more of all public board meetings in 2024-2025.
A parent who lives in the constituency penned a letter to provincial officials on Tuesday to express concerns about 'alarmingly high' absenteeism and call for stronger accountability measures.
Free Press Files
Manitoba Education Minister Tracy Schmidt.
'School staff and administrators are held to strict attendance expectations,' wrote Sia Erlendson, a mother who is raising two children in the ward encompassing Southdale, Island Lakes and surrounding communities.
'Unfortunately, a governance loophole allows trustees to avoid consequences as long as they do not exceed the consecutive absences threshold, enabling some to accumulate high absentee rates while still receiving their indemnities or remunerations.'
Meeting minutes show Pamela Kolochuk and Chipalo Simunyola, her two representatives on the nine-seat board, have sent regrets for seven and six meetings, respectively.
Ward 1 trustee Cindy Turner and Ward 2 trustee Irene Nordheim have each missed four meetings.
Ryan Palmquist, a representative for Ward 3, was absent once.
The remaining active board members, Ian Walker, Chris Sigurdson and Sandy Nemeth, have perfect attendance records.
There has only been full attendance at three meetings, or 17 per cent of them, since the school year got underway.
'Trustees unwilling or unable to meet their obligations should reconsider their position, step aside, or face termination by the board so that a more dedicated representative can take their place,' Erlendson wrote in her letter to Education Minister Tracy Schmidt and cabinet colleagues.
The Public Schools Act requires a board declare a seat vacant only if an elected official is absent from four consecutive regular meetings or for a period of three months without authorization.
Erlendson requested the minister's office intervene to ensure trustees are meeting their obligations to constituents and actively engaging in decision-making, be it by introducing legislation to adjust compensation based on attendance or otherwise.
LRSD trustees earned a combined $246,883 during the 2023 calendar year.
Winnipeg-area school board members are paid about $25,000 annually. Chairpeople and vice-chairpeople receive additional stipends.
Schmidt indicated that representatives from her office reached out to division administration Tuesday to followup on attendance concerns.
'We trust school boards and board chairs to govern their boards accordingly, to develop policies and bylaws that would govern these types of concerns,' said the lawyer who practised labour and employment law before entering politics in 2023.
The minister added: 'I would caution folks — and I'm putting on my lawyer and employment lawyer hat — that we don't always know why people are absent from their workplace.'
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Simunyola, a rookie trustee and father of four, said public attendance data only sheds partial light on member activities, given the board has many in-camera meetings.
The Ward 4 representative has missed recent meetings to care for sick children and do business travel related to his other job, he said.
While saying he's proud of his track record as a trustee, Simunyola said he will do some self-reflection. 'You always have to find balance,' he said.
Kolochuk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter
Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.
Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.
Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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