People know me for my advocacy work relating to safe schools and anti-bullying initiatives. A great many of those people are like-minded, and some feel I should just keep my mouth shut because I don't have initials behind my name. I have spent countless hours, and my own resources, over the past 11 years searching for something within our educational institution that is quite simple. It's called accountability.
"In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences."
Each and everyone of us is held to account after having done something questionable, except of you are in the employ of a school board. The lack of accountability and/or transparency is the direct reason so many of our children have been negatively impaired for life.
School board Trustee Nancy Elgie, a trustee who made herself absent for my family 11 years ago, still holds the office of Trustee. Even more discouraging is what Trustee Carruthers stated: "....there is no provision to remove a trustee from her position under Ontario law."
I have always maintained and continue to maintain that bullying continues because adults allow it. We send our children to school to learn....not to get abused, and all we are teaching them now is that Trustee Elgie's behaviour is acceptable, and without accountability.
Karen Sebben, M.O.M.
