Catholic trustees named in conflict of interest action distance themselves from ousted Carroll
January 28, 2010
Kristin Rushowy
EDUCATION REPORTER
The conflict-of-interest situation that ousted Oliver Carroll from the Toronto Catholic board bears no similarities to the current case facing two other trustees, the pair said in a joint statement released Wednesday.
Chair Angela Kennedy and Trustee Barbara Poplawski released a written statement defending themselves against the court action, which was to be heard on Feb. 1 but has now been put off to May 12.
Parent Arnaldo Amaral, who launched the conflict-of-interest case last November, has not spoken publicly. In court documents, however, he accuses Kennedy and Poplawski of debating and voting on budget motions at a May 2008 meeting that could have led to staff layoffs and put the board in a deficit position. At the time, one of Kennedy’s sons worked as a high school teacher on a long-term contract, and Poplawski’s daughter was an education assistant.
His court application also says Poplawski stood on the sidelines during another vote on layoffs, making a “thumbs down” gesture to colleagues in an attempt to influence their vote.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Both Kennedy and Poplawski—veteran trustees who together have served a total of 38 years on the Toronto Catholic board—have said they did not act inappropriately or contravene the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, and that they will pay their own court costs.
Last year, a court removed former chair and trustee Oliver Carroll from the board for 10 contraventions of the act, including his participation in discussions on budgetary matters at that same May 2008 meeting, even though his daughter was a newly hired teacher. He was also ordered to pay almost $50,000 in court costs.
The statement released by Kennedy and Poplawski said in the ruling against Carroll, “no adverse comment was made in respect of our actions at the same meeting... We consider our participation in this meeting to be significantly different than the issues faced by Mr. Carroll.
“While we both had adult children employed by the board, our view was that the motion to continue negotiations with the ministry (of education) on the overall budget, in which we participated, had no impact on their respective positions. In particular, their interests were so remote or insignificant that they could not be regarded as influencing our decisions on balancing the board’s $900 million budget.”
It also notes that Poplawski’s daughter has been an educational assistant for more than 12 years, and that more than “800 of the 1,200 assistants employed by the board would need to have been terminated before any proposed cuts affected her.”
The statement also says one of Kennedy’s sons was an occasional teacher, and was to continue in that role, so layoffs would not have affected him. He has since left the board for a full-time job, it notes. Another son was being considered for an occasional position, but instead left to teach overseas.
The Toronto Catholic board has been embroiled in scandal for the past two years, after trustees came under fire for inappropriate spending, voting themselves unauthorized benefits, as well as hostile behaviour at meetings. Trustees also failed to balance the board’s budget last year, which led the province to send in a provincial supervisor to take control.
Kennedy was first elected in 2000 and elected – and re-elected – chair last year, although the position comes with little power given the board is under provincial control. She represents a ward that includes the Beaches neighbourhood and East York all the way north to Highway 401.
Poplawski is a 30-year veteran who represents an area including High Park/Bloor West Village.