The Board of Trustees of the Waterloo Region School Board has decided to start one of a series of future meetings and sessions.
At a special meeting Monday night, they voted 6-3 to temporarily remove Ombudsman Mike Ramsay.
It comes after a complaint was filed in late February alleging that Ramsay violated the Administrators’ Code of Conduct.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
Ramsay claims he is involved in a number of his Twitter interactions.
“Either I retweeted someone doing something, or I had my own tweet,” Ramsay told CTV News. “There is absolutely no denial about what was posted. What comes down is another person’s point of view on what the tweets were about. It’s basically a matter of free speech.”
“A SECRET VEIL”
Ramsay said he wants the complaint and a 36-page report from the integrity commissioner to be made public.
“The fact that my teammates are hiding behind a veil of secrecy, which allows them to take their own turn on what the problems were, I will look for something on this side. [legal] tips, “Ramsay said.
On Monday night, after reviewing the integrity commissioner’s report on the Ramsay complaint, the trustees voted in favor of a motion stating that he had violated the code of conduct.
Ramsay has been censored and banned from all committee meetings, including the full committee, until Sept. 30.
He has also been barred from a June 27 board meeting, as well as barred from attending camera meetings and receiving materials until Sept. 30.
“I am disappointed with my colleagues in their efforts to defend diversity, inclusion and equity. But when a black person disagrees with them, they rush to put me in my place, ”Ramsay said.
BOARD STATEMENT
Waterloo District School Board and Board Chair Scott Piatkowski rejected CTV News’ interview requests.
“As public officials, school board administrators are accountable to the public, and the WRDSB Code of Conduct is our tool for ensuring public accountability,” Piatkowski said in part in an emailed statement. .
Meanwhile, a retired professor of political science at the University of Waterloo who has been critical of the board in the past and is not directly related to the situation, said the complaint should be made public.
“As citizens, we are called to make judgments about our public officials,” said Peter Wollstencroft. “How can we do that if you don’t know what they did? We know what they did, but we don’t know how they did it. And why they did it is very important.”