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Education minister, MPP meet about banned Rainbow board trustee Larry Killens

Killens' fellow trustees have banned him from all school board meetings for the rest of his term

In the wake of the Rainbow District School Board's banning of trustee Larry Killens, Algoma-Manitoulin NDP MPP Mike Mantha has met with Education Minister Lisa Thompson about the situation.

The board accuses Killens, who is from Manitoulin Island, of actions including sharing confidential information and making “false and disparaging” comments about fellow trustees and Rainbow board staff.  

On July 3, he was banned by his fellow trustees from all Rainbow board meetings until Nov. 30, which represents the rest of his term.

For his part, Killens denies the accusations, saying they're “unproven, untrue and hold no substance.”

Mantha said Thompson showed some initial concern about Killens' situation. 

“However, she did go back with her ministry individuals, and at this point in time, she responded to me by saying that this is a board matter, and it needs to be dealt with at the board level, and that she could not be getting involved at this point in time,” Mantha said.

The Algoma-Manitoulin MPP himself said he doesn't want to question the board's actions, although he does find it “a little bit concerning that a democratically-elected trustee is no longer sitting at the table with this board.”

Mantha said he also reached out to Rainbow board chair Doreen Dewar to raise his concerns about parents who feel that without Killens' presence at the board table, their complaints aren't being addressed.

Dewar “explained to me that she is more than available to take any of the calls and concerns from parents, and has the ability to deal with them at the board level,” he said.

Mantha said his office has been acting as a resource to Killens, who is trying to figure out whether the Rainbow board's actions against him are allowed.

“At this point in time, we're still doing some research, and finding out some precedents as to where this was done,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Rainbow District School Board passed a pair of motions at a special meeting on July 19 confirming Killens' banning for the rest of his term.

In accordance with the board's code of conduct, trustees are allowed 14 days to make a written submission to the board in respect to a sanction. 

When a trustee makes a written submission, under their code of conduct the board must then consider it and either confirm or revoke the determination or sanction. On July 19, the board confirmed both of the motions that were made on July 3.

The Manitoulin Island community, meanwhile, isn't taking Killens' banning sitting down.

There's a town hall meeting about Killens' situation starting at 7 p.m. July 25 at the Mindemoya Community Hall.

Manitoulin Island resident Jason Chandler attended Thursday's school board meeting, and asked the trustees there whether or not they would be attending the town hall meeting.

All of the trustees declined Chandler's invitation, and board chair Doreen Dewar provided no response when Chandler directed the question at her. 

Chandler says he will be presenting a case study on his experiences with the board since last November.

"I'm holding an open meeting for the community because we feel that we have no voice at the table to represent the people of Manitoulin," said Chandler. "We keep getting conflicting opinions from the board. Chair Dewar has said that all trustees represent all constituents, but when I ask any of them a question they tell me it should be directed to Larry (Killens)."

Killens himself will be attending the meeting. Mantha told Sudbury.com he wishes he could attend, but can't, as the legislature will be in session that day.

-With files from Heidi Ulrichsen and Matt Durnan


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