ATHABASCA — It is not unheard of, but it is not a widespread practice to strike comments from the public record, but that is what Aspen View Public Schools trustees did at their last meeting.
At their Dec. 20 meeting, chair Candy Nikipelo suggested previous comments regarding other school divisions continuing to pay for unvaccinated staff to get COVID-19 testing be removed from the minutes as there is nothing to substantiate the claim.
“Trustee (Cindy) Lutz reviewed her concerns,” Nikipelo read from the minutes. “The last sentence of that paragraph – ‘Trustee Lutz advised of divisions that have accessed the COVID funds received to assist with the testing costs to staff.’”
She said the statement was made without evidence and expressed concern that if other school divisions were not providing the information directly to Aspen View and could not be named by Lutz, it could be inaccurate.
“And I would ask that the statement be stuck from the minutes,” she said. “I want to throw that out there and I’m looking for any further discussion.”
Supt. Neil O’Shea noted in the previous minutes trustee April Bauer also shared information but clarified there is a difference between sharing information and advising the board without substantiation.
In a Dec. 23 follow-up interview, Nikipelo explained her concerns.
“I just felt the minutes were not reflective of what should be put in the minutes and then that made me just think about the sourcing a little bit and any one of us can throw out statements, but when it's stated publicly in a document that is there forever," she said. "We just need to be careful and that's every one of us. It's a good lesson for everybody; you need to watch what you're saying for not only your own safety, but the safety of the board and the division.”
Nikipelo stressed it is nothing personal towards Lutz, it just happened to be her who made the statement.
“We’ve corrected minutes before, but I think it’s very important to go through the minutes before they’re accepted as public document; to make sure the proper portrayal of each agenda item is there,” said Nikipelo.
Lutz responded Dec. 24 saying while she agreed there may be times trustee comments do not have to be placed in the minutes if unsupported instead of being removed outright, they could be cited as “personal belief of the trustee.”
“In this particular case, I should not have given the impression school divisions that are offering testing at no cost to staff members are accessing those funds from the special grant received through the provincial government for COVID-related mitigation costs,” said Lutz.
“However, I have done my research to the best of my ability, to see what options exist for testing at no cost for employees. Certainly, as I have looked at the administrative procedures of other divisions, I see some are not expecting staff to pay for their own tests. I can only assume that if some of the COVID-19 grant money is not spent, the cost for providing rapid testing could be covered using those dollars.”
Lutz said she was surprised when Nikipelo raised the concern at the start of the meeting.
“I was not aware the chair had a concern about the statement appearing in the draft minutes, and it did surprise me that it came up without prior notice to me. Certainly, as a new trustee I am learning quickly how these matters come about,” she said. “In regard to the vaccination topic for our staff, I am working hard to understand the various perspectives on this issue. I believe it is important that Aspen View explores the various options that are available to us.”
Trustee Dennis MacNeil made the motion to approve the Nov. 26 minutes as amended removing the comments and it was carried.
