The former Pembina Hills Public Schools superintendent at the centre of an investigation stemming from allegations of bullying and harassment says she will pursue legal action for defamation.
PHPS terminated Colleen Symyrozum-Watt’s contract July 31 on the heels of a legal investigation that alleges breaches related to per diems and expenses, harassment, misrepresented information and dishonest responses from the suspended superintendent during the investigation.
“After working for Pembina Hills for 30 years, I certainly did not want to have to undertake legal action but the board’s ongoing defamatory actions leave me no choice,” Symyrozum-Watt wrote in an Aug. 4 e-mail.
“I intend to pursue my legal rights with the same passion I brought to my job as superintendent.”
Trustees terminated her employment the day her five-year contract with the school division expired. Board chair Jennifer Tuininga said she was not aware of Symyrozum-Watt’s declaration but clarified she had been terminated for just cause.
“The board worked really hard to make sure the process was thorough and fair and impartial, and part of that was to make sure that the investigation was done at arm’s length from the board and staff of Pembina Hills,” Tuininga said.
“These allegations were made under the Pembina Hills whistleblower procedure and I think it’s really important to realize that when something comes forward under the Whistleblower (Protection Act), the board is legally required to follow up on that complaint,” she added, explaining why the division struck a subcommittee and hired legal counsel and an investigator.
Tuininga received reports of harassment and bullying on Jan. 27.
The board held a special meeting at the offices of the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) in Edmonton on Feb. 1 where they appointed an ad-hoc subcommittee consisting of Tuininga and trustee Annette Bokenfohr to investigate the claims.
Meyers Norris Penney (MNP) LLP was brought on through ASBA to investigate the allegations, review evidence and interview staff, including Symyrozum-Watt.
“(She) was included in the process in all steps,” Tuininga noted. “She was provided with information about the allegations, all of the allegations, and then given the opportunity to respond to them, which she did.”
The results of that report were brought to the board July 27 and the final legal opinion was received the next day.
Symyrozum-Watt hired her own legal counsel during this process.
Trustees said in an Aug. 2 statement that an independent investigator and legal counsel found Symyrozum-Watt to have “on repeated occasions over a lengthy period of time” breached various contractual, board policy and administrative procedure requirements related to per diems, expenses, vacation days and nepotism.
In addition, the investigation said she had counselled employees to misrepresent information to trustees, engaged in harassing behaviours and was dishonest in responding to questions during the formal investigation.
Tuininga said the allegations occurred during Symyrozum-Watt’s term as superintendent, but noted that the investigation uncovered some allegations that were unfounded, while other allegations had evidence.
She wouldn’t provide specific instances that related to the allegations but in the case of nepotism, she said there were situations when the school division’s human resources staff, rather than the board, would approve hiring of an individual.
However, she reiterated that the investigation was conducted at arm’s length from the board.
Symyrozum-Watt was on paid leave since the investigation was launched but will not receive a severance or retirement allowance following the outcome.
According to Pembina Hills’ 2015-2016 audited financial statements, she was paid $206,988 that year and received $36,522 in benefits.
The report and legal opinion will not be released as they contain personal information provided by employees. Whether Pembina Hills takes the case before the courts, Tuininga said trustees would consult with legal counsel before making a decision.
In response to the board’s “ongoing defamatory actions,” Symyrozum-Watt said she would a launch legal challenge.
“I strongly deny that the board had cause to dismiss me, and feel even more strongly about that after participating, in good faith, in the investigation,” she said Aug. 4
“The board set out to find cause to support their intention to dismiss and their decision was made at the end of an unduly long, unnecessary and painful process that has disrupted the lives and reputations of several people.”
To say she was disappointed by the board’s decision would be an “understatement,” she noted.
She added that she remains proud of the work she did at the school division with staff, parents and teachers in the best interest of students, and would move forward in life “knowing my personal and professional values remain intact and have sustained me throughout this difficult experience” with support from former colleagues that disagreed with the board.
“I am concerned for their well-being given the environment that has resulted from this process, and am concerned about unnecessary damage to various PHRD (Pembina Hills Regional Division) employees and the PHRD culture generally that will be affected for years to come,” she said.
Symyrozum-Watt’s termination is the third in a line of Pembina Hills superintendents in the last decade.
Prior to her taking the position in 2012, Egbert Stang was terminated without cause on Dec. 5, 2011 — 11 months into the role — that netted him an $119,250 severance payment. The reasons for his dismissal have never been made known.
Stang himself assumed the position from Richard Harvey, who left at the end of 2010 after four years working for the division. The circumstances of Harvey’s departure became clear when he pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 in a Newfoundland courtroom on Jan. 22, 2015.
Harvey had claimed more than $29,000 in fraudulent expenses, which were noticed by a division employee and were the subject of an internal audit and subsequent RCMP investigation.
“Those three instances are all unrelated except for the fact that in each circumstance when the board of the day realized there were some problems, they took action,” Tuininga said.
“As elected representatives of the community, each board member — both those past and those in the present — have taken their responsibilities seriously and made difficult decisions when needed.”
David Garbutt, who acted as interim superintendent over the course of the investigation, officially took over at the end of June.
