School board will co-operate with any Thomas inquiry

Civil litigation is pending in the Gordon Thomas sex case, Algoma District School Board Director of Education Ray DeRosario confirmed today.

DeRosario cited the pending lawsuit as one reason he was unable to answer reporters' questions about the board's failure to stop Thomas's long string of sex offences at William Merrifield, Parkland, G.M. Johnston, Manitou Park, Francis H. Clergue, River View and James Lyons schools.

The suit involves a number of former students of those schools. Background.

At one point during the police investigation of Thomas, DeRosario said, the board asked whether any current board employees were being investigated.

Assured that no current employees were involved, the board did not take additional action, he said.

"We have to be ever vigilant," DeRosario said, pointing out that no one measure or initiative can ensure the safety of students with 100 percent certainty.

Commenting on the Sault Star's current crusade for a public inquiry into both the Thomas and Deluca cases, DeRosario said that it's not within the board's mandate to conduct inquiries, but "if there was a public inquiry, the board would co-operate fully, as we have to this point."

Orazietti speaks for OSSTF

Also attending today's news conference were David Orazietti of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation(OSSTF), Gayle Manley of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario and Mona Kingshott of Local 16 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the board's caretaking, maintenance and technical employees.

To read the OSSTF statement, please click here.

On behalf of the board, DeRosario delivered a formal statement about the Thomas case.

The full text follows:

***************************************************************** Public statement from Algoma District School Board

The Algoma District School Board feels it is important to make a public statement at this time relating to the issues which have been the subject of a recent trial in the news over the past few weeks.

First, the Board wishes to express its regret and remorse for the suffering endured by the students in the 1964 to 1985 time period.

The Board also regrets the impact their ordeals had and continue to have on the students and their families.

The Board views this as a very serious concern and feels it is important that we explain to our students, parents, and communities what we are doing to protect every student in our care.

The government and school boards have responded directly to the acknowledged need to ensure the protection of our children in schools in response to incidents that have occurred across the province in our schools, our churches, our families and our communities at large.

Justice Robins Inquiry

Justice Robins conducted a review in 1999-2000 to identify and prevent sexual misconduct in Ontario schools in direct response to incidents that had occurred.

His report of April 2000 presented 101 recommendations; many of which have been enacted by the province and school boards.

Ontario College of Teachers

The Ontario College of Teachers was created in 1996 as a self-regulating body for the teaching profession.

The College has the power to investigate and discipline teachers in Ontario.

It has been very active in pursuing allegations of teacher misconduct

Safe Schools Act

In June 2000, the province proclaimed the Safe Schools Act aimed at promoting the safety of all people in Ontario schools.

Schools and school boards were required to develop and review codes of conduct in cooperation with school councils.

As a result schools and school councils focus on safety when they review their codes annually.

Child and Family Services Act

Very clear requirements for all adults with respect to the duty to report any concern or evidence of child abuse are contained in the Child and Family Services Act.

Our Board has protocols in place with the Algoma and Sudbury/Manitoulin Children's Aid Societies for reporting and investigating all incidents and concerns.

We are in regular contact with these agencies to review protocols and procedures in place for the protection of children.

Criminal Background Checks

Regulation 521, enacted in December, 2001, requires all school boards to conduct criminal background checks on all existing employees and service providers.

Annual offense declarations from all employees are also a requirement of this regulation.

We have been requiring criminal background checks as a condition of employment for all new hires for several years in our Board.

Student Protection Act

The Student Protection Act, in force since September, 2002, places strict requirements on school boards.

Boards must report promptly to the Ontario College of Teachers whenever a teacher is charged or convicted of a criminal code offence involving sexual misconduct or any other offence which in the Board's opinion, indicates students may be at risk of injury.

We have a reporting protocol in place. All employees are aware of their duty to report knowledge of any incident.

Quality in the Classroom Act, 2001

This Act imposes a very specific teacher performance appraisal requirement upon school boards.

The appraisal process involves significant monitoring and interaction between teachers and principals as well as requirements for parental contact and input.

The many policies and procedures in place relating to -student safety are reviewed regularly.

Principals and staff are reminded of requirements and responsibilities on a regular basis.

Documentation, workshops, and advisories are provided to support staff in meeting responsibilities.

Many initiatives and expectations are in place in the school curriculum to raise student awareness of safety and of appropriate behaviours for themselves and for adults.

Examples include Care for Kids, Values Influences and Peers, Risk Watch, Healthy Lifestyles, DARE, and Kids Against Violence.

While we feel our schools are safer today than ever, we can never let our guard down or become complacent.

We must remain aware and alert to potential dangers.

We must act immediately on our concerns.

We have cooperated fully with Police Services from the onset of this particular case, providing whatever information and assistance was available.

We remain committed to working with the authorities and our communities to make our schools as safe as possible for our students.

Ray C. DeRosario Director of Education Algoma District School Board

Wanda McQueen Chair Algoma District School Board

(Editor's Note: The photograph of Ray DeRosario at the top of this page was taken this morning by Hilary Connell, a co-op education student from Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational Institute currently on placement at SooToday.com.)