By Dan Walton
Snitches don’t get stitches at School District 53.
While teachers who blow a whistle on wrongdoing never had to worry about retaliation within the local district, the school board is putting those assurances in writing.
“If an employee files a report or raises a concern under (the whistleblower) policy, the district will not retaliate against him or her in any manner, including dismissal or demotion, because of reporting,” reads the new regulation.
Asked if junior teachers might feel intimidated about blowing a whistle on a colleague with tenure, secretary treasurer Lynda Minnabarriet said she doesn’t believe so.
“If somebody is concerned, they should feel comfortable approaching another teacher or supervisor,” she said.
There have been no issues involving tattletale-retaliation at SD53 in the past, she said, and disciplining a whistleblower isn’t something the board would have done. Nonetheless, it was important to have their values clearly articulated in their official policy.
The suggestion to draft the policy came from the auditor general’s office, which recommended a whistleblower policy as a “best practice” for all government organizations.
However, whistleblowers lose their immunity if the information isn’t reported in good faith.
At the end of each school year, any actions taken under the policy will be presented to the board in a closed meeting.
