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Creston school trustee Allan Gribbin censured for second time

Gribbin was censured for making false and derogatory comments
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School District 8 Trustee Allan Gribbin (Black Press file)

For the second time in a year, School District 8’s board of trustees has voted to formally censure Creston trustee Allan Gribbin on Aug. 25, after he allegedly made “false, misleading and derogatory statements about the board and its staff.”

“The board is compelled, as part of this censure, to correct the record given misrepresentations made by trustee Gribbin, specifically around decision-making relating to the return of students to in-school learning, as well as any confusion around the meaning of the term censure vs. censor,” the board said in a press release.

In June 2019, the board said that Gribbin was censured for disrespectful comments and disruptive conduct during a May 2019 public board meeting, and for misleading statements made in an op-ed published by the Creston Valley Advance.

READ MORE: Censure of School Trustee Al Gribbin

“The board of trustees are once again considering censuring me as they apparently have a problem with me communicating my position on board issues through the press and don’t seem to like the fact that I continue to challenge them on my past censure,” Gribbin wrote in an Aug. 20 letter to the Advance.

“The reality is that I will continue to express my views whether or not they issue another censure, since that is what you expect of me.”

READ MORE: Gribbin: A Note from your Trustee

The board said that all trustees are welcome to express their personal perspectives, so long as it is done so in a respectful, civil and professional manner that is consistent with their code of conduct.

“A board censure is not ‘censorship’. It is a statement of disapproval in response to breaches of the board’s code of conduct,” they wrote. “The board has a responsibility to ensure that the code of conduct is upheld in order to maintain the integrity and dignity of the board.”

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: aaron.hemens@crestonvalleyadvance.ca


@aaron_hemens
aaron.hemens@crestonvalleyadvance.ca

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