CBE Trusteeship: Pecuniary Interest

Trusteeship: Pecuniary Interest

When a trustee is elected to the board, newly or as an incumbent, they are provided with an orientation that covers their roles and responsibilities informed by the legal context in which their board operates. For example, the Calgary Board of Education, operates within the parameters of the School Act, FOIP, and their own Governance Policies. Trustees, as part of this process, are made aware of the legal resources that are available to them including legal advice, case law and legal decisions pertaining to their particular needs. A very important part of this process would include conflict of interest and pecuniary interest issues. Our board of trustees received their orientation in October, shortly after taking their oath of office and being sworn in.

In addition, the Alberta School Boards Association, which the Calgary Board of Trustees is a member, provides an array of resources for trustees including a legal issues newsletter for educators. Recent editions have addressed pecuniary issues and the court cases that resulted when trustees failed to disclose.

Specific mention is made in the School Act regarding pecuniary interest and the disclosure process:

In section 80(1), the Act defines a pecuniary interest as an “interest in a matter that could monetarily affect “ the individual or the spouse of an individual. There are other instances detailed but these two may be pertinent to the particular situation that is being addressed in our board. The Act is clear – the trustee alone declares the pecuniary interest.

In section 83(1), the Act clearly states that if a trustee has a pecuniary interest in a matter before the board, including any committees, they must disclose and follow a prescribed procedure. A trustee who is found to have contravened this section of the Act would be disqualified as a trustee of the board.

It should be noted that as part of the Governance policies of the board, Board Procedures related to pecuniary interest are also clearly stated.

However, if sufficient notice and information regarding the pecuniary interest is provided to the Chair of the Board prior to the meeting, there may be ways to deal with the situation in order to provide the trustee with the maximum opportunity to participate. The Chair cannot take action in advance prior of the trustee declaring a pecuniary interest. For example, if the budget is made up of many subsections and only one or two are related to the pecuniary interest, those parts could be dealt with separately. These solutions appear in related case law. Another example might be if several trustees were not able to make a board meeting and an important vote was on the agenda, given adequate notice to the chair, the situation could be dealt with by approaching the Minister and giving the board the authority to make the decision even if quorum was not met.

Trustees have numerous options to understand the legal component of their role, make personal decisions and advise the board so it can respond. As stated at the Wednesday, April 27th CBE Parent System Meeting, no one told a trustee that she could not vote on the budget because she had a child in the school system (Q & A should be posted shortly from this meeting). CAPSC is aware of many trustees, past and present, who are parents and actively engage in the discussions and decisions of their boards around budgets.

Other relevant links:
Board of Trustees' Policy - Executive Limitations EL-3: Information, Counsel and Support to the Board of Trustees