A Bluewater District School Board trustee could be facing disciplinary action after allegedly attending a Zoom meeting from his bathtub, and wearing a “straight pride” t-shirt at another meeting.
Board chair Jane Thomson and Director of Education Lori Wilder commented on the alleged incidents involving Brockton and South Bruce Trustee Derrick Long during The Open Line on 560 CFOS with Dave Carr on Monday.
“I certainly didn’t see the bathtub issue, but there were people that as the meeting was concluding, the camera came on and some people said that’s what they saw,” says Thomson.
Wilder says she only saw the tip of Long’s shoulders and above, but got the impression he was in the tub.
Bluewater School Board Communications Officer Jamie Pettit confirms the bathtub incident happened during a board meeting on April 2, while Long appeared in the “straight pride” shirt during a meeting on April 16.
Towards the end of the April 16 meeting, Long appears to sit back in his chair to provide a clear view of the shirt which reads, “Thank A Straight Person For Your Existence. Straight Pride.”
Bayshore Broadcasting News made multiple attempts to contact Long for comment, but the requests weren’t returned by publication time.
Pettit couldn’t confirm if any code of conduct investigations were ongoing into the two incidents, but says if there are they would be made public eventually.
“But it could be a lengthy process,” Pettit says.
Thomson adds: “trustees are elected officials and we are obligated to follow the ministry under the regulations through the Education Act, and part of that is a code of conduct. Part of our code of conduct, it’s a process that trustees use to police themselves and that’s the process that we follow, it’s a confidential process.”
