WATERLOO REGION — Veteran public school trustee Mike Ramsay could be censured by his peers Monday for comments he made on talk radio.

It's just the latest turmoil at an underachieving school board that seems equally dedicated to pulling itself apart and pushing itself forward.

Chair Kathleen Woodcock has accused Ramsay of violating the trustee code of conduct. Ramsay could be censured and barred from meetings or committees, if found guilty.

He's the second trustee recently accused. In May the Waterloo Region District School Board cleared trustee Ted Martin of violating the code of conduct after trustee Andrea Mitchell accused him of verbally harassing her. He denied her allegation.

One code-of-conduct complaint follows the other.

Ramsay told 570 News in May that the process to investigate Mitchell's accusation against Martin was "corrupted." He said the board lacks political leadership and that senior administrators have been "drummed out of the board."

Woodcock argues that his comments disparage trustees, staff, and the board. "Trustee Ramsay's remarks during the interview contravened one of the primary responsibilities of a trustee, that being promoting confidence in public education," she said in filing her complaint.

The trustee code of conduct compels trustees to "inspire public confidence in the abilities and integrity of the board."

Ramsay counters that Woodcock is retaliating after he complained to the Ontario ombudsman about her handling of the first code-of-conduct complaint.

In responding to Woodcock's complaint, he said she does not respect his views if they are inconsistent with hers, he's being punished for speaking his mind on matters of public concern, and her accusation is "frivolous, vexatious and unfounded."

Other trustees will judge Ramsay now that a three-person committee has interviewed both trustees and produced a 17-page fact-finding report.

Trustee turmoil is erupting on the same night that trustees hear key details about the new education plan they are touting to lift the board past its weak graduation rate and poor elementary test scores that rank in Ontario's bottom third.

This dynamic is not unusual. Trustees unanimously endorsed the new education plan last June and then fell right back into turmoil at the same meeting. It ended abruptly when two trustees walked out, upset by a discussion about board dysfunction.

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In June the board released a survey in which trustees agreed they work poorly together, and their conflicts impair their capacity to govern.