The majority of Catholic school trustees in Hamilton aren’t able to vote on their multimillion dollar operating budget because they have family members who work for the board.

For several years, a number of trustees have excused themselves from debating and approving the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board’s operating budget because they have a child or spouse who are teachers.

This June, five out of nine trustees declared a conflict of interest and did not vote on the $358-million dollar operating budget.

In 2018, 2017 and 2015, the number climbed as high as seven out of nine who could not vote on the matter.

HWCDSB chair Pat Daly said it’s been an issue across the province for a number of years.

“I’m not sure there’s sort of a clear-cut solution,” he said. “You have to balance accountability with ensuring enough people can run.”

The board breaks their budget into operating, which includes salaries and other compensation, and capital, which includes building renewal and new school construction.

Trustees who declare a conflict of interest on the operating budget can still vote on the capital budget, which was $23 million for 2019-20.

Trustees are subject to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, which says a member’s pecuniary interests include the pecuniary interests of their spouse, parents or children.

A presentation about the act posted to the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association website says a conflict of interest could include a trustee’s child working for the school board they represent.

Richard Leblanc, professor of law, governance and ethics at York University, said he can see how a family member’s company being a supplier to the board could be considered “pecuniary,” but he does not believe a family member receiving a salary as a teacher should fall under the same category.

“If you have the majority of the board being conflicted out then either your definition of conflicts is too rigid or your trustees have too many conflicts,” he said.

When contemplating a multimillion dollar budget, Leblanc said he considers having a family member who is a teacher to be a “small ‘C’ conflict” because the budget reflects teacher salaries en masse instead of one in particular.

“What you don’t want is conflicts to be used as a weapon, and that might be the case here,” he said. “If you have multiple trustees being conflicted out then that compromises the ability of the board to oversee.”

Daly disagrees.

While trustees who declared a conflict of interest can’t vote on the operating budget or collective bargaining matters, they are “very committed” and “active” with other reports and committees throughout the year on issues ranging from school renewal and construction, to purchasing policies, to EQAO results, he said.

“In our case I can absolutely say that the eight colleagues on my board are extremely dedicated,” he said. “The fact that they’re in conflict with regard to the budget doesn’t limit their effectiveness.”

The Education Act requires at least two school board trustees to approve the budget without conflicts of interest. If fewer than two trustees are able to vote, the school board needs to appeal to the courts for guidance.

Because of changes this year to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, a person now has to file a written form at every meeting detailing their conflict of interest. These forms are kept by the school board in a registry.

At Hamilton’s public school board, no trustees declared conflicts of interest when they approved the $568-million budget for 2019-20 in June. No public school trustees reported having conflicts of interest when voting on the budget in 2018, 2017, 2016 or 2015 either.

But the issue has previously come up in areas like Windsor and Peel Region.

In 2012, Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Angela Kennedy was cleared of conflict-of-interest charges, more than a year after she was found guilty and temporarily ousted from her position.

The charges stemmed from a May 2008 school board budget meeting where she voted against staff layoffs while having a son who worked for the board.

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Ahead of the 2014 municipal election in Waterloo Region, a public school board trustee called on candidates to disclose their known conflicts so voters would know ahead of time.

Daly said he thinks the onus should be on voters to seek this information from candidates.

Plus, the situation can change midway through a term if, for example, a spouse retires, he added.