The contract of the woman at the helm of Edmonton Catholic Schools has been extended for one year following a close vote and contentious meeting between trustees.

However, the matter may not be closed because one board trustee alleges one of her colleagues has a conflict of interest that should have disqualified him from voting.

“As a board, we’re leaving ourselves very open to criticism, and God knows what else, by allowing our fellow trustee to vote in this matter,” said Patricia Grell in an interview after the meeting.

On Friday, the Edmonton Catholic School Board voted 4 to 3 to extend superintendent Joan Carr’s contract to Aug. 31, 2018. Carr, who has been superintendent since 2006, had requested a one-year extension of her contract to that date.

Trustee Cindy Olsen, who recommended Carr’s term be extended, pointed to her “visionary leadership” creating innovative programs that help a growing number of students with complex needs. The board should keep Carr engaged until after the October 2017 civic election for consistent leadership, Olsen said.

She urged her colleagues to “put aside petty grievances” and put the best interests of the district first.

In the 2015-16 school year, Carr was the top-earning superintendent in the province. She was paid nearly $424,000 in salary, benefits and allowances last year.

The Canadian Association of School System Administrators named her Canadian superintendent of the year in 2016.

Before voting on Carr’s future, trustees Marilyn Bergstra and John Acheson pushed for a closed-door discussion on the terms of the contract. Acheson said he hadn’t read the contract.

Bergstra said she wanted to discuss adding clauses to Carr’s contract that involved “sensitive issues” that went “well beyond financial matters.”

“You don’t go blindly into this, people,” Bergstra said. ” … If we can’t look at a contract and have a conversation about a contract prior to renewing it, I think that is a very scary day for boards.”

Trustee Debbie Engel also questioned whether trustees who had not read the contract, which was signed in April 2015, had done their due diligence.

Ultimately, the board met privately for nearly two hours to discuss the contract and whether trustee Larry Kowalczyk should recuse himself from voting. Kowalczyk’s wife is a high school principal with the school district.

The district’s lawyer, Carole Karbonic, told the board Kowalczyk did not stand to gain financially from Carr’s contract extension, and that she did not see a conflict of interest.

Board chairwoman Laura Thibert wanted all discussions done in public, but was overruled.

Olsen left the in-camera meeting for the contract discussions, saying she believed the board was breaking the rules.

Following the closed-door meeting, Acheson said it was time for the district to get a new leader to navigate it through long-term challenges such as the revamped K-12 curriculum, a fleet of aging facilities, demand for new schools and sustaining Catholic education, “which is under severe, severe stress.”

Acheson, Bergstra, and Grell voted against the contract extension.

Grell said she intends to file a complaint with Alberta’s ethics commissioner about Kowalczyk’s participation in the vote.

The commissioner’s office doesn’t have jurisdiction over school trustees, a spokesman said.

The debate about Carr’s future has caused friction since Tuesday, when the board was originally scheduled to discuss the contract extension. Trustees voted earlier this week to delay a decision until they’d had more time to review the terms of the contract.

Under pressure to make a decision in time to inform Alberta’s education minister, and potentially begin a search for a new superintendent, chairwoman Laura Thibert called a special meeting for Friday to deal with the issue.

Carr refused an interview following Friday’s meeting.

“I am humbled by all staff throughout our district as their commitment helps us achieve our goal of giving students the supports they need to succeed,” Carr said in a short written statement handed to reporters.

jfrench@postmedia.com

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