Sloat vs. Grand Erie: Why does this school board and trustee keep fighting in court?

Celeste Percy-Beauregard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator

Carol Ann Sloat served as a trustee at Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB) for 20 years with no complaints.

But in 2022, something changed.

According to the board, she has violated the trustee code of conduct in at least 16 ways. As a result, she was banned from board and committee meetings for more than a year.

The veteran trustee battled back in Divisional Court, where judges ruled in Sloat’s favour — but she still isn’t allowed to fully resume her role. The board won’t explain why, other than to cite “highly confidential issues involving personnel matters.”

As Minister of Education Paul Calandra looks to change the governance structure of school boards, the GEDSB situation is “yet another example” supporting an overhaul and a review of the role of elected trustees, Calandra’s press secretary Emma Testani told The Spectator.

“Legal infighting diverts funds from classrooms and harms students,” Testani said.

Here’s what we know about the ongoing showdown:

Why are Sloat and GEDSB feuding?

The fray started with “a benign complaint to the (provincial) Ombudsman” questioning if a closed board meeting about new governance bylaws and policies should have been public, Justice Nancy Backhouse wrote in her Sloat versus GEDSB decision.

From there, it “cascaded into a morass of further complaints and sanctions” against Sloat, “all for relatively minor infractions if, indeed, they were infractions,” Backhouse wrote.

The players

The Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB) oversees 72 schools in the City of Brantford and counties of Brant, Haldimand, and Norfolk. Twelve elected trustees and three student trustees represent approximately 27,000 students including from Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

Carol Ann Sloat has been a trustee for Brantford students since she was first elected in 2003. She served four terms as chair and represented the board for many years at the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.

Board chair Susan Gibson has been a representative for Brantford students since first elected to the board in 2018. She has been the board’s chair since 2022.

Gibson and trustees Brian Doyle, Tom Waldschmidt, John Bradford and Elaine Thomas brought forward complaints against Sloat.

Carol Ann Sloat, pictured with students in an undated GEDSB photo, has served Brantford as a trustee since 2003.

The allegations

The board alleges Sloat ran afoul of the rules in a number of ways:

Shared privileged board information by submitting her complaint to the Ombudsman
Told a principal that trustees are no longer welcome in schools unless expressly invited
Answered a parent’s email about how to escalate concerns to the board. Her response was shared in a closed Facebook group thought to host racist comments
Took a photo — later deleted — of an assistant who told her to wait at a high-top table in the hallway after being asked to leave a closed-door portion of a meeting. Sloat went to the kitchen instead because she couldn’t sit at the high-top following knee surgery
Exposed a staff member to confidential materials when her lawyer served papers to the board marked for director of education JoAnna Roberto
Attended meetings as a member of the public during her ban
Sighed loudly from the audience of one meeting
Was suggested to be eavesdropping on a closed session when she was sitting in the designated waiting area playing “Candy Crush”
Shared confidential information when she told a friend that she was sanctioned and that she had filed a judicial review application over the decision
When asked to leave materials from a closed-door meeting, Sloat took them anyway, yelling “call the police”
Made “more than 10” board employees feel “bullied” and “attacked,” necessitating “safety plans” for employee’s protection

Backhouse overturned decisions of the board related to the first eight allegations, saying Sloat was being “unfairly dealt with and unfairly targeted.”

Justice Thomas Heeney also sided with Sloat on the next two allegations, saying Backhouse’s comment “accurately describes the actions of the board in the matters now before this court.”

The final bullying accusation has not been considered in court. When previously asked, the board did not give any examples of safety plans.

Sloat estimates the board could have spent at least $1 million in taxpayer funds fighting her in court.

What are the next steps?

When the board next meets on Sept. 22, it’s unclear how or if Sloat will be able to participate.

While she was allowed back at the table as of Sept. 23, 2024, Sloat has not been permitted to ask questions as of October 2024 because of “highly confidential issues involving personnel matters,” a board spokesperson previously told The Spectator.

Both Sloat and the board say this isn’t over. She has asked the Divisional Court to review another of the board’s decisions.

The board’s Aug. 25 statement said it is “optimistic” Sloat will drop “further litigation” against the board, “allowing all parties to focus on the work of serving students, staff and families.”

Sloat told The Spectator she is “more than willing to sit down and discuss or have our lawyers discuss.”

After the court’s August decision in her favour, Sloat told The Spectator she is “glad for the win,” but “sorry that I had to go this far (as) the only option to fight for my name.”

How much is this fight costing the GEDSB?

The board has been ordered to pay $35,000 to Sloat to help cover costs, but it’s unclear how much these tensions have cost the board overall.

As of the end of August, Sloat had spent close to $122,000 on her own legal fees, she told The Spectator.

With multiple lawyers across several law firms, she suggested the board could have spent $1 million in taxpayer funds fighting her so far.

The Spectator is seeking legal fee totals related to the court case through a freedom of information request, which has so far been denied.

Key moments

May 29, 2023 — Sloat barred from meetings and sitting on committees until the end of September 2023.
Nov. 6, 2023 — Ban extended to board meetings until end of November 2023, committees to end of March 2024 — including attending virtually as a member of the public. Further extensions followed.
Feb. 15, 2024 — On her Facebook page, Sloat opened up about what she is going through with the board, asking taxpayers how to proceed.
Feb. 16, 2024 — The board issues a statement arguing Sloat “repeatedly violated” rules in the code of conduct, resulting in sanctions “authorized under the Education Act.”
Feb. 26, 2024 — Ban extended for board meetings to end of May 2024, committee meetings to end of May 2025.
June 18, 2024 — Superior Court Justice Michael Gibson suspended Sloat’s sanctions until her judicial review in October. He expressed concerns regarding the board’s process, “the reasonableness of its decisions, its jurisdiction, and the proportionality of sanctions imposed.” Sloat was awarded $5,000 in court costs.
June 24, 2024 — At her first board meeting back, Sloat was banned from future meetings until January 2025 and committee meetings until 2026. The board read a statement about the “Call the Police” issue.
Sept. 23, 2024 — Sloat was allowed back at the boardroom table because “certain sanctions” were deferred through an “agreement of the parties,” according to a school board spokesperson.
Nov. 15, 2024 — Justice Nancy Backhouse wrote Sloat was “unfairly dealt with and unfairly targeted,” in her verdict quashing four of the board’s decisions. The board was ordered to pay Sloat $10,000.
Dec. 5, 2024 — The board released a statement accusing Sloat of creating an unsafe workplace due to her allegedly “toxic behaviour” toward board employees, and announced it would appeal the divisional court ruling.
Apr. 3, 2025 — The board was ordered to pay Sloat $5,000 in costs when its appeal was denied.
May 5, 2025 — At a board meeting, the chair said trustees have “considered the additional guidance from the court” and decided to abandon the additional sanctions against Sloat.
Aug. 8, 2025 — Justice Thomas Heeney ultimately ruled the GEDSB had no grounds for its latest misconduct findings against Sloat, calling them moot, procedurally unfair and unreasonable. The board was ordered to pay Sloat $10,000.
Aug. 25, 2025 — The board released the “Call the Police” report, which had been kept from Sloat, the trustees and the court. In a second statement, the board said it “does not agree with all aspects” of the latest decision, particularly with respect to the police complaint.

Celeste Percy-Beauregard’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories about Brant County. Reach her at cpercybeauregard@torstar.ca.

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