GUELPH – The Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has decided to “disassociate” itself from longtime board chair Marino Gazzola, who resigned suddenly last week.
“The Wellington Catholic District School Board of Trustees was made aware of social media posts made by board chair, Marino Gazzola,” wrote vice chair Victoria Dupuis in an open letter on the board website on July 31.
“Following a special meeting of the board July 30, the board of trustees moved to disassociate themselves from the actions of the chair.”
She went on to write “the board strongly disavows the racist and discriminatory tone of the posts, which do not reflect the values or views of the board.”
However, the location and content of the posts were not mentioned and the Advertiser was unable to locate the posts.
Gazzola did not answer a call from the Advertiser.
“By mutual agreement, the board of trustees has accepted Gazzola’s resignation from the role of chair of the [WCDSB] effective July 31,” Dupuis wrote.
“Further, it was reiterated by all board members that they must adhere to the Trustee Code of Conduct and meet the expectations of the community we serve.
“We will continue to directly address challenges that go against our efforts to build a safe, equitable, and inclusive environment for our staff, students and community.
“We are deeply sorry for the hurt such incidents cause and thank everyone who has reached out to share their concerns and feedback.”
