School division turns to court in effort to keep former substitute teacher away

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This article was published 12/12/2024 (663 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A western Manitoba school division is taking court action to ban a former substitute teacher from its property, alleging she has spread rumours of “predatory behaviour” involving two staff members.

The Park West School Division is seeking an interlocutory injunction preventing Kyla Wilson from attending Hamiota Collegiate Institute, where she worked as a substitute and term teacher, and any other school division property.

“As a result of her continued and unsubstantiated allegations made against other employees of the division, she was terminated as a substitute teacher and directed not to attend to the school division or any property,” school division lawyer Kelsey Yakimoski told King’s Bench Justice Brian Bowman at a court hearing Tuesday.

“Over the course of the (past) year-and-a-half, she continued to attend and continued to make these allegations and contact parents and other teachers,” Yakimoski said.

If granted, the injunction would legally prohibit Wilson from being on school division property until such time the issue can be decided at trial. A hearing to argue the injunction won’t be held until Jan. 29.

Wilson, who attended Tuesday’s hearing without a lawyer, alleged she is the target of a “personal vendetta” by school division superintendent Stephen David.

“I am an honest, kind mother who protects children,” said Wilson, whose two teenage children attend classes at Hamiota Collegiate.

“This is an escalation of the harassment I have received from Stephen David over the course of almost a year,” Wilson said, alleging she has suffered damage to her reputation and has been unable to continue working as a teacher.

“Every time I go to the school for my children’s activities, he retaliates against me,” she said. “I have an upcoming parent/grad meeting for my daughter and my son’s band concert and I would really like to attend.”

Yakimoski said Wilson’s “unsubstantiated allegations” resulted in one of the targeted employees taking a leave of absence.

“Students have been approached, with negative statements about certain teachers, including that they are predatory and stuff like that,” Yakimoski said. “That is not something to be taken lightly, especially for teachers in this day and age. It can cause alarm bells for other parents and students.”

Speaking to the Free Press Thursday, Wilson described herself as a whistleblower, saying she raised concerns with senior administrators about alleged predatory behaviour by two school division staff members and confronted one of them herself.

“I’m not going around spreading rumours,” she said. “I’m going around asking questions, and anybody who will talk to me, I am following up on it.”

Since her termination as a substitute teacher anytime she has been on school property has been in her capacity as a parent, Wilson said.

“I have been actively parenting in the manner I always have — peaceful and kind,” she said. “I’ve picked up sick kids from school, I’ve brought them forgotten projects, I’ve contacted the school to let them know my child was going to be absent. But (David) won’t allow any teachers to talk to me. He said they have to only go though my husband.”

In September 2023, Wilson spread “unsupported disparaging comments and/or rumours” involving a division employee, which spilled from school division staff to the “community at large,” David alleged in a sworn affidavit filed Dec. 5.

David said he met with Wilson Sept. 6 to discuss her claims, after which an investigation determined there was “no merit or substance” to the allegations.

David said he received a report the following December from Hamiota Collegiate principal Bruce Coulter, who said that Wilson had come to him with concerns about a second employee “based on rumours about that individual from years prior.”

According to the affidavit, Coulter said another staff member reported months later that she saw Wilson approach two other staff members and two students in the library and repeated the rumour about the employee.

Wilson “told them to share the information with their friends and daughters.”

Coulter said Wilson confirmed the incident and told him she would do it again “if the situation presented itself,” says the affidavit.

“Mr. Coulter told her that this was problematic as they did not want professional staff spreading unsubstantiated rumours in school, specifically to students,” says the affidavit.

David said Wilson, in subsequent correspondence with him, apologized for her behaviour, but continued to repeat the same comments to staff and parents.

David said he directed Wilson last January to cease all contact with school division staff and to stay away from Hamiota Collegiate. Wilson ignored the directive, attending a basketball game on Jan. 20, and continued to contact staff, David said.

Wilson failed to attend a meeting last February to discuss her actions, after which the school division notified her by letter it was removing her from its substitute teacher list, David said.

Wilson “continued to contact and harass division staff,” David said, and visited Hamiota Collegiate at least four times in September and October.

“Given (Wilson’s) repeated refusal to adhere to the clear and express directives of (the school division)… I believe that (she) will continue to attend Hamiota Collegiate and communicate with division staff unless she is restrained by this honourable court,” David said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca