A former Director of Education for the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB) has been disciplined by the Ontario College of Teachers for professional and disgraceful conduct in 2019-20.
In an electronic hearing Monday September 30 the College’s Discipline Committee decided to send Sean Gary Monteith a written reprimand, suspend his Certificate of Qualifications and Registration for one month, and demand he take and pass a professional ethics course within 90 days.
Monteith, who was not present at the hearing, did not contest the statement of facts and both his lawyer and the college’s counsel jointly submitted suggestions for discipline against him which the Discipline Committee agreed with.
The committee heard that in 2019 and 2020 (about nine months) Monteith, on four occasions, improperly submitted expenses to the Board of Education for payment. Offences included using a school board credit card for personal purposes and signing documents that he knew to be false.
The expenses involved travel and hotels for himself and others.
The improper expenses totalled around $2,000 which Monteith paid back to the School Board before the Ontario College of Teachers got involved in the matter. The vast majority of expenses submitted by Monteith while in the board’s employ were legitimate.
Monteith suddenly resigned from the Director of Education’s position in March of 2021 after less than two years on the job. In a press release announcing his resignation the board praised Monteith’s accomplishments, including increasing engagement with Indigenous communities, improving school efficiency, and his handling of education during the pandemic.
Later in 2023 after the alleged improprieties were taken up with the Ontario College of Teachers, the board said, “This matter is concerning and disappointing and will remain to be taken seriously as we continue to cooperate fully with the Ontario College of Teachers.”
After his resignation, Monteith briefly worked as Vice President Academic with Loyalist College after which he took an executive director’s position with the Indigenous Advanced Education and Skills Council.
The Discipline Committee heard that Monteith had been an upstanding member of the college since 1994 and had dedicated his career to bettering the education of Indigenous students while building bridges between First Nations and the wider society.
His lawyer told the committee that it was unfortunate that so late in his career Monteith made some misguided decisions, adding the improper expenses were filed during stressful times during the COVID-19 pandemic and at a time he was dealing with several family issues.
