A Hamilton public school board trustee says she’s banned from participating in private board and committee meetings after refusing to delete a November social media post about being under investigation for other social media posts in support of Palestinians.
Sabreina Dahab, Ward 2 trustee for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB), posted to X on Monday morning with the update, saying she is appealing her ban.
“While I wish I could share more at this moment, attempts at transparency will be met with a code of conduct complaint resulting in another investigation,” she wrote.
CBC Hamilton contacted the school board to confirm she is currently banned and inquire about the appeal process.
Dahab posted to X on Nov. 14, 2023, saying trustees launched an external investigation at the end of October into her social media posts.
“I am concerned that this investigation is an attempt to silence me for my vocal condemnation of Israeli apartheid and reprimand me for my posts about protests that were calling for the end to the siege of Gaza,” she wrote at the time.
That November post spurred its own code of conduct investigation.
At the end of October, the <a href=”https://twitter.com/HWDSB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@HWDSB</a> board of Trustees launched an external investigation into my social media activity as it relates to my posts on Palestine, alleging that my advocacy is a breach of the Trustee Code of Conduct. <br><br>Please see my statement. <a href=”https://t.co/CJ6APaLtJ9″>pic.twitter.com/CJ6APaLtJ9</a>
—@sabreina_dahab
In late March, trustees found Dahab breached the code of conduct’s rules on confidentiality and voted in support of an ultimatum that would force her to delete the social media post if she wanted to continue attending private meetings.
Vice chair Paul Tut previously said in an interview the board wasn’t trying to silence Dahab, but understands how people may come to that conclusion without having all the information.
“We want trustees to be able to speak their minds and share their views, but with that also comes upholding and respecting the processes and procedures and rules of the board, in particular, as it relates to confidential and sensitive information,” he said. It’s unclear what part of her post may have breached confidentiality according to other trustees.
Trustee Todd White was the only one who voted against giving Dahab the ultimatum. Trustee Graeme Noble was absent.
White told CBC Hamilton the code of conduct process is “broken.”
“It pits trustees against each other and more often than not serves as a popularity contest with a punitive intent rather than an authentic dispute resolution process,” he wrote in an email.
“I’m not interested in playing this game. Boards of trustees and their leaders should be able to mitigate disputes long before the Code of Conduct process is even a consideration.”
Dahab previously told CBC Hamilton she was “committed to standing up for what I believe is right” but was also “concerned” about how the ultimatum limits her ability to advocate for her constituents.
“Any decision I make moving forward will be in the best interest of people I’m advocating for.”
Dahab was elected to the school board in 2022 not long after being a student at the board and was a member of HWDSB Kids Need Help, a group now named Hamilton Students for Justice which advocates for students and families facing discrimination and injustice.
