Toronto principal bullied over false charge of racism dies from suicide
Inquiry needed into the death of Richard Bilkszto
If there was anything Richard Bilkszto was born to do, it was to be a principal.
Bilkszto’s career as an educator spanned 24 years, in which time he was an advocate for anti-discrimination and public education. Last Thursday, he took his own life. He was 60 years old.
His stellar career took on a sour note after he was bullied in a diversity, equity and inclusion training session for Toronto District School Board (TDSB) administrators in 2021, according to a lawsuit Bilkszto filed in court. His sin, in the eyes of facilitators at the KOJO Institute, was his questioning of their claim that Canada was a more racist place than the United States. Canada wasn’t perfect, he said, but it still offers a lot of good. For the rest of the training session, and throughout a follow-up training session the week after, facilitators repeatedly referred to Bilkszto’s comments as examples of white supremacy. The experience was humiliating — particularly because Bilkszto placed a great emphasis on equality and anti-discrimination during his career.
Instead of offering support to Bilkszto and protection in these training sessions, the school board distanced itself from him. One colleague, who has since been made an education director in Hamilton, thanked the facilitator for “modelling the discomfort.”
A day after the second training session, Bilkszto fell into a mental health crisis so bad that he had to spend more than a month away from work — for which he won a successful workers’ compensation claim for lost earnings. Shortly after his leave began, his association of education administrators asked the board to investigate the bullying incident, but the board refused. When Bilkszto returned to work, the TDSB further refused to reinstate him to the role he was in prior to taking leave; it also revoked a work contract he had been awarded for the upcoming year. Finally, the board disinvited him from attending a graduation ceremony.
As a last resort for accountability, Bilkszto launched a lawsuit against TDSB administrators (TDSB launched a subsequent lawsuit against KOJO Institute, but later told me it planned to discontinue that claim).
The KOJO Institute responded to Bilkszto’s death Friday morning: “We recently learned of the passing of Mr. Richard Bilkszto. We offer our condolences to his loved ones and colleagues during this difficult time.”
Friends and family said that in recent weeks, Bilkszto was anxious over an anticipated backlash over the legal proceedings. …
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jamie-sarkonak-toronto-principal-bullied-over-false-charge-of-racism-dies-from-suicide