Former PHPS superintendent charges stayed

The charges facing former Pembina Hills Public Schools superintendent Colleen Symyrozum-Watt have been stayed by the Crown, meaning that a trial originally set for early July in Barrhead will no longer go ahead.

Symyrozum-Watt had been charged last summer with two counts of fraud over $5,000, two counts of fraud under $5,000 and one count of criminal breach of trust.

The charges stemmed from an accusation that she had submitted fraudulent claims to the school board exceeding $18,000 between November 2014 and January 2017.

Alberta Justice and Solicitor General senior communications advisor Lisa Glover confirmed last week that the Crown prosecutor had stayed the charges against Symyrozum-Watt on April 17, “as there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

In the case of a withdrawal, the charges cannot be brought back.

With a stay of charges, they can be laid again within a year of the date they were stayed.

Glover said it is within a Crown prosecutor’s discretion to decide when to proceed with a case and when not to.

However, the standard for a prosecution is higher than the standard for laying a charge, which is why the Crown may not proceed with charges laid by police.

“This is part of the checks and balances of the Canadian criminal justice system,” she said.

In an e-mail, Symyrozum-Watt said that her family and friends had been through a great deal over the past two-and-a-half years and it had taken an emotional toll on them all.

“We are extremely pleased by the decision by the Crown. This has been a trauma for me personally, and I am anxious to get on with my life,” she said.

“My family and I wish to express our deep gratitude for the continued support of family friends and colleagues.”

Although she had previously indicated she may do so, Symyrozum-Watt did not say she would take any civil action against the division.

While Pembina Hills board chair Jennifer Tuininga declined to comment on the stay of charges, she did say she was unaware of any lawsuit against the board.

After the PHPS board terminated Symyrozum-Watt’s contract with cause on July 31, 2017, they had passed a motion to submit a complaint regarding her alleged contractual and procedural breaches to the RCMP, the College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) and Alberta Education’s Office of the Registrar.

At the time RCMP laid charges against her, Symyrozum-Watt had been working as a Director of Leadership Learning with CASS. Shortly after, the CASS board of directors asked her to take a leave of absence while the matter was before the courts.

Now that the charges had been stayed, CASS executive director Barry Litun confirmed that she has returned to her role as a Director of Leadership Learning. She is involved in supporting professional learning related to the implementation of the Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard.

Litun said he would not publicly release any details regarding investigations by CASS, so it is not known if anything came of the school board’s complaint.

However, he said her performance as a CASS Director of Leadership was “exemplary.”

It is also unknown if the Office of the Registrar ever took any official action regarding Pembina Hills’ complaint.