A Vancouver Island teacher has been suspended and was ordered to complete boundaries training after the provincial regulator found his interactions with a student while out in the community to be “unbecoming.”
Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district high school teacher Edward John Thomas Mulrooney was suspended for five days in connection with a February 2021 incident that led to a confrontation with the student later that year while she was at work.
Mulrooney admitted to the incidents deemed to be professional misconduct by the British Columbia Commissioner for Teacher Regulator in a consent agreement dated April 7 and posted online this week.
The school district initially suspended Mulrooney following reports that he looked at a female student, known as Student A, in the hallway in a manner that made her uncomfortable, the decision says. The student and two of her peers believed Mulrooney looked at her “in a way that was ‘checking her out,’” according to the document.
During the suspension and the district’s investigation into the student’s claim, he was instructed to refrain from discussing the investigation with any students or staff members.
The suspension came a few months after Mulrooney was issued a “letter of expectation” by the district “regarding the need to maintain an appropriate and consistent level of professionalism when interacting with students,” the agreement reads.
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While the investigation was still in progress, Mulrooney had an altercation with the student in July 2021 at her place of employment.
Mulrooney paid a visit to a local business, not realizing that the student in question was working there as a cashier, the agreement says. He said he didn’t recognize her because she was wearing a COVID mask.
“When Mulrooney was at the check-out till, he believed that Student A was ‘playing games’ with him and not treating him very well,” the agreement says.
“Mulrooney asked Student A for her name, because she was not wearing a name tag. Student A told Mulrooney her name. Mulrooney said ‘ohhh, we have never met before,’ then wagged his finger at her and told her to ‘stop your little lies.’”
Another cashier intervened and told Mulrooney not to address the student in that manner, to which he responded, “I think if you knew the kind of life I have had to live the last year, you’d think differently,” the report states.
Mulrooney “raised his voice, was visibly angry, and made disrespectful comments,“ and told the student to start telling the truth, the document says. He then threatened to speak to a manager, saying that she ”should not be working when he could not work.”
When the store manager approached to ask if there was an issue, Mulrooney brought up the student’s allegation, said he could lose his job, and insisted that the student be fired. Mulrooney also phoned the business at a later time to demand the student’s termination, the agreement says.
Mulrooney resigned from the school district in April 2022, and the provincial commissioner initiated an inquiry into his behaviour in May of that year. He was issued a citation in February of this year.
“His interaction with Student A at her place of employment occurred in a public setting, he referred to his status as a teacher, and he was loud, threatening and intimidating,” the document reads. “His actions were contrary to his responsibility as a role model, and his obligation to maintain the integrity and reputation of the profession.”
The commissioner opted to suspend Mulrooney’s teaching certification for five days, from May 5 to May 9. He is also required to complete the Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries course at the Justice Institute of B.C. The regulator said failure to fulfill this requirement may result in an extended suspension of his license.
