Vernon school board, union named in lawsuit by former janitor

A former janitor with the Vernon Board of Education and a frequent thorn in the side of board members, is now suing after he was fired. Brad Weston wrote his own civil claim, naming School District 22 and specific individuals as well as his union and specific individuals, making numerous allegations, only some of which related to his firing in 2022. His filings suggest his troubles started in April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when he circulated an email seeking “an immediate unpaid leave of absence for myself until my concerns about harm to BioLogical Life were proven to be safe.” He doesn’t explain what he meant by that. From there, he cites a number of allegations that school board officials called the RCMP, his ex-wife and social services expressing concern for his children and trying to find out if he owned guns. He says they expressed concern for his mental health several times and called the RCMP on him four times over the next two years, including when he joined a number of protesters who shut down a meeting. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/in-video-vernon-school-board-meeting-disrupted-and-shut-down-by-protesters/it102251 Though not properly named as defendants, he also writes that he seeks damages from a local news outlet for covering that event. He makes specific claims against the school district and his union for failing to represent him as he wished. He seeks hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. The lawsuit was filed this week and the allegations have not been tested in court. Defendants have not yet filed a statement of defence. Adrian Johnson, secretary treasurer for School District 22, said his office was unaware of the suit. “We have not received any notice of any kind,” he said. To contact a reporter for this story, email Marshall Jones mailto:mjones@infonews.ca  or call 250-718-2724 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .