Sask. teacher ordered to pay $10K after throwing marker at student

A Saskatchewan teacher had 30 days to pay a $10,000 fine or his teaching licence faced suspension, following a disciplinary hearing last year.

In November 2016, the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board (SPTRB) held a hearing for Michel Andre Joseph Levesque after a formal complaint was made.

The complaint alleged that on Nov. 10, 2015, Levesque threw a white board marker with the intention to get a disruptive student’s attention.

Instead, it hit a female student above her right eye, causing a cut and swelling.

The decision, posted on the SPTRB’s website, said those facts are not in dispute, adding Levesque was “candid” in his response to the professional conduct committee.

“After a number of unsuccessful attempts to secure the attention of the inattentive student, and feeling rather stressed, I picked up a white board marker and tossed it in the direction in order to get his attention, not to injure him,” Levesque said in a reply to the disciplinary committee.

He added, “under normal circumstances, I would simply walk over to the student and address the behavior directly. However, a recent foot injury made walking difficult, and I chose, unwisely, to obtain his attention in a manner which I now deeply regret.”

The decision also acknowledged Levesque was having a bad day, after waking up early with an allergic reaction to medication and having a poor night’s sleep.

According to the decision, the female student who was hit by the marker left the classroom upset and had her father pick her up before her mother took her to the police station. She described Levesque as “angry” and having “whipped” the marker at her.

Photographs her father took within an hour of the incident apparently depict a red mark on her forehead, with some swelling surrounding the abrasion.

TEACHER NOT REGISTERED

The decision by SPTRB said the hearing cost $54,288.76.

It ordered Levesque to pay $10,000 — about 20 per cent of the costs — within 30 days. If he failed to do so, his teaching licence would be suspended.

The SPTRB would not confirm if Levesque paid the penalty, but the public registry does not show him as a registered teacher.

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