Hanover school trustee not seeking re-election, states board was being retaliatory

After eight years on the Hanover School Division board, trustee Danielle Funk is not seeking re-election due to personal reasons.

“I just decided that I am just currently not in a place to be able to give what it needs to be, what I would need to be to be what I would consider a good trustee. It’s time to take some time for myself and my family,” said Funk after issuing a press release about her departure on Tuesday.

Included with Funk’s release was a copy of an email with her second request for medical leave to board chair Dallas Wiebe dated Dec. 31, 2025, where she outlined that she needed time off as she was attending to her dying grandfather, who was admitted to the hospital on Nov. 3, 2025, for hospice care.

“This is a request for a leave of absence. Since my last request to the board my situation has stayed similar if not worsened…,” stated Funk on the December email.

“Depending on (my grandfather’s) situation we are with him from 16-24 hours a day. I am the healthcare directive and power of attorney for both my grandparents.”

During that time, Funk stated that her grandmother was also dealing with heart issues and poor health while also dealing with living alone as she looked after her dying husband.

“My own health struggles are still continuing,” stated Funk in the December email. “The stress of the situations hasn’t helped, including the rejection of my previous leave request, which has added more stress to my days. I expect a medication change to happen at my next appointment and will provide (the) board chair with a doctor’s note.”

Funk told The Carillon her grandmother had a second heart operation four months ago and is now starting to get better.

In the December email, Funk stated she was confused as to why her first request for medical leave was denied as the board did not ask for clarification or had any requests for more information. She also stated no rational was given by the board as to why she was denied leave.

“I wouldn’t take issues if the board would like more information or clarification to address any concerns they may have,” she wrote in the email. “The rejection of my previous leave request with the lack of rationale seems punitive and retaliatory, as if I am unable to return by said time the consequences are more severe than my sanctions, but requiring less trustees to implement.”

Funk was suspended by the board on June 3, 2025, for allegedly breaching their code of conduct policy.

In the board’s decision, it claimed Funk failed to support the legitimacy and authority of board decisions, irrespective of her personal position on an issue and that she failed to listen respectfully and with an open mind to the full range of opinions, and make her decisions based on the merits of these varying opinions.

Further, the board claimed she failed to treat board colleagues, divisional and school staff, students and community members in a respectful and courteous manner; and that she expressed opinions and/or shared information through social media that discredited, undermined or compromised the integrity of the board.

Funk ultimately appealed the decision, but before the appeal could take place the board suspended and sanctioned her for six weeks on Sept. 1, 2025, with no indemnity payments made during that time.

Funk was not at the meeting when the board unanimously voted to suspend her as she had been on personal leave since Feb. 18, 2025.

At the time, board chair Jeff Friesen said he couldn’t comment on the situation as it was a sensitive matter but that, “It was something we’ve been working with for quite a period of time, with the leave and a few things, it was time to deal with this situation so it had been sitting there for a while this code of conduct violation,” he told The Carillon.

In a Jan. 29, letter to Funk from current board chair Dallas Wiebe, he noted that during a committee of the whole meeting two trustees voted to approve Funk’s leave request while three did not. He wrote that the decision to deny the request came after much discussion, including the concern that Funk’s doctor’s note was not “very informative with no return date and a very general ‘would benefit from time off from her duties’ diagnosis.”

He further added that the board felt that constituents of the Steinbach ward “deserve to be represented by their elected official.” Funk is one of four trustees representing Ward 3 Steinbach.

Wiebe also cited the Public Schools Act that a trustee must be physically present for at least one board meeting during a three-month period. Should a trustee fail to do so, without board authorization, he or she could lose their seat. Funk has been attending board meetings once every three months since she went on leave to maintain her seat.

Wiebe was contacted about Funk’s press release and her emailed medical leave request and his denial letter, but he did not respond.

Funk appealed the board’s decision and a provincial adjudicator was called upon to mediate the matter. Ten months after her appeal was filed, the adjudicator’s ruled that Funk was only guilty of not supporting the legitimacy of board decisions.

Prior to her suspension, in November 2024, Funk had been calling for the board to be more transparent as she felt it was dealing with matters in the privacy of the committee of the whole that she thought should have been discussed during public meetings. She also asked for an independent review of board governance practices and the effectiveness of the board’s code of conduct. Her motion was denied unanimously by the board at that time.

Funk was asked if she felt she was successful in getting the board to be more transparent and she replied that she was not, but declined to elaborate. Funk was asked a number of questions during her interview that she declined to answer as she is still bound by the board’s code of conduct policy.

Funk did say that the last eight years on the board have been a whirlwind for her in that it seemed like a lot has gone on, but that “it all seems to be on the outskirts of why everybody is there to educate the kids.”

“My wish as a trustee would have been to focus more on programming or increasing our services for student services and more focus on that. And it seemed to be, in the last four years, a lot of more on the outskirts of that type of stuff, like of education-focused sort of issues we were dealing with such as COVID and if boards would exist. It really seems a more political issue that seems to be less specifically about how well our students are learning and thriving in our schools,” she said.

Looking back, Funk wishes she had learned everything in the beginning of her tenure and taken action immediately. She said four years seems like a long time, but it takes a long time to see results from decisions the board has made.

“And there’s not a lot of time to waste in making decisions and seeing growth and movement in the division. And I wish we would have made a five-year plan starting at the beginning and really focused on what our goals were for both the terms,” she said.

Her press release stated it has been an honour to represent Ward 3 and that she took her role seriously and she tried to increase transparency within the board and between the board and the public.

She wrote she has respect for division staff and that her time as a trustee, “while not always easy, was deeply meaningful and worthwhile.”

Funk refused to endorse any of the candidates to fill her seat and she would not give any advice to anyone interested in the position.

“I will encourage everyone to go out and vote and anybody who’s interested in running for trustee to do so. Democracy in our division is very important and I would love to see elections in all our wards,” she said.