A BC teacher who misled a colleague and skipped a track meet because he had to move has been suspended for a day.

According to a May 19 BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, high school teacher Phi John Le also sold students’ clothing from his vintage store during school hours.

“Le’s actions demonstrated a lack of judgment and integrity,” the Commissioner said in the decision.

The decision says Le was the teacher sponsor for the school’s 2024 track and field team.

He was supposed to take part in a Vancouver Island Track and Field Meet in May 2024, but instead contacted another coach and asked if they could cover for him because there had been a recent death in the family.

The decision said this information was “not accurate.”

The other coach had to collect the race packages and hand out bids to the students, but it appears it did not go smoothly.

“Students reported that there was a lack of organization, made worse by Le’s absence and the fact that he had not clearly communicated that the coach would be their point person,” the decision reads.

The teaching regulator said attendance at a coaches’ meeting was critical, and as Le wasn’t there, two students who qualified were unable to take part in the provincial championships.

“Le claimed and submitted requests for two paid athletic release days in order to attend,” the regulator said. “Le did not let the district know he would not be attending.”

He later told the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District he had been unable to make it as he had to be out of his apartment by the end of the month.

On top of his failure to attend the track meet, the regulator also took action due to his business dealings with students.

The decision said Le owns vintage clothing stores in Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver and often told students about his business.

“(He) displayed some of the clothing he sold in his classroom at the school, and would sometimes sell it to students, on school property, during school hours,” the decision reads. “Some of these were cash transactions.”

In September 2024, the school district suspended Le for three days without pay.

Le later signed a consent agreement admitting to his actions, and the teaching regulator suspended his licence for a day.

“Le’s absence from the track meet negatively impacted the student athletes from the school,” the Commissioner said.

Le has since stopped any business-related activities in or around the school.