School board won’t say if it has new plan to deal with controversial teacher and bomb threats at Oakville school
Published November 24, 2022 at 6:38 am
If Halton District School Board officials have a plan to deal with a controversial teacher and bomb threats made against an Oakville high school, they aren’t saying what it is.
After a lengthy “special meeting” of the Board today (Nov. 23) — a meeting largely held in secret session — trustees approved a motion essentially stating they aren’t going to reveal anything about the ongoing situation at Oakville Trafalgar High School, where the provocative attire worn by a transgender teacher has led to the bomb threats.
Specifically, trustees unanimously approved a motion that stated: “That the Board receive for information confidential discussion topics including personal information and security of the property of the Board. And that the Board acknowledge the legal restrictions on the disclosure of personal information under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.”
While rumours in the Oakville Trafalgar school community have swirled that the teacher will be transferred out of the school to bring back normalcy to students who have had to tolerate global scrutiny over the matter, what exactly the Board has decided to do will not be made publicly apparent.
Classes are set to resume at the school tomorrow, but students are off because of a professional activities (PA) day on Friday.
The situation has proven to be a quagmire for trustees who have had to weigh the concerns of students and parents, the ongoing threats made against the school and the legal and human rights of the teacher in question before coming up with a solution.
Videos
The teacher, Kayla Lemieux, has courted controversy since the beginning of this school term when she started showing up to classes wearing over-sized fake breasts and a long, blonde wig.
Subsequent howls of protest have brought attention to the school from international media and sparked debate over what is appropriate dress for the classroom.
The darker side has also forced students to push through angry protestors in front of the school and, just last week, brought three bomb threats against the school. In each threat, the school was deemed safe for students and staff.
“It’s a complicated and delicate issue,” a source close to the scene told inhalton.com. “Some want a quick and easy solution, but there isn’t one. The hands of trustees and Board officials are tied. They have to be careful how to proceed because of the ramifications. A lot of people would like to see the teacher gone, but she has rights that the Board must respect and that is what they are doing.”
Still, the closed door discussions and negotiations have angered many in the school community to the extent that groups have been formed to pressure trustees and Board officials into a decision that would see the teacher transferred.
Earlier this month, the Board ruled it could not bring any sanctions against the teacher because of her attire citing legal and human rights concerns. Subsequently, the school has been the target of protestors on an ongoing basis and, most recently, the target of bomb threats.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising