The conduct of school trustees was once again up for discussion in Chilliwack this week, but this time, no specific trustee was under the microscope.
Last August, the board of education was asked by the Ministry of Education and Child Care to review and update its code of conduct policies by April 30, 2024.
They have been working on that directive, and at its most recent meeting (April 16) the board amended the two policies that set the framework for their own behaviours.
Policy 130 outlines the trustees’ code of conduct, and Policy 132 addresses breaches of Policy 130.
The timing on this update coincidentally comes shortly after the censure of Trustee Heather Maahs, which was a consequence of a breach of conduct which is still in place. In February, Maahs was censured for not upholding the confidentiality of the board. This is her third censure during this board’s four-year term.
Maahs was the sole vote against both of the policy amendments. Trustee Richard Procee was absent for the meeting.
A former trustee attended the meeting, and in one of three public participation portions of the meeting he attempted to question the board chair, Trustee Willow Reichelt, on specific past actions of other board members.
Darrell Furgason asked whether two trustees who had posted content to their social media pages in the past would face consequences of the updated policies now that they’ve been updated.
In that questioning, a point of order was called by Trustee Margaret Reid. The podium microphone was turned off due to the point of order being discussed, and this portion of the meeting is not included in the online version of the meeting, however the Chilliwack Progress was in attendance.
While his microphone was off, Furgason referred to Trustee Teri Westerby’s reproductive system, and misgendered him. Westerby is openly transgender.
Upon that, Furgason was quickly asked to leave the meeting. Several members of the audience began yelling at Furgason to leave, and security was called into the room to remove him. Westerby remained sitting quietly at the board table, and his wife watched quietly from the gallery.
After a short recess, Reichelt returned to chair the meeting and began with a statement to the people remaining in the boardroom.
“There is zero tolerance for hate speech at this board table and that will never be allowed,” she stated. “And if anyone else thinks they are going to get up here and make some disgusting transphobic remarks, I’ll stop this meeting again and you’ll also get expelled. So I’m hopeful that there is nobody else in this room that would do such a thing. That was the worst thing I’ve heard in all my years as a trustee in this room. So let’s proceed.”
Westerby has since made a public social media post, walking through the forest and speaking to the camera. He thanked his supporters and reminded others that there is more love than hate in the world, and that he’s OK.
“I’m here collecting myself in the fresh air. You’ve all been so wonderful, so kind and you’ve shown me that hate is on its way out,” he said in part. “There are way more people out there enjoying their lives and being their authentic selves than there are being hateful. Enjoy your life. Live it to your fullest.”
He ended the video by shouting “I love you” into the forest.