Central Okanagan school board chair, Lee-Ann Tiede.

Image Credit: Submitted/reelectlee.com

Central Okanagan residents will no longer be able to speak to their school trustees on general education concerns during public board meetings.

The move follows comments made by members of the public at the Feb. 28 board meeting when criticisms were made of the province-wide sexual orientations and gender identities initiative, or SOGI, and a billboard erected in West Kelowna challenging the initiative.

READ MORE: Billboard in West Kelowna stirring controversy

"We received reports from staff and students that recent comments at meetings made them feel unsafe," board chairperson Lee-Ann Tiede said in a news release issued today, March 9, following the cancellation of the second of two public input sessions at last night’s board meeting.

"We welcome public input, but we have to provide a safe and respectful workplace. The second comment period became a platform for some members of the public to make discriminatory comments and disrupt the business of the board."

There have traditionally been two opportunities for the public to speak to Central Okanagan trustees at board meetings.

The first one, early in the meeting, is restricted to comments or questions about action items in that meeting’s agenda.

The second one, near the end of the meeting, allowed for questions or comments on “any matter pertaining to public education.” That’s the one that has been cancelled.

The Central Okanagan school board was bombarded with negative comments throughout the COVID pandemic to the point then chairperson Moira Baxter became one of the most harassed school board chairs in B.C.

One of the worst incidents was when one person sent Baxter more than 100 emails and a dozen phone messages on Remembrance Day in 2021 and only backed down after police were called.

READ MORE: Kelowna school board chair may be the most harassed in B.C. by anti-vaxers

Baxter retired before last fall’s municipal elections and Tiede was elected as the new chair.

The comments made at the Feb. 28 meeting were recorded by some members of the gallery and shared on social media so, now, recording of meetings is banned.

“Public board meetings will continue to be broadcast on Zoom, and there are still multiple ways for the public to bring forward concerns that are not on meeting agendas by contacting the board of education through the school district website,” the news release says.

"We remain committed to safe and inclusive places for people to learn and work," school district superintendent Kevin Kaardal said in the news release. "Public schools continue to support SOGI learning and foster inclusive spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ people because all students and staff must be safe so they can learn and work. We do not tolerate bullying or harassment of any kind in our schools, and we will not give space for members of the public to harass staff, students, or trustees with intolerance towards marginalized communities."

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2023