Red Deer school board reveals trustee’s arguments for posting anti-LGBTQ2 meme

Monique LaGrange posted a meme on social media on Aug. 27 that showed two images: a historical photo of a group of children holding Nazi flags with swastikas and a modern photo showing a group of children holding rainbow Pride flags.

Monique LaGrange posted a meme on social media on Aug. 27 that showed two images: a historical photo of a group of children holding Nazi flags with swastikas and a modern photo showing a group of children holding rainbow Pride flags.

The caption read: “Brainwashing is brainwashing.” The post was later deleted and sparked calls for her resignation.

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Since then, RDCRS held several board meetings to discuss LaGrange’s conduct and was in communication with Alberta’s education minister. LaGrange was allowed to keep her role as a trustee but will face several sanctions for her actions. She was also ordered to apologize.

The RDCRS released a 15-page document on Monday outlining the discussions that took place on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 after LaGrange’s lawyer requested to have them unsealed.

In it, LaGrange defended her post saying the meme is about indoctrination and does not make direct comparisons between the Nazi regime and the Pride flag. She said the meme is about indoctrination and how children cannot understand the alleged indoctrination they receive.

Sexual orientation should be a matter between God, parent and child, she told the RDCRS board of trustees, she said.

LaGrange also told the board that she was thinking “more about the political part of it than anything” and thought, “it was a good outline of what is going on in the world.”

“The trustee’s position is that no reasonable person would conclude from the meme, that what the Nazis did was acceptable or had anything to do with the LGBTQ (sic) community, and that rather, the meme is about ideas which must always be open to criticism, tested and challenged,” the document read.

The document also made several references to LaGrange saying the Holy Spirit told her to post the meme. The documents read in part: “Catholic school trustees rely on their beliefs to do their work and should be able to express their religious beliefs as school board trustees,” she argued.

“She had asked the Holy Spirit about it. She stated that she was that she was more thinking about the political part of the meme post than anything … The Holy Spirit said ‘Do it, go for it.’ So, the trustee ‘shared it and that was it,'” the document reads.

The document also said LaGrange told the board she has the freedom to express her views according to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and accused the board of bias.

However, the board did not agree with LaGrange. While LaGrange has the freedom to hold and express her religious beliefs, the board said she must still follow the board’s mandate to provide a respectful and safe learning environment that “respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging.”

The meme infers that children waving Pride flags have been brainwashed in a manner similar to children in Germany at or before the Second World War, the board said.

The board also said school board trustees are open to public criticism from employees, students and their parents, as well as other stakeholders. A trustee’s personal social media page can attract just as much attention as what they do in school or at a board meeting.

“Students have the right to a school system free from bias, prejudice and intolerance, and as a role model and representation of the corporate board, the trustee occupies an important role within the education system that extends beyond the classroom,” the RDCRS board of trustees writes in the document.

“Catholic school board trustees, as role models within the school board and as corporate leaders at the top of the division hierarchy must be, and seen to be, tolerant of the pluralistic and diverse nature of society.”

The document further adds that LaGrange placed her personal interests ahead of her public duty to the board and did not carry out her responsibilities in a dignified, ethical and professional manner.

“The trustee holds a position of trust and influence within the education system. As a role model within the school system, the trustee is required to represent the board in all board-related matters with proper decorum and respect for others. In having posted the meme, the trustee did not display proper decorum and respect for others,” the board wrote.

“Posting a highly controversial meme which does not elaborate or explain the trustee’s rationale and requires schoolchildren and their parents to draw significant inferences if they are to understand the meme as the trustee claims to have intended, does not reflect this standard.”

James Kitchen, LaGrange’s lawyer, told Global News while there are no factual inaccuracies in the report, they would disagree with the board’s characterization of LaGrange. He said he asked for the documents to be published for accountability and transparency.

Kitchen added LaGrange stands by everything she said does not wish to retract anything that’s been accurately quoted. He said the two have made a decision that LaGrange won’t be issuing an apology.

LaGrange is currently “focused on” a judicial review and legally challenging the board’s decision, Kitchen said.

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— with files from Emily Mertz, Global News.