The Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) Board of Trustees disqualified trustee Monique LaGrange Tuesday morning.
In a news release shared on the school division’s website, the board said LaGrange violated sanctions issued on Sept. 26 and further violated the board policy and the Education Act.
The board of trustees said it came to the decision after “careful consideration and deliberation, with a commitment to maintaining RDCRS’ foundational statements of supporting inclusive learning communities that foster care and compassion for students, families and staff.”
After the disqualification, the board said LaGrange resigned from her position Tuesday, meaning she is no longer a school board trustee.
An August social media post on LaGrange’s account — which was later deleted — showed two images: one of a group of children holding Nazi flags with swastikas, the other a group of children holding rainbow Pride flags.
Above the images were the words “brainwashing is brainwashing.”
RDCRS has held several board meetings to discuss LaGrange’s conduct and was in communication with Alberta’s education minister.
In a motion made on Sept. 26, the board found LaGrange in violation of the trustee code of conduct and the Education Act.
She was still allowed to attend regular board meetings. However, several sanctions were put in place, including:
- LaGrange is censured from being part of board committees or attending and participating in board committee meetings;
- She cannot represent the school board or school division in any official capacity;
- She must cease making public statements about issues connected to the LGBTQ2 community and the Holocaust;
- Within 90 days, LaGrange must enroll, at her own expense, and complete sensitivity training about Holocaust, sensitivity training about discrimination faced by the LGBTQ2 community, sensitivity training covering professional school trustee boundaries and appropriate use of social media, cultural sensitivity and human rights;
- She must provide a sincere public letter of apology to school division students, staff and board for the post
- The school board will complete an educational workshop with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre;
- The school board will complete an educational workshop with the Alberta Human Rights Commission;
- The board will provide written reasons in support of this motion to the trustee in the next 20 days;
- The board chair and superintendent of schools may take those steps necessary to implement the terms and conditions set out in this motion.
Her lawyer previously told Global News that it was unlikely LaGrange would be able to meet the requirements of the board.
“There doesn’t seem to be any way that she would be able to satisfy the board on this without violating her conscience,” lawyer James Kitchen said on Sept. 27.
“She would have to sort of feign agreement with all of the re-education that she’d have to go through, and then she’d have to write a letter of apology. And you know she’s not sorry. She’s made that very clear.
“She meant what she said and said what she meant and she’s just a sincere person,” he added.
On Tuesday, board chair Murray Hollman issued the following statement: “I affirm our unwavering dedication to fostering a safe, secure, caring, respectful and inclusive learning environment for our students, staff and community members.
“Regrettably, as a result of Trustee LaGrange’s violation of the sanctions placed on her on Sept. 26, 2023, as well as her additional violations of board policy and the Education Act, the board made the challenging decision to disqualify Trustee LaGrange.”
On Wednesday, LaGrange’s legal counsel told Global News they will be filing a judicial review on both the Sept. 26 decision and this one to disqualify her.
“It would be misleading, I think, to tell somebody she resigned because that gives the perception that she chose to resign,” Kitchen said. “She didn’t. She was kicked off the board. The other school board trustees kicked her off the board. That’s 100 per cent what happened.
“There was a list of prohibitions, sanctions, which she complied with. The school board is saying she didn’t and that’s part of this second complaint.
“The only two conditions that required actions on her part were they wanted her to go to sensitivity training and then give an apology afterwards and no, she didn’t do either of those.
“She was not going to issue an apology and that was apparent from the beginning,” Kitchen said.
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