A contentious moment between school trustees and protestors last month has spilled over into January.
On Wednesday, School District 22 will hold its monthly board of education meeting. However, unlike past gatherings, the only way you’ll be able to watch is online.
“The public will not be able to attend the meeting in person,” reads a statement on SD 22’s website. “Appropriate questions and comments on agenda items will be accepted virtually at the public communication section of the meeting.”
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting also says this: “Due to safety concerns, public are not able to attend the board meeting in person. The meeting will be broadcast live using Zoom.”
At last month’s gathering in Vernon, B.C., tempers flared when anti-SOGI protesters disrupted the meeting.
With one protester reading at length from a book and droning on, trustees first loudly turned up music to drown her out. When that failed, the board eventually left and turned out the lights, leading to shouts of anger from the protesters.
The lack of lights didn’t stop the protester from finishing her speech, which lasted a total of 10 minutes. The video is available online.
Notably, B.C.’s School Act allows school trustees to exclude the public from a meeting.
In Section 69, subsection 2 of the Act, it says, “If, in the opinion of the board, the public interest so requires, persons other than trustees may be excluded from a meeting.”
The School Act is available online.
The livestream link for the meeting is also available online.
Global News has reached out to the board of trustees.