Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) trustees voted three to one to kick trustee Monique LaGrange off of the school board over a meme she posted on Instagram about Pride Month. “A fellow trustee submitted a second complaint that Monique had violated the Trustee Code of Conduct (and the September 26 Motion the Board passed to discipline her for her earlier posting of the ‘brainwashing and brainwashing’ meme) by speaking to the media (specifically Laura-Lynn [Tyler Thompson] and Talk Truth) about what the Board did and about gender ideology,” said JSMK Law lawyer James Kitchen in a Tuesday statement. “I was her lawyer throughout the hearing of this second complaint.”LaGrange said in September her Instagram story equating teaching students about Pride to Nazi indoctrination was about protecting children.READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Trustee says her post was about protecting children, involving parents“I posted a story on social media that received a lot of attention,” said LaGrange. “The Chair of the Board called me and asked me to take it down, which by then the story had expired and was already down.”RDCRS reprimanded LaGrange for sharing the meme in September. READ MORE: Red Deer trustee sanctioned over meme“As a result, as of today’s date and up to and including the Trustee’s Term of Office (‘End Date’), the Trustee is censured from being part of any and all Board Committees and is censured from attending and participating in all Board Committee meetings, including any part thereof,” it said. “This also includes any and all ASBA (Alberta School Boards Association) and ACSTA (Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association) meetings and conferences.”.The RDCRS admitted it disqualified LaGrange from remaining as a trustee due to her violating sanctions issued in September and further violations of board policies and the Education Act. “As the Chair of the RDCRS Board of Trustees, I affirm our unwavering dedication to fostering a safe, secure, caring, respectful and inclusive learning environment for our students, staff and community members,” said RDCRS Chair Murray Hollman. “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.”It said this decision was made following 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. As a result of the disqualification, she resigned from her position.LaGrange said the RDCRS was committed to following through on a distorted narrative and passed a motion to disqualify her as a trustee. "This situation has reaffirmed that Alberta has an abuse of power happening, beginning at the lowest level of politics," she said."I hope this motivates Albertans to step up and replace these woke boards in our province." While she has been removed, she said she "will continue to move forward and defend our families, our children and our freedom."
