Payment to suspended LRSD trustee probed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/08/2023 (783 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Louis Riel School Division is investigating after “freedom fighters” sent a cheque to a trustee who was suspended from her duties without pay after making anti-LGBTTQ+ comments and signal-boosting conspiracy theories on social media.

The payment, while not specifically barred by law, raises concerns about conflict of interest and about outside groups seeking undue influence over education, according to a professor who studies education administration and an advocate for public education funding.

Francine Champagne, a rookie trustee in St. Boniface, was disciplined by her LRSD colleagues June 6 in connection to posts she made on her personal Facebook page in the spring.

The board determined her online activity — including promoting a website filled with false and sensationalist content and alleging children are being sexualized in schools as part of “the agenda” — breached internal policies.

Champagne’s three-month suspension will be over around the time students return to schools across her Winnipeg-based ward after summer break.

“Once she’s back on the board, we’re certainly going to be supporting her. But in the meantime, there was a shortfall and there was a financial need,” said Karl Krebs, a Winkler resident who gained notoriety for his anti-vaccine beliefs and advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a summer livestream addressing contributors to a fundraiser.

Krebs indicated he and Champagne identified $2,000 as a target for a campaign, which the organizer said was necessary to address lost income linked to the LRSD penalty and, subsequently, her release from a teaching gig at Saint-Boniface University.

(USB confirmed Champagne was a casual, contracted teacher for its continuing education division, a position that was listed on her online trustee profile until recently. A spokesperson for the francophone Winnipeg-based university indicated she is no longer employed and declined to provide further details.)

In a July 7 video, Krebs said a cheque would be mailed later that day and, when he delivered the news, Champagne was overwhelmed by how quickly supporters mobilized on her behalf.

When reached by phone Wednesday, the Ward 1 trustee declined to answer questions about the fundraiser, including whether she had accepted the gift.

Krebs did not reply to requests for comment.

School board chairwoman Sandy Nemeth said a member of the public contacted trustees with concerns about the fundraiser and officials are following up on the matter.

Unlike contestants running in municipal, provincial and federal elections, there are no laws that regulate who can contribute to a school board nominee’s campaign, how much money can be accepted or disclosures about financial backers.

Mid-term donations are not published either.

Prior to taking office, every trustee must file a statement with their division’s secretary-treasurer to disclose assets and interests. If they receive a gift valued at $250 or more during their tenure, a board member has 30 days to file an additional statement.

“Engagement with different groups across the political spectrum, that’s part of a trustee’s job — but as soon as they start accepting donations from those groups, one would think it’s a conflict of interest,” said Cameron Hauseman, an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba who researches education administration and leadership.

People should be able to financially support contestants who share their views, but transparency needs to be built-into these exchanges to ensure confidence in the democratic process, he said.

Hauseman called it “chilling” and “super concerning” trustees from all sides of the political spectrum could be receiving funds and not having to disclose or justify them.

People for Public Education organizers are in agreement there should be public reporting on trustee hopeful and elected trustee financing.

Champagne’s constituents deserve to know if she has received support from an outside group, said Shannon Moore, a founding member of the grassroots group whose self-imposed mandate is to promote “consistent, substantive public funding for public education.”

“We are concerned about the growing trend of outside influence of trustees. This parallels movements in the U.S., Ontario and elsewhere in Canada, where outside groups with views that do not represent that of the local community (or public more broadly) are seeking to overwhelm local voice,” Moore said via email.

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Police were called to a board meeting June 20, when some of Champagne’s supporters, including individuals who live outside LRSD, raised a ruckus about her penalty — the harshest possible under the Public Schools Act.

Ward 3 trustee Ryan Palmquist, who came out as bisexual in solidarity with LGBTTQ+ students and community members, reported being subject to homophobic comments and slurs during the chaos.

LRSD officials issued an apology “for allowing our board meeting to be a venue for hate” and indicated they are making changes to ensure there are no repeats.

The Winnipeg board’s first public meeting of 2023-24 is scheduled for Sept. 5.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.