Parents shouted-out a school board meeting after being told the board has no timeline in place to address a controversial high school teacher who wears protruding prosthetic breasts to class.
As True North reported, a transgender educator in September started wearing watermelon-sized prosthetic breasts with protruding fake nipples to teach shop class at Oakville Trafalgar High School.
On Wednesday, parents interrupted the Halton District School Board, shouting criticisms about the members’ lack of results in fixing the controversy, which has spurred several bomb threats and international media coverage.
“It’s time to do something about the problem,” shouted one woman. “The community has been disgusted by your lack of action.”
The outburst started when the board’s director of education, Curtis Ennis, said the board has yet to produce a timeline about when it will adjust the district’s dress code policies.
Ennis said the board is stymied by a legal hurdle that prevents Ontario districts from adjusting teacher policies when the teachers are in-between contracts.
After five minutes of order the meeting again turned to chaos, when a man in the gallery shouted an obscenity directed at Ennis.
The gallery then erupted, with between five and ten parents intermittently shouting rebukes at the board members.
The board initially tried to restore order, but after its attempts inflamed the gallery, the board members fell to silence, and called the police.
“You’re supposed to be taking care of the kids,” said a man who stood up in the seated gallery and started gesturing with a pointed finger.
“My kids are at the school every day with these bomb threats going on, and you’re going to sit up here [and say] ‘We’re going to look at the policies to figure it out,’?
“What do you think this is?”
The man then walked out of the room.
Oakville Trafalgar High School, where the trans educator teaches, has received a string of bomb threats going back to November. The most recent threat was made that same day.
“I’m afraid to send my son to school every day,” said a woman.
“We just want a decent dress code,” said another. “I don’t get what’s the big issue here.”
Board trustee Margo Shuttleworth addressed the crowd, saying their questions were out-of-place at the meeting – and that a system was established to take their questions online.
“So nobody can get an answer. Because you guys keep circling around and circling around,” responded one man.
“The questions are being submitted,” said a woman, “but they’re not being answered. Answer the questions!”
Amid the chaos, several board members stood up and disappeared into back rooms.
Several police officers arrived after ten minutes, and restored order. An officer escorted out one woman who had made vulgar accusations, including that children were being sexually abused.
