Red Deer Catholic Regional School trustees will consider whether to fill the seat of ousted trustee Monique LaGrange on Friday.
Catholic Schools trustees voted to disqualify LaGrange from the school board on Nov. 14 after controversy erupted when the trustee posted posted a meme featuring side-by-side photos of young Nazi supporters and children carrying a rainbow Pride flag with the caption “brainwashing is brainwashing” on social media.
LaGrange was first suspended from committee duties and barred from representing the board at public functions. When an unrepentant LaGrange defended herself on an October Truth Talk podcast the board voted to disqualify her.
Under school division bylaws, the board can continue to operate with a single vacancy on the seven-trustee board.
A report prepared by board secretary-treasurer Laurel Latka outlines some of the implications of choosing whether or not to hold a byelection.
Topping the list is a bid for a judicial review of the board’s decision to disqualify LaGrange. Last month, the Democracy Fund announced it was partnering with lawyer James Kitchen to challenge the board’s decision to remove LaGrange from her role as a trustee. Two applications for judicial review have been filed in Court of King’s Bench.
“The most significant risk at this time is the uncertainty of the judicial review process,” says Latka’s report. “This process is ongoing and the results are uncertain at this time.”
Other factors to be considered are how democratic representation and the ability of a six-member board to approve resolutions and take action might be affected.
The cost of engaging the City of Red Deer to oversee a byelection in 2019 was just under $14,000. With inflation, that bill would likely be higher.
The board must also weigh whether it is worth holding an optional byelection at a time of fiscal belt tightening. “There will be both time and money invested right after we have reduced other budget areas to reduce the projected budget deficit.”
There is a possibility the school board could try to arrange a joint byelection with City of Red Deer, which must hold an election to fill late Coun. Michael Dawe’s seat.
A byelection must be held before May 2024 under Alberta’s Municipal Government Act. City council voted to hold the byelection on April 22 on Monday.
The benefits of filling the seat are that it maintains a full board and an additional trustee would be available to provide input, sit on committees and act as a school liaison, says the report.