One day after he and fellow trustee Jared White were censured by the Abbotsford board of education, trustee Mike Rauch moved a motion to amend policy six – which is the trustee code of ethics.
Rauch's suggested amendment stated that the respondent trustee shall have the option to waive confidentiality and request that their code of ethics hearing be conducted in a public forum. It added that the accused trustee should also have the ability to publicly disclose details of the proceedings after the hearing has concluded, unless such disclosure would violate legal or privacy obligations.
The motion will be added to the board meeting on April 15 and will be discussed further at that time.
White was absent from Tuesday's (March 11) meeting after he informed the board he was sick. That marks the first meeting that White has missed due to illness. Trustee Korky Neufeld was also absent on Tuesday and it was revealed that he has been on an official unpaid leave of absence. The leave began on Feb. 25 and lasts until April 23. Trustee Rupi Kanda-Rajwan was unavailable to attend Tuesday's meeting in-person and participated online.
Rauch and White were censured following a Facebook post by White on Feb. 5 that praised American president Donald Trump's executive order to ban transgender athletes from women's sports.
White shared a video of Trump signing the executive order on his "Jared White for Abbotsford School Trustee" page and added comments stating, "No more biological males in women's/girls' sports. No more biological males in women’s/girls' bathrooms and locker-rooms. No more teaching vulnerable children that they can be both genders or neither. Enough. Common sense is making a come back and it’s about time."
Rauch liked the post and commented positively on it shortly after it was shared, but then deleted his comments on Feb. 20. White has been asked to delete the post, but it remains publicly visible on both his school trustee page (where it was originally posted) and his personal page (where he also shared it).
As a result of the censure, Rauch and White have been removed from ancillary public-facing roles on committees, working groups, and at school and district events. They will continue to participate as trustees in formal meetings of the board and will continue to carry out their core governance roles. These restrictions will be reviewed at a future date.
Rauch posted an apology on his website following the announcement of his censure on Monday (March 10), but then changed his mind the next day when he stated he received feedback from people who believed that he had changed his position on men (transgender women) competing in women's sports. He added that he believes the board's decision is unreasonable as the board has an obligation to women and girls.
White has been asked by the board to apologize for the post in question, but has chosen not to do so and has also not replied to additional questions from The News.
Rauch's full notice of motion can be seen here - sd34public.ic-board.com.
