Image: Supplied by Heather Maahs / Chilliwack school board trustee Heather Maahs has responded to a motion to censure her, saying she believes she does not bear the blame for an avalanche of emails that SD33 trustees received after a contentious meeting on Tuesday, February 7. During that meeting, several speakers, including Maahs, had their microphone cut by the board chair.  

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack Board of Education

Trustee Heather Maahs challenges SD33 board censure

Mar 21, 2023 | 8:14 AM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack school board trustee Heather Maahs is defending herself after the Chilliwack Board of Education censured her last week.

The Chilliwack School District released a statement last Friday, March 17 that said Maahs did not uphold certain responsibilities in her support of a campaign against staff-selected learning resources in the district, and in her opposition to a student-led event conducted in accordance with the core values promoted by the school district.

fraservalleytoday.ca/2023/03/17/sd33-board-of-education-censures-trustee-heather-maahs/

SD33 notified every employee in the Chilliwack School District via email about the decision to censure Maahs. They also posted the notice on its website, and distributed it to media outlets in the Lower Mainland.

In response to the censure, Maahs said she felt it was necessary to issue a statement.

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“I find it necessary to release this statement to defend my reputation and character as a longstanding trustee,” Maahs said. “At the public board meeting held on February 7, policies were debated and discussed, with the public expressing their opinions on books in schools that contained sexually explicit content. The chair was unwilling to hear opinions contrary to her own and cut the microphone on the public and myself on several occasions during that meeting. These actions sparked outrage from the public and subsequently the Board received approximately 400 emails objecting to the Chair’s conduct and the Board’s approval allowing books with sexually explicit content in our schools.”

At that school board meeting on February 7, former trustee Dr. Darrell Furgason clashed with current school board chair Willow Reichelt and repeatedly pressed the school district, while he spoke at the podium, for answers about the legality of sexually explicit materials in SD33. Furgason had his microphone cut by Reichelt.

Reichelt argued that Furgason’s claims that there were sexually explicit materials in SD33 were not true and constituted defamatory statements.

Following the meeting, SD33 trustees received hundreds of emails from constituents in Chilliwack as well as individuals living throughout B.C. over a span of several weeks.

Maahs said the school board singled her out unjustifiably for the avalanche of emails.

“As a result, without a fair process, the board decided that I was responsible for the public reaction and have censured me,” Maahs said. “I have always been a strong advocate for reading and I will continue to support and advocate for reading and the development of strong skills for all our students. I believe in the important role of parents and parents’ rights in advocating for their children.”

SD33 says its next step involves the hiring of an external facilitator to help the board in achieving this goal.

“The Board is committed to building board cohesion to support good governance,” the SD33 statement concluded.