Vancouver teachers call for resignation of school trustee after comments during defence of police liaisons

Comments made by a Vancouver School Board trustee while defending the role of police liaisons in schools have resulted in calls from local teachers for him to step down.

In a letter to trustee Fraser Ballantyne, the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers' Association (VESTA) asked him to resign over comments he made at a June 22 board meeting that "indicate a significant lack of awareness of the systemic nature of racism in the school system."

The meeting included a lengthy discussion about whether or not to suspend the school liaison officer program, with the board ultimately deciding not to.

During that discussion, Ballantyne, a former school administrator, defended the program and gave examples of how the officers improved safety that singled out specific ethnic communities. They included references to finding a machete inside a Vietnamese student's locker.

Ballantyne also said white students needed to be consulted about any suspension of the program.

"The Caucasian kids are actually the visible minority … I think it's really important to hear what they have to say about it and their feelings of the relationships that have been developed over the years," he said.

After his comments sparked outrage online, Ballantyne took to social media on June 23 to apologize.

"My comments were in no way intended to detract from the importance of hearing from the Black, Indigenous and other racialized students and communities. I sincerely apologize to those who were offended," wrote Ballantyne.

The letter from VESTA, posted on Twitter on June 25, acknowledged Ballantyne's apology but said the association was not satisfied that he understood the severity and significance of his comments and their impact.

"These comments have contributed to the creation and maintenance of unsafe schools and communities for BIPOC students, staff and families," wrote the association.

Stephanie Higginson, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, said VESTA has the ability, and the right, to call for a trustee to resign, and agreed Ballentyne's comments were problematic.

However, she said, they also offer an opportunity for learning.

"We need to provide the space for people to make mistakes but also for people to demonstrate humility and humbleness when they make mistakes and help them learn from those mistakes," said Higginson on CBC's The Early Edition on Thursday.

Another trustee, Jennifer Reddy, said hundreds of students have urged the VSB to remove police officers, saying their presence invokes a feeling of fear, not safety.

One Black student from the Burnaby school district recently told CBC News that having a police presence at school intimidates her and she doesn't understand their purpose.

"If you want to get rid of gangs and drugs, having a 30-year-old dude in a bulletproof vest isn't going to stop that," said Haleluya Hailu, a Grade 11 student at Burnaby North Secondary.

"I'd rather see students making connections with counsellors, teachers and educators who are there first hand dealing with these students more actively and every day."