School board accepts resignation of trustee who was suspended 3 times this year

A controversial school board trustee at the Louis Riel School Division has resigned.

In a special division board meeting held Tuesday, chair Sandy Nemeth said Ward 1 trustee Francine Champagne sent her a resignation letter on Monday.

All seven of the other trustees voted in favour of accepting Champagne's resignation, which Nemeth said is effective immediately.

Champagne's letter was the only item on the Tuesday meeting's agenda.

Before the meeting's public question period began, Nemeth said she could not comment much on the resignation, but a statement would be posted to the division's website soon.

No questions were asked before the meeting ended.

On Nov. 9, the board of trustees voted unanimously to take disciplinary action against Champagne after an online comment decried as racist was brought to their attention.

The school board voted unanimously in favour of a recommendation that she be suspended for three months without remuneration, which is the maximum suspension possible under the Manitoba Public Schools Act.

It was the third consecutive suspension handed to Champagne since she was elected to the board in 2022.

That suspension began on Nov. 17, as the St. Boniface representative was already under a one-month suspension until Nov. 16 for failing to submit paperwork. Champagne refused to sign the board's code of conduct, which all members are required to do annually, according to Nemeth.

Champagne was first removed from her role temporarily in June, when the board voted unanimously to suspend her for three months over posts that it said "targeted the 2SLGBTQIA+ community."