Emotional, tense Whitehorse Catholic school council meeting held in wake of principal stepping down

Parents and teachers at a Whitehorse Catholic school council meeting Monday called for the territory's education department to take action following the departure of the principal who alleged years of bullying and interference by the local bishop.

More than 50 people packed into the Holy Family Elementary School library for the at-times emotional and tense gathering, which was part of the council's regular meeting schedule but the first since Maria Gray announced last week that she was stepping down as principal. 

Gray, in a letter to the school council last week, cited the behaviour of Bishop Hector Vila for her decision. She accused Vila of interfering in school operations and curriculum, particularly around health and the sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) policy, and also alleged bullying, harassment, and discriminatory comments. She added that repeated requests to the department for safety plans, role clarification and reconciliation went unaddressed. 

Neither the department nor the Whitehorse diocese have granted CBC News's requests for comment. 

While agenda items on Monday's school council meeting also included an upcoming spelling bee and a school bus report, discussions about Gray's departure dominated the evening.

Teachers and parents who signed up to speak about the situation all expressed their love for the school, with several also voicing support for Gray and calling on the education department to address the issues she raised. 

"It's deeply distressing to think that the department allowed the relationship between the diocese and the school administration to degrade to a level that our principal doesn't feel safe in her position," parent Jonathan Kolot told council. 

"Where was the superintendent or the [assistant deputy minister] of schools? At what point do they plan to intervene between a school and a diocese that had clearly overstepped its jurisdiction?

"We want Maria back," he added, to a round of cheers and applause. 

Meanwhile, teacher Roslyn Hougen said the community needed to stop "spinning in circles" and instead use its energy on "teaching our children, planning the next field trip, inviting the next elder to speak." 

"I ask that as steps are made to hire a new principal, that this person can have a similar vision, just as Maria did, that sees both public curriculum and Catholic teachings as important knowledge for our students," she said. 

Another teacher called for education department leaders to meet with school staff to talk about their "real concerns about what happens next." 

Department superintendent Trevor Ratcliff attended the meeting but did not speak. School council co-chair Robyn Burns told attendees that she and fellow co-chair Jody Eikelboom would be meeting with deputy minister Mary Cameron this week. 

Tensions on council

Tensions flared when the meeting moved on to the next agenda item — an email from a parent concerned that a book about Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ activist Jim Egan was available at the school library. 

Burns said she would not read the email out loud as it would violate the SOGI policy. 

Fellow council member Shirah Davis, countered that the policy doesn't apply to parents. 

Burns responded that it applied to school council meetings.

Davis and another council member, Sara Poirier, also later spoke in favour of Catholic leaders having authority within Catholic schools. 

"I don't think you can be outraged to hear Catholic teachings in a Catholic school and then deem those hateful and homophobic," Davis said. 

"I don't agree with that at all, and also staff, when they are employed in a Catholic school, sign a contract to uphold the Catholic worldview… When you talk about safe spaces and inclusivity, [I] hope you are also making a safe and inclusive space for religious beliefs."

"Then the bishop should do that too," an attendee responded.

"Is discrimination and hate a part of Catholicism?" another asked. 

One attendee, near the end of the meeting, called for unity.

"We need to get back to the way it was — the working together, the love, the ability to see, to keep the interests of our children at our heart," she said. 

Rally held outside

The council meeting was preceded by a rally outside Holy Family school, with a number of people holding rainbow flags or carrying signs supporting Gray. 

Among the dozens of attendees at the rally was Ben Craigen, a teacher at another Catholic school whose daughter attends Holy Family. 

Craigen said he was there to support a "fair and inclusive and equitable public education system that is the same for all of our schools," and to petition the education department to support Catholic school administrators. 

He also said he wanted to show solidarity for Gray, who has made an "incredible impact" on his daughter's life. 

"She begs to come to school every morning," he said.

Yukon NDP MLA Lane Tredger, who grew up in Whitehorse and attended Holy Family, also took part in the rally, explaining that they didn't want any children to feel like they didn't belong.

"When I was a teenager and kind of realizing that I was queer, I thought I was going to have to leave the Yukon," Tredger said. 

"And I'm so glad that our kids and our youth today have so many models in the Yukon, but they shouldn't just have to look for them outside their schools… No matter where they go, they need to be safe and protected."