Resigning trustee apologizes for offensive tweets
EDMONTON— Newly elected school trustee James Andre has resigned and apologized to voters after angry reaction to dozens of racist, sexist and homophobic jokes he posted on Twitter.
The Battle River school board unanimously accepted Andre’s letter of resignation at a special meeting Tuesday morning, board chairman Kendall Severson said. Andre did not attend the meeting, Severson said.
“We feel, as a board, that this should bring resolution to people,” Severson said.
In a statement released Tuesday by the school district, Andre said he resigned from his post representing Flagstaff West effective immediately. A byelection will be held to fill the vacant seat.
“I would like to apologize to all the people who voted for me and to the communities I represented,” the 50-year-old Andre wrote in the statement. “In no way did I intend for any of this to happen, and I can only ask that you support the rest of the board and their decisions as they move forward in their roles as elected officials.”
Andre said he won’t do any more media interviews about the issue or explain specifically why he stepped down.
“I will only say that I do not want to tarnish the reputation of the board of trustees any further,” he said. “It is time for the board to move forward from this and get on with the business at hand, which is providing for the best education for our students.”
The school division that serves 6,300 students, headquartered in Camrose, also issued a written statement Tuesday, thanking everyone who expressed thoughts and concerns about Andre’s tweets.
“The experience has provided a vivid demonstration of the value that our local residents, our province and our country places on treating all people with respect, dignity and equity, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender or orientation,” the board said.
“The values expressed by our communities are very much in keeping with the values of Battle River School Division.”
More than 80 tweets on Andre’s now-closed account were laced with profanity and included jokes riddled with stereotypes about black, Muslim, Jewish, aboriginal, Asian and Mexican people, as well as women, the homeless and gays. Andre retweeted many posts from an account called The Funny Racist. He also tweeted insults about the Battle River School Division.
The tweets began in January and continued through the civic election campaign this fall. Two tweets were posted after Andre was elected Oct. 21, but before he was sworn in as trustee.
Battle River’s board started investigating last week after the content of Andre’s tweets became public. In condemning the tweets, the board said it was seeking legal advice on its options.
As many as 200 emails and messages were sent to the school division in the past week, Severson said Tuesday. “Most people were very upset.”
Critics, including representatives from the Centre for Race and Culture and Kris Wells of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the University of Alberta, had called for Andre to step down.
Andre’s resignation means “a dark pall has been lifted” from the school board, Wells said Tuesday in an email.
“Now the really hard work must begin in earnest, as the board must work diligently to restore the community’s trust and confidence in its ability to educate, protect, and respect all students and families. This work needs to start immediately and should include mandatory diversity training, an improved trustee code of ethical conduct, and clear and focused policy development that actively includes and celebrates the fundamental principles of diversity, equity, and human rights for all Battle River students, staff, families, and school trustees.”