The public school trustee under fire for suggesting gay students should act less gay if they don’t want to be bullied has been keeping a low profile.
Dale Schaffrick did not appear at last Wednesday’s meeting of Pembina Hill school division. No mention was made of his absence or the controversy.
“I have nothing to say,” Schaffrick said when contacted at home last Thursday.
Schaffrick’s controversial comment about gays came during a policy debate at the fall meeting of the Alberta School Boards Association.
Speaking to CBC News a couple of days later, he claimed he is not homophobic. When asked if gay students should be less identifiable, he said, “I think for their own benefit … it would be helpful.”
Later he apologized, describing his words as “inappropriate and offensive.”
“It’s important to clarify also that I was speaking as an individual trustee and not on behalf of the Pembina Hills Regional Division School Board,” he said.
The apology was posted on the PHRD website, along with a condemnation from board chair Sharon Volorney. She said the board found the remarks unacceptable and inappropriate.
After Schaffrick’s remark made headline news across the country the reaction was swift and generally fierce, with some calling for him to resign.
Alberta Education Minister Jeff Johnson wrote in a tweet that he would never ask his children to hide who they are.
