Editor’s note: for the uninitiated, you’ll want to read this piece if you’d like the full background.

A little more than 24 hours after the slate she ran with in last October’s election—Community First—told New West Anchor in a statement she “vehemently denied” being the person behind a burner account, New West school trustee Dee Beattie has confirmed she is behind ‘@alfromnw.’

The statement from Beattie, which was only given to The Anchor and to the New West Record, was provided via email in the 5pm hour on Friday, June 16. This came a day after The Anchor published a story chronicling a disturbing Twitter thread from user @NewWestSarah, whose real name is Sarah Arboleda.

In the thread, Arboleda, a New West resident, talked about how she had been tweeted at multiple times by the now-defunct account, and that her husband, James Plett had also been the subject of harassment.

Both Arboleda and Plett were impacted by the news of dozens of daycare spaces being moved out of New West’s Downtown core, and were vocal on the topic—something that the ‘@alfromnw’ often picked on them for.

Arboleda told The Anchor she’d inadvertently gone down a rabbit hole one night, months after the ‘@alfromnw’ account posted a picture of a map showing a bus route from Qayqayt Elementary to F.W. Howay, the latter being one of the new daycare spaces—and a third location, marked by a blue dot—showing where the user of the search tool was.

Other targets included former New West school board trustee Mary Lalji, her husband TSN broadcaster Farhan Lalji, New West Progressives Paul Minhas, Daniel Fontaine and Danielle Connelly—Connelly is a current school board trustee; Fontaine and Minhas are both councillors—and former BCTF president Teri Mooring.

“I admit to my role in using an online fake account and I sincerely apologize to all of those who were hurt by my actions,” Beattie says in the statement, who goes on to say that along with going on medical leave, Beattie has stepped away from Community First, noting that she regrets the fact her behaviour has “hurt the wonderful team” that supported her.

“There is no excuse for what I did. For a significant period of time, I have had health issues, including chronic pain and mental health issues that increasingly became worse,” Beattie goes on to say. “I should have done this sooner but I have finally realized I must seek medical intervention to heal myself and refocus.

“I cannot undue (sic) the pain and damage I have caused but I can say I am truly sorry.”

Beattie has also removed her personal public-facing account.

In the same hour The Anchor received Beattie’s statement, acting chair Maya Russell sent a statement through New West Schools communications—calling for Beattie to resign.

“Trustee Beattie has advised me that she is taking a medical leave from her role as Trustee, which is provided under the School Act. The Board met today to discuss her conduct and the appropriate next steps. The Board is requesting Trustee Beattie resign her position immediately,” Russell explained in the statement, adding that the board is “deeply disturbed by the conduct and the harm this has caused to individuals in our community and to public confidence in our District.”

Russell added the behaviour isn’t in line with the board’s values, calling Beattie’s conduct “unacceptable.”

“We hold each other responsible for maintaining the highest standard of ethical conduct. The Board is committed to rebuilding the trust of our community, as we continue to engage in the vital work of supporting students, staff and families,” she says.

Late Friday night, Community First provided an updated statement to The Anchor, noting that in the course of its investigation, “Beattie admitted to the conduct.”

Coun. Fontaine is echoing the request made by the board to see Beattie step down. He’s also asked that an independent third-party review be conducted.

Can school trustees be fired?

The Anchor has made note of some questions online asking why Beattie is being asked to step down by the school board, and why she cannot be fired.

School boards in British Columbia are governed by the School Act. You may remember in the last decade watching at least two school district boards being fired—one in Vancouver, the other in BC’s Interior.

In the Vancouver case—where the firing happened on Oct. 17, 2016—then-education Minister Mike Bernier replaced the entire board with a former Delta school board trustee, Dianne Turner. The board was fired for failing to abide by a section in the School Act outlining the adoption of a balanced budget by June 30, 2016.

In the North Okanagan-Shuswap saga, Mike McKay was appointed the lone trustee after a report found that “the board was not functioning well,” citing the community’s loss of confidence in it, as well as that board’s approach to financial and fiscal school-related matters.

Within the School Act, there is an option for a trustee to step down, but they can only be removed if certain events take place. This includes:

• Not taking an oath or not giving an affirmation of office by a certain period of time. In the case of an elected school trustee, the oath needs to be taken within 45 days of the results of an election being declared

• If the person has unexcused absences from board meetings that go on for three consecutive months

• If the person has been convicted of certain crimes: the Act outlines indictable offences, as well as certain crimes related to public morality

As of deadline, a school board meeting is still scheduled for Tuesday, June 20 at 7pm.