Northern Ont. school board chair involved in school renaming resigns

Erika Lougheed, chair of the Near North District School Board and Zone 2 trustee, has resigned, the board said Wednesday. (File)

Erika Lougheed, chair of the Near North District School Board and Zone 2 trustee, has resigned, the board said Wednesday.

Lougheed announced her decision at the board meeting Tuesday night.

She was involved in the controversial decision by the board to rename Chippewa Secondary School. The decision sparked outrage from some school alumni and the community.

The board began looking at a new name for the school in 2017 when plans were made to consolidate the city’s public secondary schools.

“What people need to realize is that the lived realities of people in the system right now is not honouring and representing all in the classroom,” Lougheed told CTV News in March 2023.

“Our No. 1 focus is student learning, well-being and achievement.”

Lougheed pointed to a detailed report that outlined “students, both past and present, who have faced harm and racism and the idea behind the re-naming is to create a welcoming school for all shareholders.”

But the idea elicited strong opposition and failed to garner support. At the time, Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod said he didn’t personally view the name as offensive.

“There are other bigger things that can be done in terms of reconciliation than changing the name from Chippewa to something else,” McLeod said in 2023.

The plan was quietly shelved last December.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

Vice-chair and Indigenous trustee Ashley St. Pierre, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting, is now the interim chair.

“I would like to take this time to thank Erika for her dedicated service and commitment to us,” St. Pierre said in a news release Wednesday.

“She has made invaluable contributions to our board and will be missed.”

In the absence of a trustee, residents of Zone 2 should contact the board office at 705-472-8170 and speak with the receptionist as needed until a new trustee is in place.