Kayla Lemieux high school parents ‘relieved’ by suspension: ‘Should have happened six months ago’
Parents at Kayla Lemieux’s high school say they are relieved the Canadian teacher has been placed on leave amid fierce debate over her wearing gigantic prosthetic breasts to teach children — and hope it’ll finally bring an end to months of bomb threats students have endured.
Lemieux, a shop teacher at Oakville Trafalgar High School, was put on paid leave on Tuesday — just weeks after The Post revealed the staffer doesn’t always wear the Z-cup prosthetics outside of the classroom.
“This should have happened six months ago,” Oakville parent Celina Close told The Post Thursday.
Al Saplys, whose child is in 12th grade at the school, agreed.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “I’m pleased that he has been put on administrative leave.”
The father added: “Quite frankly it’s a distraction nobody wants anymore and it will help return the school to a level of normalcy.”
The school has been subjected to relentless bomb threats and warnings of gun violence since footage of Lemieux wearing the prosthetics in her shop classroom went viral last year.
Parents are hopeful the threats will subside with Lemieux’s absence.
“Hopefully that will deter anyone who wants to call in bomb threats,” Saplys said, adding that it had become the “biggest frustration” among some parents.
“The Halton District School Board wasn’t treating it like a crisis. They were saying the right thing but weren’t acting,” he continued.
“For some students it’s a big joke, other students were extremely anxious because of the bomb threats. Some were very fearful something was actually going to happen.”
Close added: “It is a relief the disruption and bomb threats will subside so that the students can focus on their education and enjoying high school life.”
Lemieux’s suspension came just days after Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce and several local politicians rebuked the school board for having “abdicated its responsibility by failing to put the interests and safety of students first.”
For months, furious parents have also been calling on the Halton School District to step up and enforce a dress code in a bid to ban Lemieux from wearing her prosthetics in the classroom.
The issue was raised at the board meeting Wednesday night after officials agreed in January to develop a professionalism policy.
A proposed policy was put forward during the meeting, but parents have vowed to keep fighting — arguing the board hasn’t been specific about dress codes or a timeline for when it can be enforced.
“It’s not the end of it. There’s still not enough specificity around a dress code. I hope there’s a professionalism policy specific to a dress code implemented as soon as possible, the same as the student dress code. What’s so difficult about that?” Saplys said.
“The Halton District School Boards is dancing around the dates for a policy. There’s no timelines.”
