A trustee resigns from a Sudbury school board as some question his behaviour on social media
CBC
Some members of Sudbury's LGBTQ+ community believe their documentation of a school board trustee's behaviour on social media played a role in his recent departure from the position.
In a meeting earlier this week, the Sudbury Catholic school board accepted trustee Stefano Presenza's letter of resignation dated Nov. 23.
Presenza says he's leaving the role due to changes in his personal and family circumstances. He did not respond to an interview request from CBC.
The chair of the board, Michael Bellmore, says there is no connection between Presenza's resignation and a complaint the board acknowledged about his behaviour on social media on Nov. 21.
It was the second complaint of this nature the board has received about Presenza.
The first complaint, lodged earlier in the spring, documented instances where Presenza shared or liked transphobic and racist content online.
Bellmore says after that complaint the board met with Presenza to discuss his online activity.
"We take situations like that seriously," he said.
"We did some background research. We had a discussion. My understanding is that [he] voluntarily removed [his] social media presence and we considered that to be resolved."
But the matter was not resolved, according to some members of Sudbury Pride. Its co-chair Laur O'Gorman alleges Stefano Presenza continued his online activity under the name Steve Prezzi.
O'Gorman documented several instances of "Steve Prezzi" sharing posts meant to out celebrities for being transgender and making anti-LGBTQ+ comments.
Bellmore says the board was in the process of looking into that second complaint when Presenza handed in his resignation.
He says this second complaint would have required a more exhaustive response from the board, including an investigation to confirm that Stefano Presenza and Steve Prezzi are indeed the same user.
Presenza's resignation comes a year after the last school board elections, where scores of anti-trans candidates ran on promises to roll back protections for transgender students.
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