More than 200 educators, friends, and family came out on Sunday to honor Richard Bilkszto, a principal known for his generous nature and genuine desire to see his students succeed.
According to his niece Kaitlin MacKay, Richard believed that teaching was a privilege that required ongoing personal and professional development. His family alleges that it was the professional development by a Black Lives Matter (BLM)-supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) trainer that ultimately led to his untimely death.
Richard, a 60-year-old Toronto District School Board principal, took his own life in mid-July. His family and lawyer, Lisa Bildy, have claimed that the stress and ongoing harassment from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) contributed to his suicide.
In a court claim filed in April against the TDSB, Bilkszto alleged that he was treated abusively, bullied, and harassed by DEI trainer Kike Ojo-Thompson, who was hired by black activist education director Colleen Russell-Rawlins and her followers.
Audio recordings of the April and May 2021 sessions, in which Ojo-Thompson repeatedly called out Richard’s “white supremacy” and advocated for his removal as an employee, appear to support his claims.
Despite the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) finding the treatment “egregious” and abusive, the black activists on the board’s senior management team canceled several of Richard’s contracts and refused to hire him for other jobs, as if he had been labeled a racist.
It is worth noting that no trustee or member of the executive team from the TDSB attended the Celebration of Life to express their condolences, except for Weidong Pei.
Currently, more and more principals and teachers are speaking out about the abuse they are enduring under Russell-Rawlins, causing the TDSB to face a public relations crisis.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced a review of the circumstances leading to Bilkszto’s death in late July but has been silent on the matter since then.
MacKay spoke on behalf of her brothers, stating that Richard always believed in them and his students. He was like a second father to her and her brothers and played a significant role in shaping who they are today. Richard’s lifelong friend, Robert McManus, described him as someone who could bring joy to any situation, help forget troubles on difficult days, and guide people towards unexplored paths.
The vice principal also delivered a rhyming ode to Richard, acknowledging that he was taken by hatred and must have lost faith in his life’s mission.
Lisa Bildy, Richard’s lawyer, mentioned that the family has yet to decide whether to continue with the lawsuit, as they need time to grieve.
Weidong Pei announced his motion at the next TDSB board meeting to cancel any further dealings with Ojo-Thompson.
The actions of Russell-Rawlins and her supporters in response to Pei’s motion remain uncertain.
-
View all posts
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
