Montreal

Parents at the private Montreal Christian academy attended by Karla Homolka’s children say school officials brushed off concerns about the schoolgirl killer interacting with their children.

Homolka has been sending her own three children to the private, Seventh-day Adventist Greaves Academy since September.

The now 47-year-old convicted serial killer has been volunteering at the school – and reportedly supervised kindergarten children during a field trip in March.

But parents weren’t aware that was going on until a man, who called himself a concerned citizen, passed out leaflets back in March.

“When I first read the paper, I thought it was a hoax,” Andy Maraj, whose daughter attends Grade 3 with one of Homolka’s children, told the Montreal Gazette.

“But then I saw her and I saw her walking around with her dog for the children to play with. I told my daughter: ‘This lady, I don’t want you to go near her please. If she calls you, don’t go near her and call me,’ because I don’t trust the school.”

Maraj said he’s upset that Homolka was permitted inside the school to interact with the children.

“That’s not even supposed to happen, because once you have a (criminal) record, you’re not supposed to be in the school,” he said. “They could have asked her to stay in the car, and have someone escort her kids into the school, and not to bring her dog. And it’s not her fault, it’s (the school’s) fault. It’s really terrible that they would allow this.”

Maraj said he started discussing Homolka’s presence with other parents in April, and on May 2, he received a letter that he would not be welcomed back in September.

Homolka served 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the deaths of two schoolgirls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. Her ex-husband, Paul Bernardo, is serving a life sentence for his role in multiple rapes and homicides.

Stéphanie Deligne, whose daughter attends Grade 4 at the school and is in a class with one of Homolka’s children, said she would have liked to have been informed about the situation.

“It’s really unacceptable,” Deligne said. “My daughter was playing with the dog of Karla Homolka, and I was right next to her, but I didn’t know who she was.”

She said she was angry to hear Homolka is regularly allowed into the school, and that she brought her dog inside.

“Now, I just bring her into the school, and I don’t let her play outside because (Homolka regularly) brings the dog.”

Deligne was told that she too would have to find another school in September.

“The administration told me I am being too critical,” she said.

Postmedia contacted Greaves Adventist Academy about Homolka’s alleged involvement with the school on May 17. At the time, school superintendent Marc Bouzy said the academy hadn’t received any complaints about Homolka.

“The school has been here for a long time and we have never been involved in anything contrary to the proper norms of the students,” Bouzy told the Montreal Gazette. “There is no reason for anyone to be concerned about the way we do things right now for the benefit of the students in our community.

“The ministry only gives permits to schools that are a safe place for students attending. In no way is it an issue for the community.”

The Seventh Day Adventist Church of Canada, which runs the school, told Breakfast Television Homolka isn’t a regular volunteer at the school and that she’s not allowed to be alone with the children.

Under Quebec law, volunteers at elementary schools are supposed to undergo criminal background checks before interacting with students.