VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Two Vancouver school board trustees have been tossed from their own civic party caucus.

The Non-Partisan Association announced Friday afternoon that Ken Denike and Sophia Woo have been formally expelled from caucus.

The move stems from a new conference Denike and Woo hosted over the updated transgender policy being developed by the school board.

Denike and Woo told reporters realtors are expressing concern that a revised policy on sexual orientation and gender identities could negatively impact enrolment of international students.

The policy, among other things, would allow transgender students to choose which washrooms to use.

Some people, such as board chair Patti Bacchus, say because the comments made at the news conference were attributed to realtors, there is a suggestion the new transgender policy would have a negative impact on property values.

But Denike denies that this is about realtors losing business. “No, I did not say that and the realtors didn’t say that. The board chair is creating that from somewhere and it’s completely bogus,” he says.

“The realtors are making observations. They are parents themselves. The concern is a lot of those students will go to private schools.They want to protect the public school system,” he stresses.

In a release, the NPA said “The decision to expel Denike and Woo was necessary given that the two have chosen to follow their own course in various matters without consulting with the other members of caucus. The caucus has concluded that Denike and Woo do not share the same level of sensitivity and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community.”

NPA caucus chair and city councillor Elizabeth Ball says the party knew nothing in advance about the news conference.

“It was totally unsanctioned. It came as a complete shock and a complete surprise. But that wasn’t the only issue, and I want to make that very clear,” she explains.

She says the party celebrates and supports the diversity of all of the people of the city, and efforts to reach out to Denike and Woo to explain how caucus members did in fact support the transgender policy ultimately failed.

“We have done everything possible to come to an agreement and we have not been able to come to an agreement,” says Ball.

Bacchus says it’s well-known that the two trustees don’t support diversity.

“It is causing a lot of harm. They are spreading a lot of misinformation, getting parents fearful and upset and exploiting the language barrier with some of our parents, to perpetuate fear around what happens when you support diverse students,” she says.

“We can’t seem to get a change with the two trustees. It shows they are dramatically out of touch with the Vancouver of today,” she adds.

Denike insists he is simply advocating for more consultation into the transgender policy.

The board votes on whether to adopt the updated protocol this coming Monday.