A Maple Ridge resident who works in the Coquitlam school district may lose her job as an educational assistant after attention was drawn to photographs she posted of herself on an adults-only online platform.
Kristin MacDonald, who is currently off work due to back surgery on April 24, is an educational assistant in SD43.
But on April 28, she received a cease and desist letter from the district – which has employed her since 2015 – demanding that she stop all of her activities on the social media platform OnlyFans or, potentially, be terminated.
Ever since July, MacDonald has been posting photographs of herself under the alias Ava James on the platform – a subscription-based site where you have to be 18 years or older to view. The photographs show MacDonald wearing revealing bikinis and scanty lingerie.
MacDonald said the site wasn’t always for adults only. She said at one point it was a platform for athletes, singers, and actors could share content at a price tag.
“In order to be a subscribing person on OnlyFans, your identity has to be verified, you have to be 18, and you also have to have a credit card on file,” explained the 35-year-old.
Her persona Ava James can also be found on Instagram.
MacDonald was told there was a written complaint to the school district by a student who notified them that they saw a TikTok video of MacDonald in a bikini.
She maintains that she was trying to keep Ava James anonymous and far away from her day job with the district. And, for those who have criticized her for being inappropriate, she responded that inappropriate can be interpreted differently by different people.
MacDonald says she uses the money from OnlyFans to supplement her income as a single mother of one.
“We make such little money as educational assistants,” she said, noting that she barely makes rent with just a little left over for food.
“We make $50,000 a year, but what nobody talks about is the fact that because we are part-time employees, the maximum amount of hours we can get in a week is 30, that means that we have to pay out of pocket for our benefits,” she explained.
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When reached by phone Ken Hoff, assistant director of communications and community relations with SD43, cited privacy for not commenting on the situation.
“For reasons of privacy we would never comment on an employee,” he said to The News.
Currently there is a possibility that MacDonald will have to undergo a second surgery and so she doesn’t know when she will be able to return to the classroom.
And, she said that she was denied long-term disability and Employment Insurance, so OnlyFans is her only source of income at this point in time.
MacDonald wonders how many of her male colleagues have a subscriber account, and whether a male colleague would receive the same discipline by the district.
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“I want to stand up. I want to stand up for women. I want to stand up for my fellow EAs who work their butts off, who have a lot of responsibility in some situations. And we just don’t make a livable wage – not even close,” she said.
MacDonald believes EAs deserve more.
“We’re shining a light on the misogyny that still exists in our society,” she added.
• The News has reached out to CUPE 561 for comment
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