Promoting inclusivity for all students, tackling mental health, sorting out dysfunction on the board and refusing to sell any more school land were among the issues touched on at an all-candidates meeting for North Vancouver city school trustees hosted by the district parents’ advisory council Wednesday night.
Three incumbent trustees and five of the seven others vying for three city seats at the board table came out to debate issues at the Education Services Building.
Jullian Kolstee, who was on the board of the Capilano Students Union, said he’s running to “diversify the perspectives on the board” by bringing the voice of a younger generation.
Incumbents Megan Higgins and Christie Sacre said the school board is on the right track, although Sacre added, “there’s more we need to do.”
Challengers Catherine Pope and Mary Tasi Baker said the school district needs a shakeup. “I’m running because I think we can do better,” said Pope, adding she was “really disturbed” by reports of “trustees not showing up for meetings” and the school district spending $200,000 on lawyers and governance consultants over the past term. “I think change is definitely needed,” she said.
Tasi Baker said it’s up to the school board to set the tone for the rest of the district, adding it’s unacceptable that “dysfunctional behaviour has become the new norm.” She said she’d guarantee that if she were elected, within three months, “we’d have this sorted.”
Greg Zavediuk said the most important goal of public education is “inclusiveness” and ensuring all students get the proper support “whether that is a student who has challenges or a student who is excelling.”
“The school trustees’ role is to be an advocate,” he said.
Both Megan Higgins and Catherine Pope spoke about the need for food programs in the schools and an emphasis on addressing mental health and anxiety as means towards inclusiveness.
Kids who have anxieties that aren’t addressed can lead to them avoiding school, said Higgins. “I think we need to tackle it starting in kindergarten.”
Kolstee said one problem is that families often don’t know what resources are available or how to access those.
Pope said she’s concerned the resources aren’t adequate.
Tasi Baker pointed to overuse of cellphones and electronic devices by kids as contributing to anxiety and taking away from physical exercise.
“They’re spending eight to 10 hours on their devices . . . which is a huge concern,” she said.
But Kamy Teymourian, Zavediuk and Susan Skinner said school districts also need to prepare students for the technological world of the future.
Candidates were unanimous in their opposition to selling school lands to fund more capital projects.
That’s “something we’ll never be able to get back,” said Zavediuk. ”No one’s going to be giving us land in the Lonsdale area.”
Candidates also voiced concern about existing and future enrolment pressures in the Central Lonsdale area, particularly in light of densification in the City of North Vancouver.
The relationship between the city and the school district “is not as good as it could be,” said Higgins – pointing to both the Moodyville development and Harry Jerome tower project as going ahead without any room for more kids in the schools. By the time a new school is built on the Cloverley school site (currently at the top of the school district’s list of capital project requests), “I’m scared to think of how many portables will be at Ridgeway,” she said.
Kolstee said no long-term solutions are likely “until the province steps in” with a new model for when and how new schools are funded.
In response to a question about how many school board meetings they’ve attended, most of the challengers said they had watched meetings online, although admitted they hadn’t attended more than one in person. Higgins and Sacre said they’d been at 90 and 100 per cent of meetings, respectively. Skinner – who acknowledged she’s been called out publicly for not attending public meetings in person – said she’s attended about 50 per cent of meetings – including meetings that took place behind closed doors and those she called in to by phone.
On budget issues, incumbent trustees pointed to the roll of provincial bargaining on the teachers’ collective agreement as a key issue in the next term, pointing to the lion’s share of the budget that goes to staffing costs. The potential for a new funding formula for school districts along with existing teachers’ contract language that is among the strongest in the province will be issues the new board will have to grapple with, they said.
Zavediuk said when he was a coach he quickly learned “everyone knew what your job was better than you would” – adding that seems equally applicable to local political office.
Candidates Sean Ewing and Gordon Moore did not attend the meeting.
The parents group is hosting a second all-candidates meeting – this time for trustees running in the District of North Vancouver – Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium at Norgate Community Elementary, 1295 Sowden St., North Vancouver.
