Will be heard
Kensington, Kinkora DAC calling for elected trustees, suspension of school review
Janet Payne feels her voice isn’t being heard.
“There is no true voice for parents in this school review process,” said Payne. Payne is a member of the Kensington, Kinkora District Advisory Committee (DAC), which met on March 6 to discuss the need for elected school officials.
At the meeting, the DAC committee created a written statement calling for a change in the system. “The Kensington-Kinkora DAC is requesting that government suspend this school review process and hold elections for school board trustees immediately.
“While we are happy to participate on the DAC in a supplementary and advisory capacity, we need elected school trustees who with represent communities.
“We demand that the Kinkora and Kensington families of schools each have their own trustee as was the practice in the past, and we sincerely hope that other DACs across the Island will speak out and demand the election of school trustees as well,” read the statement.
Payne says elected school officials were promised to Islanders as part of the government’s platform.
“It was promised to us in the education platform that we would have elected school board trustees and have district advisory councils to supplement and advise, but not to take the place of the elected trustees.”
Payne and other DAC members feel that because there has been growing interest in education since the school review process began, that interest will grow in having elected trustees. “DACs across the Island are saying that we are a smoke screen,” Payne said.
“We still need elected representation. If government created these councils, they better be prepared to listen.”
The department of Education responded to DAC’s resolution in a written statement saying, “There has been a great deal of public engagement and input into the school review which is now underway in the Public Schools Branch. We want to hear from as many people as possible and all input will be considered.”