Full coverage of Herald’s school board forum
The two incumbents spent much of Tuesday evening defending their record over the past four years as Okanagan Skaha School District trustees.
Welcome to the first of three Penticton Herald all-candidate forums.
It was a night of “no softball questions,” which left the incumbency spending their limited mic time defending their records.
The forum opened with Herald city editor Joe Fries asking incumbents Shelley Clarke and Barb Sheppard about the lack of trustee presence during the community and municipal government’s conversation in regards to a supportive housing project receiving the green light, despite its proximity to schools on Green Avenue.
“There was no formal request made on an agenda level . . . and that is our role. You follow that agenda,” said Sheppard. “It was a unique conversation. We wanted to ensure that the voice of the community was presented (and let) the municipal government take a lead on those conversations.”
And because there was no formal request made to speak on an “agenda level” about the supportive housing project, the trustees never addressed it.
Clarke added that the conversation had been had with staff, parents and the school principal in the past, and because there had never been any “qualms” between the “type of people living in those houses,” it essentially posed no concerns.
When asked why this was not brought to the public’s attention, Clarke’s only response was that she believed it “had been” to “her knowledge.”
Derek Hurst, a supporter of the federal Conservative party, was asked by Valley editor James Miller if he supported the 16 years of cuts made by the former B.C. Liberal government to education in the province.
“Provincially, (I’m) definitely not liberal,” Hurst clarified before dancing around a better clarification of his political stance. “I have always been an advocate of proper funding . . . there has been constant up and down with regards to per student funding. Do I want them to cut the budget in half? No. Do we want more money? Yes.”
Despite the change in provincial government, Hurst said the only impact he has seen is the “change in colour to the banners outside” and that education will “win out.”
James Palanio took part in the night’s first challenge, commenting on the change of government.
“I think the change in education was in the courts in regards to class size,” he said, stating that he believes it to be the biggest impact for the school system since the arrival of the province’s NDP government.
He was later asked whether or not he would be using his potential position as a school board trustee to further benefit real estate agents by fighting to keep schools open (with schools, he admitted, being a selling point to young families) or to the benefit of students.
He responded by stating he believes that keeping schools open begins with getting attendance numbers up in the district.
Tracey Van Raes, who came to the public light for her infamous picketing of city hall after Katie Robinson’s “head banging druggie” comment in 2014, said she would “absolutely do it all over again” if she had the chance.
“Had Katie Robinson not made that comment, I probably wouldn’t have even voted in the last election,” Van Raes said. It was Robinson’s comment, Van Raes added, that helped her become engaged in politics with a drive to make a difference.
“I thank her for that. I thank that movement, and it’s been changed to ‘educate, encourage, power’ . . . to encourage the youth movement to vote.”
Teresa Hebert, who boasts a collective 21 years of experience serving on school boards such as the North Okanagan Shuswap school district, made headway into the night when asked about conventions and trips.
The Central Okanagan board (separate to Okanagan Skaha) sent three trustees to Nova Scotia, a province that doesn’t have a school board, for a conference at a cost of $10,000. This included an airline seat upgrade for the chairperson.
Hebert defended the trip by stating she believes that the education of school board trustees needs to be maintained, not just students.
“I think if you’re going to say that you value education, you should value the education of your trustees as well,” she said.
Van Raes chimed in and said if elected she’d like to attend the provincial conferences, but would either stay with friends or “the Days Inn at $121 a night suits me just fine.”
The attention was then turned to print journalist Dan Walton, the youngest of the seven candidates. At 29 years of age, Walton currently has no children in the school system.
The newest addition to the Penticton Herald team, Melanie Eksal, asked Walton to elaborate on his interest in running for the position. With his response being that he only has the intention to serve for one or two terms before seeking election to city council, the followup question was if he was even dedicated to the school board or if he was only using the opportunity as a stepping stone to further his potential political career.
“I would say both. I think it is a really good start to politics, but I’m passionate about serving the school board because when I saw how easily they were willing to close (schools), I didn’t feel like it would be that hard for me to do a better job,” he responded.
Trustees were unanimous in their support of SOGI 123, a set of resources provided to teachers and principals to assist with sexual orientation and gender identity. Thus far, 33 candidates across B.C. have come out in opposition of SOGI 123, which is mandated by the provincial government.
Clarke and Sheppard were both forced to defend a pay raise for superintendent Wendy Hyer of 17 per cent with additional three per cent bonuses over the next two years. They noted Hyer’s exceptional work, the fear that she might leave to take a better-paying job and the fact senior staff went a significant length of time without a raise.
When the panel was asked whether they approved of the pay raise to Hyer, in comparison to the one per cent for teachers and 1.2 per cent for CUPE staff, Clarke, Hebert, Hurst and Sheppard were all in support. Palanio, Van Raes and Walton were opposed.
The one-employee policy was also discussed. Again, Sheppard and Clarke felt it was a good thing, noting it’s used by the City of Penticton. Van Raes said it should be looked at. “My biggest thing is the lack of communication. What is the role of a school trustee and all these things (having input on promotions) that are being taken away?”
Six of the seven trustees also admitted they considered it unfair when teachers were docked a day’s pay when they were unable to show up for work on a day in 2015 when Penticton experienced its worst snowstorm in 30 years.
Hurst was the lone candidate who agreed with the decision of a senior administrator.
“With my job, if I don’t show up for work, I don’t get paid,” he said.
The incumbents were asked why they declined an offer by MLA Dan Ashton and the provincial government to pay for a special adviser to examine the board’s finances at the time of the closure of McNicoll Park School.
“We felt we were making the right decisions and we didn’t need a special adviser. Salmon Arm asked for a special adviser and they fired them,” Clarke said.
Peach City Radio was unavailable for the school trustee forum. The Herald audio-taped the meeting and will attempt to post it online early next week.