Ex-student activist, 22, voted Sooke school board chairman
It took Ravi Parmar just six years to go from Grade 11 student activist to the top spot on his local school board.
At 22, he has been acclaimed as chairman of the Sooke school board, succeeding Bob Phillips, who announced in May he was resigning from the position. Parmar attracted considerable media attention in 2011 when he led a walkout at the former Belmont Secondary School to call for a replacement for the aging facility.
Two high schools — a new Belmont and Royal Bay Secondary — were eventually opened in September 2015.
“Hopefully, we’ll be building some more,” Parmar said, referring to the Sooke School District’s ongoing efforts to secure land for up to four additional schools.
He said people still ask him about his part in the student demonstration, which led to a meeting with then-education minister George Abbott.
“It was a perfect opportunity to see the entire community come together and band together.”
District superintendent Jim Cambridge said he believes Parmar is the youngest board chair in B.C., and could be the province’s youngest ever. “I’m happy as an experienced superintendent to work with him, for sure.”
Parmar said he appreciates the opportunity presented to him by the board and wants to continue the groundwork laid by Phillips, looking at such important steps as developing a new strategic plan.
Immediate issues for Parmar and the board include a steadily growing student population in the district — expected to increase by about 1,800 students over the next five years — and the need for at least 19 portable classrooms to meet space needs in the 2017-18 school year.
It’s a tall order for Parmar, who is also working on a politicalscience degree at the University of Victoria and hopes to complete his studies in about a year and a half.
Elected in 2014, he said he decided to run while still in university because he wanted to “start doing the work of politics and public policy.”
Parmar said his introduction to the political realm came from a Grade 5 project on the 2005 provincial election.
He invited then-newly elected MLA John Horgan to be interviewed in front of his class, and now credits the incoming premier with igniting his interest in politics.
Phillips, first elected as a trustee in 1996, put Parmar’s name forward at a recent board meeting. He said having Parmar as the leader is good for an older board that includes four members who have already served as chair. “You meet exceptional young kids,” Phillips said. “Ravi’s got a gift, policy analysis probably as much as anything. He’s also an incredible platform speaker.”
He said Parmar recently gave a “crackerjack” commencement speech at the district graduation ceremony for adult education and other programs.