New VSB boss Turner promises to fast-track seismic upgrades
Vancouver’s government-appointed school board trustee Dianne Turner outlined her priorities for the school district Thursday, while hours later hundreds showed up for a rally to support the dismissed school board.
“I feel my democratic rights are being trampled,” Prince of Wales teacher Nancy Palejko said. “This rally is protesting the government that fired the trustees who were advocating for better funding for education.”
B.C. Education Minister Mike Bernier fired the nine members of the elected board Monday for failing to pass a balanced budget by June 30 and other concerns, including allegations of a toxic work environment. The sac king came the same day the board planned to formally approve a balanced budget.
Turner was then appointed to run the board for at least a year.
Turner was superintendent for the Delta School District for six years before she was seconded to be the Ministry of Education’s chief educator — a position she occupied for two and a half months before she was asked by Bernier to take on the job of official trustee in Vancouver.
In her first public appearance, Turner told reporters she planned to speed up seismic upgrades for schools.
Turner also announced she would create a “respectful and stable” environment across the district, and get it on “good financial footing” as she starts work next month to balance next year’s budget, which has a projected $15-million shortfall.
She said she expects six senior staff members who went on medical leave in recent weeks to be back on the job by mid-November, and confirmed the closure process for 11 schools, which was temporarily halted Oct. 3, is off the table.
“I have no desire or intention to reopen the suspended school closure process at this time,” she told reporters.
“While I was appointed by government I want to make it perfectly clear I am not acting for government,” said Turner, who will earn $217,000 for her one-year post. “My role is to govern the school district in a responsible manner and to ensure staff is working to support district priorities, particularly related to student learning.”
Turner also sought to allay concerns over the firing, criticized by some as undemocratic, and her own unelected role. “There is a fear that a voice for the public has disap- peared because I was not elected,” she acknowledged, promising to be accessible to the public through email, public meetings and other community engagement events.
While some committee meetings will likely be consolidated now that she is a board of one, the district will still hold public board meetings and include opportunities for public Q&As, with the only exceptions being meetings on legal, labour and land-use matters, she said.
“I am deeply committed to transparent processes and clear communication and will organize opportunities for community engagement,” she said.
Turner said one of her first challenges will be to change the narrative of public education in Vancouver.
“I can assure you my expectations about the change in tone and culture in those meetings is going to take place at the very first meeting” on Nov. 17, she said.
The protest rally later in the day was organized by unions including the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association, the Vancouver Secondary Teachers’ Association, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 963 and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 15 and Local 407.
The rally had a party-like atmosphere, complete with a small brass band.
At the rally, on-call teacher Robin Holburn, 59, said it was important to show support for the trustees.
“The provincial government is underfunding education and has now fired the school board, but they’re blaming the school board for problems the provincial government has created through underfunding, downloading costs and not fully funding the contracts they’ve signed,” Holburn said.
NDP Leader John Horgan, who addressed the rally, said Premier Christy Clark fired the board “because she could.”
“I think that’s outrageous. If they had an issue with the board, they could have dealt with it by dealing like adults do in these difficult times,” Horgan said.
Former chairman Mike Lombardi called the firings “outrageous” and said the dismissal was a ploy for the provincial government to gain control of the district.
At the rally, he said: “It’s good to know the citizens of Vancouver are standing behind the Vancouver School Board.”