Somewhat overlooked with the election of CNV and DNV Mayors and Council, the school board election plays an important role in our community and it's being rumored that many of the incumbent school trustees will not be seeking re-election in 2014. The only candidates/incumbents that have been said are running again in 2014 are Francis Stratton and Cyndi Gerlach. Barry Forward is rumored to be seeking a Distinct council seat and Mike McGraw is just not running at all. It could mean as many as six of the eight seats will be up for grabs.
There has been little or no coverage in the North Shore News about the looming School Trustee vacancies probably because they are waiting for the nomination deadline on October 10th.
21 comments:
I think school boards need to go. SD44 recently scuffled with DNV council over school lands. The board really has not much authority and the BC Libs have systematically taken away what little they had by forcing balanced budgets.
Off topic, but there seems to be little interest in the topic anyways.
I have word that Glen McKenzie is running for District Council.
Glen's problem is he isn't likeable enough. All of the Councillors can be jerks at times, but they are all likeable enough for people to want to keep engaged with them. Glen's campaign against development in Lynn Valley went from a large following with hundreds of engaged people, to dwindling support down to the point that he couldn't muster twenty people to speak against the Bosa development. If he wants to win an election he has to figure out how to attract quality allies.
He's likeable enough...are you sure you don't have him mistaken for someone else?
as far as the councillors go, you're talking about whether they're genuine r not...anytime I bump int oany of them they're always nice, but being nice doesn't mean they're on your side...probably just means they wnat your vote...or perhaps they're just trying to be nice..who knows with politicians?
Therein lies the point. The Councillors are trying to be nice to everyone, even the people they don't agree with. Glen strikes me as the type to only be nice to people who share the same views. Which one is more genuine? Does it matter?
I hope we see new faces on the school board. I've been disappointed with their silence in the ongoing strike. Further, many parents are unhappy about how their concerns have been dismissed by the current board.
How does a school board have any influence over the teacher's strike? Which concerns are being dismissed? Please elaborate.
I was disappointed that the current school board sent a letter to the province telling them to negotiate, and didn't send an equivalent letter to the teachers union telling them to negotiate.
I think our school board is weak. They added six early dismissal days to the calendar last year to appease the poor teachers without any consideration for the thousands of parents that have to make alternate arrangements to make a 2pm pickup time.
It should be noted that a ten year full time teacher in school district 44 makes over $75,000 plus a defined benefit pension plan, plus the most lucrative benefits package in the public system.
I was disappointed that the current school board sent a letter to the province telling them to negotiate, and didn't send an equivalent letter to the teachers union telling them to negotiate.
I think our school board is weak. They added six early dismissal days to the calendar last year to appease the poor teachers without any consideration for the thousands of parents that have to make alternate arrangements to make a 2pm pickup time.
It should be noted that a ten year full time teacher in school district 44 makes over $75,000 plus a defined benefit pension plan, plus the most lucrative benefits package in the public system.
So, you're pissed that you had to look after your own children on 6 different occasions and that the teachers are making a decent wage? What wage would you prefer be paid a professional with 10 years experience and multiple years of university education (not to mention continuing eduction)?
For the record the School Board's letter advocating for a negotiated settlement went to all parties including BCPSEA, BCTF, Premier Christy Clark, local MLA's and all our local partner groups.
Don't confuse them with facts, it messes with their 'reality'.
The BCTF is not 'the teachers' did you send it to the locals? the NVTA? The letter is here and it is the most pointless waste of paper.
In just the last term the school district 44 school board, (Not province wide, but locally decided) added six early dismissal days, doubled the length of spring break, added professional development, and allowed teachers more class prep time. Was there a discussion about the cost to parents?
(This has nothing to do with our school board) I don't have a problem with paying good wages, but I have a problem paying unaffordable wages. A defined benefit pension plan that someone in todays day and age could collect for 30 years or more easily, is worth in excess of $18,000 today, and that amount will go up with inflation. That on top of the free family MSP, the extended health plan with almost no deductibles or premiums, that means that we are paying almost $100,000 to employ a teacher for 9 months of the year. It is so lucrative that there are almost double the number of certified teachers than there are full-time jobs. (70,000 certified teachers in BC)
Teachers aren't the issue, they are looking out for themselves very well and frankly, good for them, the problem we have is weak governance can give in too easily, and doesn't appear to give a darn about the parents. That extra week at spring break? Guess what that costs a family in extra daycare or missed work? About $300/child in daycare (ad hoc daycare is more expensive than regular daycare), missed work priceless.
Rant over. I hope good quality school board trustees come forward and do a better job of including parents costs in their calculations.
A defined benefit pension plan that someone in todays day and age could collect for 30 years or more easily, is worth in excess of $18,000 today, and that amount will go up with inflation. That on top of the free family MSP, the extended health plan with almost no deductibles or premiums,
Some people, including many "conservative" politicians fifty years ago, would argue that goal of a developed country is bring everyone in the society up to at least that level.
Although I admit that the Free Traders want to drag everyone down to the level of the average Chinese factory worker.
There has been a lot of thoughtful analysis, the upshot of which is that the Province could easily fund all of the things that have been clawed back from education by just reinstating a couple of percentage points of the taxes of the highest earners.
It is pure propaganda to claim that "we can't afford it."
As one commentator summed it up:
"The thing to keep in mind is that governments choose how much revenue they have available to spend on programs by setting tax rates. Saying there’s no money in the budget for education improvements doesn’t mean we can’t afford it. It just means we can’t fund them with our current taxes."
Running for School Board during a strike seems like a fools mission.
Since enrolments are down, why aren"t there significant
cuts with those on the school board?
Looks like Mike Little is now the candidate for the Conservatives Federally.
NS News Article
How much to school board trustees make?
A simple Google search would tell you that.
"North Vancouver school trustees have voted to boost their annual remuneration by about 10 per cent.
Each of the seven got a $2,400-a-year increase April 1 and will get annual increases on July 1 to reflect the consumer price index.
As a result of the April increase, the board chair (Franci Stratton) will receive $24,163 per year, the vice-chair (Barry Forward) will get $22,895 and the other trustees will receive $22,176."
Source - http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/30/more-pay-for-north-vancouver-school-trustees/
Peanuts.
Hi all,
My name is Dave Jackson. I live in the Upper Delbrook area on Starlight Way.
I'm one of the new entrants vying for a position as a District School Trustee.You can see a description of my platform in point form at: http://electmeschooltrustee.n.vanc.ca
At the website there is also a link to my LinkedIn profile, with a fair amount of historical detail shown.
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