Byelection 2025: Dana Ebtekar's candidate profile

The City of Coquitlam is organizing the School District 43 (SD43) byelection to fill a vacant Coquitlam trustee seat. Voters go to the polls on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 (with advance voting open on Feb. 12 and 15). The Tri-City News asked the five candidates — Rosey Manhas, Candace Knoll, Dana Ebtekar, Nash Milani and Frank Do — to answer 15 questions about their campaign.

What city do you live in?

Coquitlam.

What do you do for a living?

I am a high school teacher for the Surrey School District and I work part-time for the Canadian Armed Forces as a cadet instructor cadre officer. I also periodically take on-call shifts with Riggit and IATSE 118 when I have some time as a live performance technician.

Where do you volunteer in the Tri-Cities?

Between April and September 2024, I was a member of the City of Coquitlam's Accessibility and Inclusion Advisory Committee and in March 2025 I will be joining the city's Culture Services Advisory Committee. I also co-founded and volunteer with the non-profit Theatrical Arts Educational Association of Canada, which hosts theatre festivals and workshops for teachers and students in the Lower Mainland and all over Canada. Back in 2017, SFU gave me the Brendan Midgley and Joseph Stryjak Celebration of Life Award for my volunteering in the community and their School for the Contemporary Arts also gave me the Gerald and Sheahan McGavin Award for volunteering in the community in areas relating to the arts.

Have you ever run for public office before? If so, what, when and where?

This is the first time I am running for office.

What public figures and organizations are endorsing your campaign?

I do not have any.

Have you ever worked for SD43? If so, when and what position?

I haven't worked in SD43 before; however, while working on my bachelor's of arts at SFU I was volunteering for five years as a teaching assistant in many schools in the district such as Maple Creek Middle and CABE Secondary. Additionally, during my bachelor of education program at UBC, I did my three-week community field experience practicum at Suwa'lkh School.

Do you have a relative or former family member that currently works for SD43? Who and what position?

I do not have any family that currently works or used to work for SD43.

Do you currently have children learning in SD43? If so, what schools?

I do not have any children.

Have you ever been a part of a school organization such as a PAC? If so, where and what leadership positions did you have?

I haven't been in PAC or in a school organization within SD43. In terms of leadership positions and other school organizations, I am the SOGI lead at my school where I helped the district expand the student voice forums with the help of other SOGI leads from other schools. I have been part of my school's health and safety committee since 2020 and also currently on the staff committee. I have helped the Surrey School District create policy around working in the district's drama rooms safely when working at heights and handling certain equipment. Since 2019, I have been volunteering as a board member of the non-profit Theatrical Arts Educational Association of Canada; however, I have started to transition out of this role. In 2024, I also took on the role of the track and field coordinator for the Surrey Secondary Schools Athletics Association.

What is your financial background with public institutions?

I was the non-public funds accounting officer for the Canadian Armed Forces at Cadet Training Centre Vernon during July and August 2024, which involves managing the accounting of all of the non-public funds and advising members how they can access funds. I also used to be the CFO of the Theatrical Arts Educational Association of Canada for around two years before changing my role in the organization.

Why are you running to be a Coquitlam school trustee?

Canada has provided me a lot of opportunities that I wouldn't have gotten if my family had stayed in Iran. Due to this I have the desire to give back to my community as much as possible and I believe that the best way to do that is by ensuring that our youth get the best quality education possible. With my background as a teacher, I can help bring an educator's point of view on the issues facing the district.

How will you support students?

I will help support the students by working with the student leaders to hear their issues and brainstorm ideas on how to solve them. Help ensure that they all feel welcome regardless of their background by helping schools with events/initiatives that support that cause. Additionally, a non-voting student trustee position similar to that of Vancouver School District's should be created. I will work to bring dry grads back with district support so students have a safe place to celebrate their graduation. I also support the school district adopting a similar sanctuary schools policy that New Westminster School District has. I believe all children who live here should have access to a quality of education regardless of their immigration status. All children deserve to be given an opportunity to receive an education and be given every opportunity to achieve their goals.

How will you support teachers?

Reducing their workload by working with the union to try to increase their prep time, improve the classroom composition rules and provide them with the resources they need. I know this isn't part of the question but I would also help support our support staff such as education assistants and youth workers, [ensure] they're given a living wage and work with CUPE to find ways to help solve the current provincial shortage of many support staff positions within SD43 by attracting new people and retaining experienced staff members. As school districts across the Lower Mainland, including Coquitlam, face significant financial challenges in maintaining essential programs and providing the necessary resources for teachers and support staff, it is crucial that we prioritize the needs of our students. As such, I am making this pledge if elected, to reduce my salary in half during my term in office and reallocate these funds evenly across all schools in the district to support the purchase of resources that directly benefit our students. I do not believe it is justifiable for trustees in SD43 to receive salaries higher than those in other school districts, including larger districts such as Surrey. This cut would bring my salary into closer alignment to trustees of other school districts such as North Vancouver, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Langley. I would also like to encourage all the other candidates in this election and current trustees to consider making a similar commitment to reduce their own salaries, so that we can collectively demonstrate our dedication to supporting the students and educators of this district.

How will you ensure the board of education chooses the right senior management for new roles?

By conducting a thorough background check of all possible senior managers that looks into their past employment history and references. Multiple round of interviews will be conducted to determine the individual's personality, vision on how to improve things and how they would implement their vision and so see what their physiology on management is. I would also want the Coquitlam Teachers' Association and CUPE 561 involved in the process of selecting all senior management members. Student leaders will also be given an opportunity to interview all top candidates so they may share their input.

What is the most pressing issue facing SD43 today?

Finances that cause a lot of restraints on the school district due to the lack of funding provided by the provincial government.
A shortage of teachers and overworked teachers.
A shortage of support staff and support staff that often have to work multiple jobs to be able to afford living in the area.
The current rise of anti-SOGI, Islamophobic and anti-semitic rhetoric in the province and Canada as a whole that can cause many of the staff, students, parents and community members in the district to feel unsafe.
The rise of violent incidents in school.

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