Parent and teacher groups are raising concerns that the School District 43 board of education is limiting opportunities for the public to speak to trustees face-to-face in public meetings.
They say changes to board policy put too many restrictions on delegates wishing to make a presentation at board meetings and, even when people get a chance to speak during public input, it comes too late in the meeting to make an impact on trustee decision-making.
“This policy as written, even with the amendment, gives too much latitude in denying delegations to the board,” Coquitlam Teachers' Association president Ken Christensen told the board Tuesday after it narrowly agreed to approve the change to Policy 7 in a 5-4 vote.
He said he’s concerned that groups with few resources will be discouraged from making a presentation and, as a result, “other interest groups with less influence than I have may find it difficult to have your ear.”
(To see the Tuesday, Jan. 21 agenda where the issue came up, visit here.)
Four trustees — Keith Watkins and Lisa Park of Port Moody; Craig Woods of Coquitlam; and Port Coquitlaml's Christine Pollock — voted against the changes.
"This is the public and they don't feel they have gained more power," Watkins said in explaining his opposition.
Yet for several trustees, the new policy merely puts in writing what is already in practice, creating more transparency and providing an appeal process if a delegation application is denied.
“The policy was almost a housekeeping piece and we were putting it in print to share the process better,” board chair Kerri Palmer Isaak later told The Tri-City News.
Delegations are usually groups of parents or others involved in schools who make a presentation at the beginning of a public board meeting on a topic they wish to raise with trustees.
Palmer Isaak, the trustee representing the villages of Anmore and Belcarra, said groups are rarely turned away. It has happened about six times in three years, she said, usually because concerns raised had nothing to do with schools, she said, or were “inflammatory,” or from an organization that “does not share the same values in terms of respecting individuals or respecting difference.”
Now, those who want to speak to the board have to apply earlier — the policy requires them to put their request into the district two weeks before the next board meeting, instead of just one week.
Their applications will then be reviewed by the board chair or vice-chair with the superintendent or secretary-treasurer who will decide whether to approve the delegation request, in consultation with the board.
The public can also appeal to the board in writing if a request is denied — an addition welcomed by Coquitlam Trustee Jennifer Blatherwick.
“The gives a clear direction to delegations,” she told the board, “It increases or clarifies and brings transparency."
But there may also be an additional step before getting to appear before trustees for some groups in that they may be asked speak to SD43 officials first before meeting with the board.
Described as an “alternative pathway,” having people meet with staff first will “promote information sharing, improved understanding of concerns and issues, and can provide for more timely resolution of the raised matter,” according to a staff report, which added, “This change provides the board with options that allow for the provision of relevant information to delegations or to seek information from delegations to ensure that public board meetings are efficiently conducted and in support of student learning and development within the mandate of the board of trustees.”
While neither Vancouver nor Surrey school district have this step in their delegation policies, Palmer Isaak said the intent isn’t to stifle comment but to “create fruitful conversations” or to give groups a hand with slide shows or other equipment.
“They’ll come with a concern, they’ll have a fulsome discussion with staff, [and] they’ll decide to come forward after talking with staff,” she said.
Still, some remain unhappy with the changes.
“This policy, I find, is closing down discourse and creating a divide in democracy,” said Edward Ram, a District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) representative, who has five children in SD43 schools.
DPAC's president, Marvin Klassen, also expressed concern that opportunities for the public to ask questions about the agenda come too late in the meeting — and he didn’t get to speak until trustees had already decided on the change to the delegation policy.
Palmer Isaak said the district could consider moving public input to the beginning of the meeting, as is done at some city council meetings.
