Subtle differences in emphasis, experience and approach emerged during the portion of this week's all-candidates' meeting focusing on the four people seeking to fill Squamish's two seats on the Sea to Sky School District board of trustees in the Nov. 19 election.
Incumbents Rick Price and Andrea Beaubien and would-be board newcomers Bianca Peters and Alice Guss presented their platforms to attendees during their 30 minutes in the spotlight at Brennan Park Recreation Centre multi-purpose room on Monday (Nov. 7).
Peters, the first to speak during the opening statements, portrayed herself as a strong advocate for education funding and teachers. She said she first became interested in becoming more involved with the education system after her son was bullied in the schools a couple of years ago.
"I realized that sadly, they [school officials] were out of touch," she said. "One child who's bullied in our community is one child too many."
If elected, Peters said she would advocate for the restoration of funding for education in B.C. She said the fact that B.C. teachers are the lowest-paid in Canada is "an outrage."
Guss, a Squamish Nation member who in the past has served as education director for the Tsawwassen and Squamish nations for 12 years, presented herself as a team builder who would bring those with widely varying viewpoints together to arrive at mutually beneficial decisions.
"I believe that our children are the flowers of our community and that they are going to blossom," she said.
Beaubien, who like Price is seeking a third term on the board, said that with a high-school graduation rate around 80 per cent and 25 per cent of Squamish children entering kindergarten classified as "at risk," the school system and the entire community need to pull together to improve those numbers during a time of funding constraints.
As a first step, "we need to ensure that our students are functionally literate when they leave grade school," she said.
Price, a retired educator, also focused on the 80 per cent local graduation rate, saying, "We do not graduate a sufficient number of our students, especially among our First Nations population."
Price added that he wants "to address the needs of all students -the gifted, the challenged and our First Nations students."
All four candidates voiced a desire to consult regularly with teachers on policy and curriculum matters. Price said evidence of the current board's commitment to that end is the recent hiring of former Central Okanagan School District administrator Lisa McCullough as district superintendent.
"We have purposely and deliberately hired a new superintendent who is known for her consultative approach," Price said.
The four hopefuls all answered a question from Squamish Nation Coun. Dale Harry -about whether they would be willing to sign a protocol agreement with the Squamish Nation - in the affirmative. Such an agreement has been in the works for some time, Beaubien said.
The four were asked what stance they would take on the possible restoration of some or all provisions of Bill 27 and 28 in light of last April's B.C. Supreme Court decision to strike down the legislation enacted in 2002. The bills, which removed class-size and composition limits from teacher collective bargaining agreements, were deemed by the court to be invalid because little consultation preceded their enactment, Price said.
"When this [current teacher job action] concludes, I believe we will see the government consult" on the next course of action dealing with class size and composition, Price said.
Said Beaubien, "I'm not sure who is best served by having [class size and composition] ensconced in legislation or as part of a collective agreement."
Guss emphasized a consultative approach, while Peters said she would be a strong advocate for teachers, adding, "We've got to be sure we have strong class-size limits and adequate funding for our schools."
