"That was one of my beefs with the BCSTA when I was a trustee: too much cheerleading, self-congratulating, toeing the government line, and too little focus on being responsive to communities. That culture continues, and it could well lead to the end of school boards here in B.C."
https://twitter.com/pattibacchus/status/1334642296420093953
"More recently, trustees tell me the BCSTA’s orientation for new trustees advises that they shouldn’t speak to the news media or engage with the public on social media. Good grief. What’s the point of having local government if you don’t talk to the locals?"
Tho "it’s true the chair speaks on behalf of the board, individual trustees are elected officials who can & should speak as well, making it clear they're not speaking for the board. They need to be accountable to the public & keep as many communication channels open as possible."
"We literally held the public’s ground in the face of relentless government pressure to close schools and sell valuable public land, and we successfully negotiated hundreds of millions of dollars to build new schools and seismically upgrade several more."
"We created a model to incorporate purpose-built childcare centres on the top floor of new and rebuilt schools and started a Mandarin bilingual program, an Indigenous-focused school, and expanded early literacy intervention programs."
"Many B.C. school boards are moving away from that model with increasingly restrictive codes of conduct that limit trustees from speaking out and engaging with those they’re elected to serve."
"Many have erected rigid barriers that discourage and restrict public participation. Too many take direction from their management teams, instead of the reverse. Far too much of the public’s business happens behind closed doors or in private emails instead of in public meetings."
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