The president of the British Columbia confederation of parent advisory councils sat in the front row at Tuesday's board of education meeting and pounded trustees with questions about a decision to deny parents the right of an appeal regarding a math teacher.
Ann Whiteaker was among a group of about 10 parents at Tuesday night's tension-filled board of education meeting.
"I don't think many of my questions were being answered," Whiteaker later told The Record.
Whiteaker, who lives in Victoria, was a surprise visitor. New Westminster district parent advisory council members Wendy Harris and Paul Johansen, who were also at the meeting, didn't know she would be there.
Whiteaker said she turned up because she was in town for another meeting and wanted to see the district in action because she's heard about the issues in New Westminster between some parents and the school board.
At the meeting, Whiteaker questioned trustees about the board's plans for a committee to address the appeal. She asked what the terms of reference were for the committee and whether there would be a public reporting out of the recommendations to the board. She also said because the board heard about the appeal, parents couldn't re-shape the appeal and bring it back to the board.
Whiteaker asked how the board selected the trustees who would sit on the committee.
"It's not a selection process; two other trustees volunteered," Trustee Michael Ewen said, referring to himself, and trustees Casey Cook and James Janzen.
Parents at the meeting raised a concern that because Ewen is a teacher there could be a perceived conflict of interest with him on the committee.
One parent asked if another trustee other than Ewen could sit on the committee to avoid the conflict issue. Trustees Lisa Graham and MaryAnn Mortensen said they were available for the committee.
"We all serve on these committees so ... it's not an appropriate discussion to have right now," Janzen said.
The board meeting continued in a back-and-forth exchange between the trustees and parents for about half an hour.
Cook asked if it would be in order to "divulge" to parents how the appeal didn't meet criteria.
"I want to set up a meeting to have that discussion," Janzen said.
"It's a long ways to answer a lot of questions," Cook said.
Meanwhile, Whiteaker told The Record she left the meeting with more questions than answers.
"In my opinion, it is the responsibility of those (district) employees that are in that position to be supportive and respectful and help them (parents) get through the process rather than creating barriers in the process," she said. "It's not appropriate for parents to have to get a lawyer to figure out what somebody is saying."
Whiteaker said she would expect "better relationships" in a small school district like New West.
"There is clearly a lot of frustration in that room," she said, referring to the board meeting.
The British Columbia Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils lobbies the government on behalf of parents.
