Dear Editor:
The continued politicking at the New Westminster school board table is a distraction that's used up too much time and energy among our elected trustees.
For school district staff and students, for families, and for contributing taxpayers, it has created numerous and wide-ranging hardships.
While it's hard to contemplate how the school district will be able to withstand continued flawed decision-making, as incredible as it may seem, community concern is that the present group of trustees is no better, and may even be worse, than previous boards.
The fact is, at the SD40 board table, "majority" does rule; so that SD40 can take a more businesslike approach to conducting the business of education, it is time to end the long-running dynasty of the labour-endorsed trustees.
Whether it's amalgamating the New Westminster school district with the well-managed Burnaby district or, come the next municipal election, voting in a Voice New Westminster majority to the school board, or doing a complete overhaul of curricula delivery systems, a new approach is definitely needed because, to be blunt, the on-going problems that plague SD40 have become intolerable for all vested interests.
First and foremost, the board needs to park its constant focus on provincial party politics and embrace its actual local mandate. Instead of dismissing valid concerns, the board needs to acknowledge the problems that exist within its own back-yard, prioritize those issues and then be proactive about them within the scope of its budget.
New Westminster constituents do not expect miracles.
We know that there is no such thing as a quick fix, but we have sense enough to know that by following a structured approach to dealing with identified priorities, it's a good first step toward resolving something rather than the status quo achieving nothing.
For example, the most recent "good news" announcement from the board was the hire of a new consultant to help resolve a "surprise" deficit.
Can you say "deja-vu"? The situation here has become absolutely ridiculous; it is a core responsibility of every organization to ensure that its decisions are (or can be) supported by its budget.
Dare I say, it's a matter of competence. Just consider this: within its first year, this board of trustees has not only failed to resolve any of the district's pre-existing issues, it's managed to create an alarming $2.8-million deficit.
To add insult to injury, it then committed more public funds to bring in an outside expert to figure out where things went wrong.
In addition to SD40's chronic deficit cycles, its track record for enduring, extreme, or unusual problems continues to betray all sense of reasonable expectation.
One trustee is on record as saying the most effective district intervention was conducted by the auditor general's office; surely the gravity of the immediate situation would warrant a call to the A-G so really, I must ask: did the board give a passing thought to calling in the auditor general?
Was it a unanimous decision to commit the district's limited education dollars to the services of another consultant?
Is this the decision that will provide the most "bang" for our "buck"?
Over-burdened tax-paying citizens need long-term resolutions, not costly Band-Aid fixes (we've tried that route before).
It is not unreasonable for the public to expect integrity of action from its elected officials.
I believe that if this new board was serious about long-term resolution to its ongoing problems, it wouldn't have hired another consultant, it would have ordered full-out audits of every system that impacts its budget.
Unfortunately, there is little evidence, and even less confidence, that this will be happening anytime soon.
Paul Johansen, New Westminster
