A lot has changed in the two months between the last two times School District 57’s board of Trustees gathered for a public meeting, which they will do on Tuesday (April 25).
In the days leading up to spring break, three prominent members of SD57 chose to, or were told to leave – trustees Betty Bekkering and Gillian Burnett left their roles as board members shortly after Cindy Heitman was voted out of her position as the Superintendent by the board in a closed-door meeting.
The departure of these two trustees has triggered SD57’s second by-election since January of 2022 when Trent Derrick and Shuirose Valimohamed also left their positions.
Nominations will begin in early May, the election will take place on June 17.
Pam Spooner has been named the interim Superintendent, the seventh person to fill that role in as many years.
This was the most recent development in a series of drama the newly elected board has found itself wrapped up in.
Daryl Beauregard, the Prince George District Teacher’s Association (PGDTA) President, was told he would not be allowed to address the trustees at February’s meeting after being publicly critical of the board and its chair, Rachael Weber, on their silence related to members of the public criticizing SOGI (sexual identity and gender identity) policies – to the point of LGBTQ staff members in the district feeling unsafe – and their silence to the media in general.
He told My PG Now that he submitted another request to speak at Tuesday’s meeting on the same topic – the importance of being inclusive of SOGI – on the night in February he was denied the chance.
As of today (Thursday), he has received no response.
One thing that has changed is Weber’s total 2023 media blackout, where the only communication the public received from her was through a handful of brief news releases and the public board meetings.
Earlier this week she broke her silence, speaking with the PG Post while not responding to requests for comment from any other local media outlet.
My PG Now has not been given the chance to speak with Weber since she was elected in October despite numerous requests.
In this single interview, Weber said her job is not to be a media person, and speaking with the media is a “respect” she will give those who she deems write the truth.
School District 57’s communications policy 1110 very clearly states “The Chairperson of the Board, or designate, and the Superintendent of Schools, or designate, are the official spokespersons for the school district.”
“We don’t have a healthy democracy without the media there to hold us accountable,” Beauregard said, in response to Weber’s comments.
“It is disappointing to see the chair feels talking with the media is optional in her public role given that she hasn’t delegated that to anybody, and she is the only person aside from the superintendent in SD57 that can talk to the media.”
When asked, both Beauregard and BC Teacher’s Federation (BCTF) President Clint Johnston told My PG Now they have never seen a board chair outright refuse to speak publicly with media over an extended period of time.
“I think engaging with whatever media there are in the public is very important – unless you can point to a very specific and very provable account where you think they mislead, misrepresented, or misspoke,” Johnston said, “in that case I would understand it, but barring that I think you need to engage with whatever media there are out there who have questions the public might be asking.”
While he prefaced that the BCTF does not interact with boards as much as locals do, like the PGDTA, Johnston said a situation like this is foreign to him, and “in general, someone who is taking on an elected role… should understand there is an element of that which requires speaking with the press when required.”
The last time Johnston spoke to My PG Now, he brought up a legislative “weakness” where a complaint cannot be sent to the Ministry of Education regarding a specific board member – it is the entire board or nobody at all.
He cited that again, but said he would like to know the ministry is “at least in contact” with SD57, helping address the “lack of responsiveness to the public.”
Johnston closed by saying there is “a lot of important work going on there (in the district), and a lot of really good work going on, but these issues that seem to be the focus of the conversation right now – they are just distracting and I think it is part of their obligation to come out and have enough comment on them that those can be put to rest.”
Looking to Tuesday, Beauregard wants to see “civil discussion,” which he said has not always been the case in these meetings.
He said he would also like to see “this board, after five months, look at their responsibilities in a way that appears to be more sincere and responsible to the people, students, and the workers.”
Regardless of if his request to speak is approved or not, Beauregard said he will be present at the meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting’s agenda has not been posted yet – one pressing issue the five remaining board members are facing is finalizing the 2023-24 school year’s budget.
It is also expected that Spooner will address the public for the first time as acting superintendent at the meeting.
It will be held at 4:00 at the SD57 office’s board room.
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