Richmond's candidates for school trustee took to the stage Wednesday night in an all-candidates meeting sponsored by the Richmond Community Services Advisory Committee (RCSAC.)
Questions ranged from how do candidates plan to improve student achievement, to what candidates plan to do about bullying, to how candidates intend to address child poverty.
While they all professed a commitment to quality public education and fiscal responsibility, some were clearly more versed on school board issues than others. Questions from the audience were read aloud by moderators, Belinda Boyd, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Michael McCoy, executive director of Touchstone Family Services.
The first question of the night asked if candidates thought school property that is no longer used for schools, should be sold to big developers for development.
The Richmond board of education currently owns a site of 13 acres where Steveston secondary once stood.
Norm Goldstein (RITE) and William Chen (independent) agreed that if the land was no longer needed, it should be sold.
Incumbent Donna Sargent, (Richmond First) the current chair of the board, said the board is in negotiations with developers as well as Vancouver Coastal Health to create what she hopes will be a "win-win" situation: revenue for the district and a facility, such as affordable seniors' housing, for the community.
The candidates were asked how they would counter bullying and discrimination, particularly against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) youth.
Incumbent Rob Belleza (RITE) said it would be important to partner with other community partners to make schools safer for youth and create a better community.
Incumbent Debbie Tablotney (Richmond First) said the district offers a social justice course which students can take to further support inclusion.
"We've brought in speakers, such as the Nastoh boy's mother," added Tablotney. (Hamed Nastoh was bullied and teased to the point that he took his own life March 11, 2000.)
Eric Yung (Richmond First), former chair of the Richmond Parent's Association, said campaigns like the Pink Shirt Day has helped foster acceptance.
Goldstein said he believes educators also need to encourage acceptance of gay families. Gay couples should be able to adopt and be contributing members of society, he added.
"We have to get away from the idea that they're so different, because they're not."
Grace Tsang (Richmond First) added that the White Ribbon campaign was an initiative that could foster respect.
The candidates were asked about the unique challenges of integrating so many new immigrant students.
Kenny Chui (RITE) believes the board must lobby the provincial government to be more flexible with its funding allocation for ESL students. Currently, the provincial government sets it funding allocation by Sept. 30. However, the school district has new immigrant students entering the system all through the year. As a result, the Richmond district is forced to pull from other resources to help integrate those newcomers.
Jonathan Ho (RITE) said it's not just a matter of providing more resources but ensuring new immigrant families are aware of what resources are there and how to integrate themselves into the community.
If elected trustee, Ho said he would act as a bridge to help bring new immigrant families into the mainstream.
Sargent said the influx of students over the upcoming decades presents "challenges and opportunities."
Richmond's city centre will see most of the growth, said Sargent, the question is how to cope with that.
"These children will be growing up in towers. The house with the white picket fence is becoming less so. We want them to still have green space, but what will that look like?" This is a conversation that needs to happen, Sargent added.
Candidates were asked what they would do in response to Richmond's child poverty rate of over 20 per cent.
"This is a very big issue," said Belleza.
"There is a perception that Richmond is rich, but 23 percent of our kids are hungry."
The school district must partner with other community groups, he added.
Goldstein agreed, child poverty "is not something the school board alone can address. Hot lunches help, but this is a bigger social issue." Partnering with other community groups is essential, he added.
On the issue of revenue generation, Chen supported expanding the international student program as well as summer camp initiatives.
Candidates were asked if they had ideas to resolve the teachers' current job action.
"Our hands are tied. What we can do is minimize the impact on students," said Chui.
It's important to seek cooperation from the BCTF and communicate with parents.
Ho said trustees need to pressure MLAs to push the process further.
Yung noted that it's thanks to good communication between stakeholders in Richmond that students here are less impacted than they might be. For example, teachers have agreed to go ahead with the outdoor program for some Grade 6 and 7 classes.
When asked about how to raise academic achievement, Tsang referred to various enriched programs the district offers.
Ho noted that no single factor determines student achievement, rather it's a combination of school programs, home support and community support.
Belleza said stable, predictable funding from the provincial government is essential for quality education.
Chui maintained that continuing with the highly controversial Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests is a positive way to improve student achievement.
Goldstein said, "the best way to improve achievement is to improve motivation."
Motivation increases when the unique learning needs of students is addressed through different programs that can tap into a student's particular interests.
Goldstein was the co-chair of MacNeill's incentive program, which his son went through and benefited from. Tablotney also said that her son benefited from MacNeill's Fine Arts program.
Sargent said she supports the concept of choice and unique learning opportunities, but also made a bid for neighbourhood schools.
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