All Candidates meeting - Floor and Prepared Questions

Two types of questions were asked of school trustee candidates at the North Van Pac All-Candidates Meeting. Prepared questions, sent to the candidates in advance and "floor" questions. 

North Van PAC asked all the attendees at the all-candidates meeting to submit written "floor" questions that could then be asked of the candidates. We received a number of questions and while we were unable to ask them all at the meeting we are publishing them all so people can see the areas of interest to the community. The questions varied significantly in length and for the sake of brevity we have edited some of them while trying hard to keep the original tone and intent. Our apologies if any questions were missed or changed substantially in this process.

Floor Questions Asked in the All Candidates Meeting
· There is a definite lack of funding resources for Gifted Children. What changes will you be making to address?

· How would you increase parent involvement, and integration in the schools and why?

· In 2009 the school trustees voted in favour of closing multiple schools due to budget shortfalls. If this situation should happen again, how will you deal with it. How will you be help accountable?

· There seems to be a growing perception among parents, student and teachers that the quality and diversity of educational opportunities in North Vancouver is falling behind Do you see this as a legitimate concern and why?

· Is education underfunded?

· Are you aware of the school boards history of a more than 3 million dollar deficit one year to be followed by a 1.6 million dollar surplus the next. How would you address this issue in the future?

· Do you agree with the governments current messaging that public education needs to be transformed. If yes what needs to be transformed and why?

· What do you believe are the most important principles of public education?

· How will you as a school trustee engage in public advocacy for public education to secure adequate educational funding for our district and the province

· Do you support BCPSEA’s Labour Relations Board application that would fine teachers up to 15% of teachers’ salary during the job action. Why or why not?

· As a parent of learning challenged child who attends Keith Lynn, I want to know how you will support alternative programs like the ones at Keith Lynn to offer non academic students to assist in them in moving to the workplace?

· My teacher wants sound tiles, ( acoustic damping)She has been asking and asking for them but they just won’t give them to her. How will you help teachers make their classrooms better?


Floor Questions for which we did not get time

· Given the ministry of Education top down approach, Can you explain/justify the need for school trustees?

· What is you experience or background with special needs students and issues?

· There exists a lack of trust between parents and the school district and school board. What will you do to rebuild this trust?

· How do you intend on representing the needs of teachers & students in terms of healthy and safe working and learning environment? Address: Increased Violent incidents, Decreased maintenance & custodial Services, Mould Growth , Inconsistent Joint Health & Safety Committee meetings in schools.

· How can the process and structure of district decision making change to improve parent integration?

· How can you help support and improve the process of dealing with a poor quality teacher and make the situation better for the students?

· How would you increase community involvement in the schools?

· What is your opinion about dress codes in the schools and the impact of such codes on student success/happiness?

· Where is the money going from the sale of the units behind the new School Board Office on Lonsdale?

· There are several examples of “Traditional Schools” in BC with impressive track records. How supportive would you be of this type of model in NVSD? Would you consider converting Balmoral into one?

· Given the reduction in provincial funding, would you consider looking for private funding for specific special projects?

· Are you willing to risk your political career to stand up to the provincial government’s efforts to undermine public education? If yes what are you willing to do?

· Could you explain why approving 5 million dollars to be spent on outdoor school is justified when we are having trouble balancing budgets?

· What is your position on the two week spring break?

North Van PAC Prepared Questions answered by All Candidates at the meeting
All 1. What in your mind is the most important goal in the new strategic plan for the district and what tactics do you propose to ensure it is achieved?
All 2. Under what circumstances would you consider the permanent sale of school district land and what would you want done with the resulting capital?

North Van PAC Prepared General Questions answered by 3 candidates at the meeting (randomly drawn)
1. The provincial government does not fund many important features in new school construction such as cloakrooms, teacher storage, covered play areas and stages for drama. How should the school district deal with these issues?

2. There are many types of children with special needs in our classrooms. What do you see as the biggest concerns facing this diverse group of families and what changes do you propose to address these?

3. The new community learning program is set to start in Sept of 2012. What steps will you take as a board member to ensure that the consolidation of the district alternative education programs gets off to a good start and then grows into a world class program?

4. What administration or governance changes, if any, do you see as necessary at the school district administration level?

5. The NVSD has many students with lofty or specific goals. What gaps are there in the district in terms of supporting these high-achieving students and what changes need to be made to close these gaps?

6. How should the school district ensure that every student receives a personalized education?

7. What should the school district change or keep the same to ensure that students have access to the best instructional practices available?

8. How will you ensure that School district #44 is an inspiring place to work for all employees?

9. School board meetings often drag on well into the night. What would you do to shorten the meetings and make them more accessible to the public?

10. What involvement have you had in the community that demonstrates you commitment to quality education?

11. What is the most important skill will you bring to the table that the school board needs and give an example where you have demonstrated it?

12. Have you participated in any school district or PAC events or committees in the recent past and if so what was you contribution to the outcome?

13. Private schools are growing in BC. What should the school district response be to this situation?

14. What challenges do you see working with the Ministry of Education and how would you advocate for North Vancouver Schools?

15. What is your assessment of the current quality of education in North Vancouver schools and how would you like to see it change?

16. The BC Ministry of Education is currently planning a number of changes to the school system to support more personalized learning. What do you see as the key initiatives the Ministry is promoting and how would you like to see them implemented?

17. The BC Ministry of Education and the BCTF are currently involved in a job action. What do you see as the main issues driving this and what would you advocate to help resolve it?

18. How can we afford to maintain the practice of including special needs student in mainstream classrooms?

19. The BC Ministry of Education is proposing increased parent involvement in education. What sorts of parent involvement could you foresee and how should the school district engage with parents to promote and enable this initiative?

20. The BC Ministry of Education is proposing to increase the amount of technology-supported learning in our schools and enable students to bring their own devices into schools to support their education. How should the school district respond to this proposal?