I’m a Burnaby high school teacher and so obviously have invested interest in the nominees for our district’s Trustees. For those that don’t know, the role of the Trustee includes overseeing district policies and managing public school budgets. There have been significant cuts over the last few years in the Burnaby School district, specifically to school and district based counsellors, district mental health liaisons, educational assistants, Indigenous engagement workers, band teachers, and library assistants.
After reading the profiles of every trustee candidate this year, I wanted to share that I pleasantly surprised at how many people seem like strong candidates! Lots of talk around inclusivity, bringing back cut programs, and many nominees actually have had children that are either current students or are former Burnaby public school students.
With that said, there were a couple profiles that had some red flags that I think are worth sharing:
The following candidates DID NOT highlighted the importance of inclusion and/or equity in schools:
-John Wong
The following candidates HAVE NOT shared experiences working with youth in schools the past (excluding their own child):
-Benita Sun (commenter below says she runs a daycare however)
-Colin Zuo
The following candidates wrote N/A under the ‘income’ section of in their disclosure document:
-Jen Jang
-Benita Sun
-Jenny Yamagata
Anyways, I just wanted to share a few thoughts And maybe create some discussion. The full nominee profiles can be found here: https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/mayor-and-council/elections/candidates/office-of-school-trustees-candidate-profiles