50 replies to this topic

[groundlevel]

I'm proud to say that I voted for Peg Orcherton, Bev Horsman and Catherine Alpha for school board trustee (sorry John Young).

I know Michael McEvoy and Dave Petre; I've met Tom Ferris, Elaine Leonard and Jim Holland -- and I wouldn't vote for any of them if my hair was on fire and they promised to put it out.

[Bob Fugger]

If SD #16 had requested any legal advice before removing Catherine Alpha, they would have been informed that the case for removing her was weak and that the courts would reinstate her.

What do they care, it's not like it's actually their money paying for the court case.

[martini]

I'm proud to say that I voted for Peg Orcherton, Bev Horsman and Catherine Alpha for school board trustee (sorry John Young).

I know Michael McEvoy and Dave Petre; I've met Tom Ferris, Elaine Leonard and Jim Holland -- and I wouldn't vote for any of them if my hair was on fire and they promised to put it out.

It's Dave Pitre.
What has he done to deserve such abhorrence?
He's been involved in the district for over 35 years, and done incredible work.
I

[groundlevel]

Martini -- Saying I wouldn't vote for someone doesn't express abhorrence. And saying I wouldn't vote for 5 trustees even if my hair was on fire and they promised to put it out is colourful imagery not hate speech.

You're quite right though -- Dave's last name is spelled Pitre not Petre. My bad.

Dave Pitre has been a good administrator, adequetly paid during his time as teacher and principal and adequetly pensioned in retirement from his job. I didn't vote for him for school trustee (or McEvoy or Walsh) because I like my elected officials passionate not pragmatic -- and when the Ministry's shortfalls effect schools and students I want Stand Up Guys not those damn NDP wimps.

[Bernard]

I really am not a fan of School Board Trustees being former teachers or administrators. They normally do not have the perspective to offer good governance. But I also believe that our schools suffer because we suck good teachers into management and do not hire qualified managers to run the SD and the schools.

[martini]

Martini -- Saying I wouldn't vote for someone doesn't express abhorrence. And saying I wouldn't vote for 5 trustees even if my hair was on fire and they promised to put it out is colourful imagery not hate speech.

You're quite right though -- Dave's last name is spelled Pitre not Petre. My bad.

Dave Pitre has been a good administrator, adequetly paid during his time as teacher and principal and adequetly pensioned in retirement from his job. I didn't vote for him for school trustee (or McEvoy or Walsh) because I like my elected officials passionate not pragmatic -- and when the Ministry's shortfalls effect schools and students I want Stand Up Guys not those damn NDP wimps.

Sorry I was not using the word abhorrence as in hate speech. I meant an abhorrence against voting for certain candidates.

I beg to differ. Dave has been a passionate teacher and administrator his entire career.

And being NDP myself...well


That's an interesting perspective Bernard. I hadn't looked at it that way.

[Bernard]

That's an interesting perspective Bernard. I hadn't looked at it that way.

They way to the school system is set up means that the management has to come from existing teachers. Teachers do not learn how to be managers when they get their initial degree, they have to go back to school to learn the management skill set.

What this means is that people who run our schools tend to be from a very small set of people and have learned how to get along within the system. They are not people that typically wanted to go into management, but often end up there because they either do not like teaching or want to gain power.

The upshot of this is that our schools are very conservative and very resistant to change. One example of the narrow thinking of the school admin people is around funding. Why are the school districts not actively fundraising for serious money? SDs are tax charitable, you give your school a $500 donation, they issue you a tax receipt.

The SD could create a foundation and raise big money, but they do not do that. They do not even send a note home to the parents asking them to donate money in return for a tax receipt, instead they want us to volunteer many hours to raise chicken feed. If in a school of 350 kids, one in four parents gave a $100 donation, that would be close to $9000, better than most PACs manage.

Why should a principal have to have a teaching certificate? How is it possibly relevant to the job of running the school?

We are seeing the result of this in the declining enrollment. Each year the number of kids not in the public sector rises while the public sector numbers fall. We are about roughly one in six kids in BC outside of the public system, that is likely to rise to one in five with two to three years.

On the upside, BC has one of the top rated school systems in the world. When the OECD measures the achievement of 15 year olds, we rank in th top ten globally.

[think local]

http://www.timescolo... ... story.html

Not all trustees fumbled Alpha issue

Times ColonistJune 25, 2009

Re: "Trustees fumbled byelection," June 23

Your editorial mainly hit the mark on the mess leading up to the court decision in which Justice Robert Metzger rightfully reinstated trustee Catherine Alpha to the Greater Victoria Board of Education. However, I wish to clarify the implication that all of the trustees ousted her and called for a hasty, disruptive (and unnecessarily expensive) byelection.

I and two other trustees, Bev Horsman and John Young, voiced our dissent early and often on the hastiness of calling this byelection.

I asked for two meetings with the board to discuss what had occurred, how the disclosure issue had taken so long to be uncovered and brought to the board's attention and why Alpha was not provided the opportunity to correct any deficiencies.

I prepared a lengthy report for the board that raised two serious issues: The district's failure to have proper election reporting processes in place; and actions taken by some board members without the authority of the board (like the placing of a byelection advertisement well before the board had decided on a byelection).

I provided a similar report to members of the media after a board meeting on May 11. That report outlined my concerns and four recommended resolutions. Three of these resolutions were defeated and one, to immediately draft specific directions for the administration to follow for future elections, was tabled by the majority on the board.

This majority has consistently turned a deaf ear to the board's and the administration's responsibility with respect to the issue of Alpha. Further, the majority of this board took a neutral position with respect to her petition to the Supreme Court, when there was the opportunity to support her.

Fortunately justice and common sense prevailed with Metzger's decision.

While all of us on the board have to accept the will of the majority, it is important for the public to know which trustees made these decisions that the Times Colonist characterized as "fumbling." They are trustees Tom Ferris, Jim Holland, Elaine Leonard, Michael McEvoy and Dave Pitre.

Peg Orcherton

Trustee, Greater Victoria school board
*************************************************************************************************************
Written in response to this article: http://www.timescolo... ... story.html
Trustees fumbled byelection


Times ColonistJune 23, 2009

Catherine Alpha's reinstatement as a Greater Victoria school trustee is welcome. Her failure to use the proper forms to declare $350 in campaign expenses was no reason to overturn the voters' decision and bar her from office.

Alpha bears responsibility for not meeting the letter of the Local Government Act requirements.

But the school district and her fellow trustees should be embarrassed by their handling of this case.

Alpha was elected to her first term last November. Her campaign was run through the Victoria Public Education Coalition, which supported three candidates. (The other two were unsuccessful.) All the details of her campaign finances were reported, as required, to the district, as part of the coalition filing.

She should have reported individually. The trustees' response was to declare her seat vacant and call a byelection in which she would be barred from running.

But the trustees and the district had options. Staff could have notified her of the problem before the deadline. Other local governments have passed resolutions allowing councillors to continue sitting despite filing problems.

Or at the least it could have exercised the option, available under the Local Government Act, of allowing Alpha to remain on the board pending a hearing in B.C. Supreme Court.

It didn't. Instead, trustees ousted her and called a hasty, disruptive byelection, scheduled for Saturday. It is now cancelled, after significant preparation and campaigns by candidates.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Metzger found Alpha had addressed the filing error within 24 hours of learning of the problem and acted in good faith.

This entire affair was unnecessary. Common sense, an understanding of the available options and respect for the choice made by voters should have allowed the board to deal with this in a much a different way. We hope a lesson has been learned.

[Holden West]

Good for Orcherton to distance herself from that mob.

I can't imagine this happening at City Council--what if Phillipe Lucas made the same error and Geoff Young did a media blitz spreading misinformation. It's shameful to use the power of your political position to oust a fellow candidate.

[Jill]

I'm glad Orcherton wrote this letter. I hope the questions she raises about the administration's role in this mess and the placement of the by-election announcement BEFORE that was put to a vote by the trustees are pursued further. I'd really like some answers.

[eseedhouse]

I myself voted for Alpha, but I cynically still wonder how much of her success at the ballot box had to do with the Alphabetical positioning of her name?