To the Editor,
Re: Get informed, then cast vote, Editorial, Oct. 23.
I have been trying, as are many parents and concerned community members, to make sense of the situation we face in our Nanaimo school district. It is difficult to do so without immersing yourself in decades worth of documents. Successive layers of decisions and issues have accumulated into what we experience today. Few of us will have the time or patience to take on that level of research and I do not recommend this approach. However, you can ask questions of those trustee candidates who have stepped up and are asking for our support on Nov. 15.
Ask candidates about their history of involvement. Have they attended their local PAC or DPAC meetings? What roles have they held in schools or their district? Have they asked questions related to district-wide issues? Can they speak to any of the initiatives mentioned in the District Achievement Contract?
For the last 18 months I have attended the majority of the school board meetings. Dialogue between trustees has been helpful in understanding how issues are brought forward and decisions made. There is significant diversity in opinions and challenges that are not represented in the minutes which I find very encouraging.
Have the new trustee candidates been at the board meetings to gather knowledge and track issues?
Sarah LeeNanaimo