Re: “Trustee criticized for blog post,” Feb. 19.

I was dismayed, but not surprised, to read of Greater Victoria School District trustee Deborah Nohr’s recent disparaging comments about parent participation on the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils, the official body of elected parent reps that advocates for our children in our schools.

I am not surprised, as Nohr has been active with political groups affiliated with the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, which feels it is the only voice for educational reform in B.C., forgetting that parents might have not only the right, but the knowledge and desire to advocate for their children.

The main reason for the lack of parent involvement, from my many years of volunteering with VCPAC, is that parent reps, unlike Nohr, are not paid for their time and effort, and are often busy raising their kids and working. So to improve parent involvement, why not offer parent reps and VCPAC the same stipends that Nohr enjoys?

Another policy needs improvement to remedy the animosity on our school board: Change the eligibility requirements for those running for trustee so that not only are employees of the district banned, but all B.C. school employees cannot run, and any retired employees should be banned as well.

This would help rid our school board of the debilitating partisan politics that now plague it, and perhaps we would have elected representatives who are solely focused on our children and how to better their experience in our schools.

Margaret M. Hantiuk

Victoria

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