Editor:
Although I agree with the premise of Fran Heppell’s letter (Coast Reporter, Nov. 28) suggesting Sunshine Coast school trustees be reduced from seven to five (but definitely not three — that would be unworkable and provincially unprecedented), I’m writing to set the record straight.
The board did complete sufficient public consultation in early 2011 to reduce its numbers to five, as confirmed by a June 6, 2011 public letter from Ministry of Education official Dave Duerksen.
But after the consultation, Heppell and two other trustees defeated a motion to move to five, and instead proposed to keep seven trustees, but under different electoral areas. The Ministry ruled the board had sufficiently consulted about reducing to five, but not about the last-minute shift to keep seven with tweaks.
I’m encouraged to see Heppell has changed her mind. Hopefully the other trustees who opposed the motion, and remain on the board, will as well.
As an outgoing trustee, I remain unconvinced the Sunshine Coast needs as many trustees as Surrey or Burnaby (seven); nor do we need more trustees than Powell River, Mission or West Vancouver (five).
I also believe the biggest reason for the acclamations Heppell complains about, which have been common for decades, is that Sunshine Coast trustee elections are split into four little electoral areas, each one typically held by well-known incumbent trustees who are virtually impossible to unseat (proven yet again in 2014 Area 2 election).
Every incumbent is highly respected and hard-working, which is why few attempted to run against them. By the end of this coming term, we’ll have three trustees with 16 to 20 years on the board. I agree with Heppell that now is the time to reduce the board; it’s also time for the long-time incumbents to step aside for new voices in 2018.
Silas White, Gibsons
