It's Election Day

Well, we're finally here. Slightly anti-climatic considering the great turn out at the advanced polls. Nevertheless, this is it.

It's been a very interesting and exciting time. Good luck to all the candidates. Now let's see what happens!

Education is Important!

Letter to the Editor of the Daily Courier: Re: School Trustee Election

Leafing through the first section of the Daily Courier Tuesday morning my suspicions were confirmed. The Courier is trying to keep the School Trustee election a secret!

We had our one and only forum Monday night at Hollywood Road Educational Services in front of a rousing and raucous crowd of about 900 people. (That sentence was just to get your attention.) Actually there were about 90 intelligent, well-behaved people, including 13 candidates who spoke.

Many common issues like underfunding, literacy and graduation rates, and transportation concerns were brought up. But interestingly, many of the candidates mentioned the despicable lack of coverage in the media about the School Trustee election, including me.

I fully understand the need for any newspaper to sell newspapers. And I’m sure newspapers do a pretty good job of reading the public as to what they want to read about. So I don’t really blame the Daily Courier that much. However, I think they could help with the understanding that Education (capital “E”) really is important in our society.

A plank in many of the City Council candidates’ platforms has been to address homelessness. I’m sure it has occurred to most people that probably all, or at least a vast majority, of our homeless and street people went to school! We, in Education, are addressing homelessness and poverty right now in our schools, everyday! We are raising our graduation rates. We are raising the graduation rates of Aboriginals. We are, in fact, doing everything we can to keep as many people as possible away from homelessness and poverty. This is happening as you read this, right now.

Here are few interesting facts: School District 23’s operating budget is around $180 to $190 Million per year. The City of Kelowna’s operating budget is around $96 Million. SD 23 employs about 3 times as many people as does the City of Kelowna. School District 23 is the second largest employer in the Okanagan Valley, second only to Interior Health.

With the above in mind, I beseech our public to give Education a very sober second look. We are important. Our only real drawback is that our goals are long-term and the results not quite as tangible as bricks and mortar projects.

Please go to http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page3557.aspx or just Google “City of Kelowna” and find your way to the Trustee page. Please take a few moments and read through all of the candidates and give them all a fair shake. Remember, Education really is the cornerstone of our society.

Richard Knight

Presentation at Trustees' Forum

Good evening, welcome guests, fellow candidates. Thank you to COTA and COPAC for organizing this forum. My name is Richard Knight, and I’m running for School Trustee.

I have over 30 years of experience in Public Education, as a teacher, Vice Principal and Principal at the Elementary, Middle and Secondary levels. I also served as Faculty Advisor at UBC Okanagan supervising the practicums of student teachers.

I am a parent of 4, one still in the school system, and I have 2 grandchildren, one in grade 1.

I believe in the universality of education, and I believe we should all work to raise the profile of education in the public eye.

I have three broad areas of focus. Listening to the concerns of all stakeholders. Lobbying the government for better funding, and examining our own budget and how we allocate our funds.

One of the major issues I hear from people is the lack of funding in education. There is no doubt in my mind that education is underfunded. I have heard from people, and seen for myself an erosion of services to Special Needs students and to those in the “grey area”, like students who receive learning assistance, for example. Custodians have been cut, and yet we promote Health and Safety as one of our goals. Rutland Middle was left off the list for capital expenditures, to name a few.

I believe it is crucial to continue lobbying our government for better funding. But because we are experiencing hard times these days, I believe we must also look very closely at how we are spending the money that we have.

To cite one example, our library programs have been cut back considerably over the years, even though “improving literacy” is our top goal in SD 23. What, exactly, are we spending our money on? This is a question I’m very interested in exploring.

I believe in the universality of education. I shudder at the thought of schools lobbying their PAC’s for books, for example. I’m told this is happening.

The more we do these kinds of things, the more the Provincial Government will abrogate it’s responsibility, and the more we will create “have and have not” schools.

One of the most important issues for me in the Kelowna Civic Election has been the election of School Trustees. It's an interesting commentary on our society how little attention Education gets in the media compared to issues of bricks and mortar. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to get better funding.

School District 23 employs about 3 times as many people as the City of Kelowna, by the way. It is the 2^nd largest employer in the Okanagan Valley, next to Interior Health.

We all want to clean up downtown. I wonder if it has occurred to anyone that all of our street people and homeless went to school. How many of our current students will end up on the street? Education is about actualizing long-term goals that will benefit all of us in the years to come. I will work hard to raise the profile of education in the public eye.

I am retired and therefore I have the time. I am committed and passionate about Public Education. And I’ve been living it for most of my adult life.

If you share any of my concerns please vote for Richard Knight on November 19.

Thank you.

What's Important in our Civic Election?

One of the most important issues for me in the Kelowna Civic Election is the election of School Trustees. It's an interesting commentary on our society how little attention Education gets compared to issues of bricks and mortar. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to get better funding.

We all want to clean up downtown. I wonder if it has occurred to anyone that all of our street people and homeless went to school. Did we prepare them for the future? Can we do a better a job? How many of our current students will end up on the street?

I wonder if people are aware that our school district's budget is about double the City of Kelowna's.

On council we need people who are not afraid of development but also have a social conscience. I support people who recognize the importance of a vibrant downtown, but who also understand the issues and concerns of the less fortunate. If you read and listen to our candidates' platforms, it's clear who these people are.

Advance and Mail in voting

Here's a list of advance polls and their locations:

Wednesday, November 9

Parkinson Recreation Centre

Okanagan College

Wednesday, November 16

Parkinson Recreation Centre

UBC Okanagan Campus

Wednesday to Friday, November 16 - 18

City Hall

Click here for more information.

Also, you can vote by mail if you'll be out of town. Click here to see how.

There are options for voting available for people with disabilities as well. Click here.

If you want all the information at once including "Special Voting" and more click here.

Please remember to vote on November 19 or before. Exercise your democratic right.

Community Action Towards Children's Health Questionnaire

As an addendum to your questions I would like to add the following:According to the Early Development Instrument, 30% of kindergarten children are considered “vulnerable” and this is trending upward. It is my opinion that oneof the factors related to this is parenting. As a School Trustee I will promote parent education, such as Early Learning for Families (ELFF) in the hope of helping parents to better nurture and support their children, thus better preparing them for kindergarten.

1. In what ways will you help make your community more child friendly (for example: safe routes to school and access toservices), and how will you report your progress?

First of all, the main function of the Board of School Trustees is the governance of a quality education for our children, which makes the work of a School Trustee child friendly just by definition. I have always used the slogan “Is it good for kids?” in all aspects of my experience as an educator, and I will continue to do so.

Regarding what I will actually do as a Trustee to make my community more child friendly, I will listen to the concerns of community members and bring those items to the table. In addition, I have some concerns myself that I will certainly be bringing up when our Board meets, namely, safe routes to school and the erosion of services to students with special needs.

2. How will you help children in your community find housing that is safe, comfortable and does not cost more than 30% of thefamily budget, and how will you report your progress?

As a School Trustee I will promote communication between schools and supportive agencies like CATCH, BC Housing, BCNPHA.

3. What will you do to increase access to community owned resources and facilities to improve early childhood development (for example: co-location of services in public buildings and remove barriers towider use of public buildings), and how will you report your progress?

I will continue to support the progress made and promote our school district’s pre-school, StrongStart, before and after school care, Young Parent, and full day kindergarten programs.

4. What will you do to encourage businesses to bemore child friendly (for example: breastfeeding friendly policies and childsafe public spaces), and how will you report your progress?

I will promote awareness of the public education system and the partnerships that exist between the school and the community.

5. As an elected mayor, councilor or trustee, how will you ensure that all council and board decisions are made from a child friendly perspective, and how will you keep residents aware of your advocacy for children?

I will always ask “Is it good for kids?” I will continue to promote the partnerships that already exist between the school and the community, and as I said above, I will promote awareness of the public education system.

I will report progress on all the above through encouraging the Board to establish goals, and evaluate those goals.

BC College of Teachers Dissolved

A large part of this story is about disciplining teachers. Interesting. Maybe some good news for teachers: College fees will be reduced from $120 to $80. Check it out:

Looks like things are heating up between the Province and the BCTF. What do you think?

My Responses to Questions from the Central Okanagan Teachers Association (COTA)

1. As Boards of Education cope with underfunding of the system, some have turned to alternate sources of support. Outline your beliefs on private/public partnerships, corporate and non-profit sponsorships, and the need for school PACs to fundraise in a 21st Century Learning environment.

I believe that any kind of sponsorship outside of government funding impacts the universality of Public Education. The practice of private, corporate and non-profit partnerships seems to be growing, and I believe we should all step back and take a long sober look at this practice. The more we delve into this world, the more the provincial government will abrogate its responsibility.


2. In the past, some School Boards have submitted needs budgets as opposed to balanced budgets, in order to highlight funding shortfalls. Identify your views on this practice.

First of all the provincial government will not allow deficit budgets which, unfortunately, results in the cutting of services. This practice has put School Boards’ backs against the wall causing some of them, the larger districts like the Central Okanagan, to try and attract International Students to top up their reserves, so to speak. I believe that most districts, Central Okanagan in particular, have tried to maintain direct services to students, which is what I will do as well.

Now, do I agree with this practice? We wouldn’t be having this conversation if the provincial government funded school districts more adequately. Even though funding education has increased, it has not kept up with the real cost. So, technically, funding to education has, indeed, decreased. I believe that we have a responsibility to balance the budget, but I also believe there should be some margin of flexibility as well, particularly smaller districts who have little recourse.

3. What do you believe to be the most pressing problems in our school district?

• Dealing with the present job action so that it does not affect the progress of our students;
• Resolving the dispute between the BCTF and Provincial Government;
• Continued lobbying the provincial government for adequate and stable funding;
• Short-term and long-term facilities plan;
• Conducting a comprehensive public consultation process regarding the future of the French Immersion program.


4. Public education often involves a juggling of the competing interests of its different partner groups. Outline what you consider to be the School Board’s role in such an environment.

The Board’s role is to govern the delivery of a quality educational program to our students. Our focus should be “is it good for children?” In doing this, I believe we should be examining our budget allocations to all areas of the budget to reflect delivering a quality education to our students. This certainly would take into consideration the working and learning conditions of teachers.

5. What will you do to ensure that students with special needs receive the support that they require in order to succeed in school and in life? Who will you speak to in order to find out what those needs are?

I believe our service to students with special needs has been eroded due to the inadequate funding from the Provincial Government. I will encourage the Board to lobby our government for adequate and stable funding. I will also review our own budget allocation procedures and the system we use for designating students and the communication process between those involved.

I will speak to teachers, school administrators and parents to get more information on the needs of all of our students.

6. Please outline your involvement with, and commitment to public education.

I have been involved for over 30 years in Public Education as a teacher, school administrator and parent. I believe in the universality of Public Education. I believe that teaching is a noble profession and I will work toward raising the profile of educators and education in general in the public eye.

How Important is Education

I find it interesting that there is very little coverage about the School Trustee election in the media. Ron Seymour tried to create some controversy by saying that School Board's were irrelevant, and he even tried to incite people not to vote for any Trustees and thereby eliminate them altogether. One letter appeared in the paper in rebuttal: mine. That was it. Here is my letter:

This letter is in response to Ron Seymour's column "Who cares about the irrelevant school board?", Friday, October 14.

The work of the Board of School Trustees is much broader than bargaining with the BCTF. It is about the daily delivery of the educational program of our children. Below is a description of the role of the Board of School Trustees taken from the School District #23 website:


"School Boards have a duty to govern districts and their schools in accordance with specified powers in a fiscally responsible and cost effective manner. They have a responsibility to:

* ensure that schools provide students with opportunities for a quality education; to set education policies that reflect the aspirations of the community and that are consistent with overall provincial guidelines;

* provide leadership and encouragement to schools and the community; to cooperate with the community and social service agencies in the delivery of non-educational support services to students;

*focus on the following areas of district concern:

1. implementation of provincial and local education programs;
2. school finance and facilities;
3. student access and achievement;
4. teaching performance;
5. accountability to parents, taxpayers, the community and to the Province."

Ensuring that our children get the best education possible is not irrelevant. It is probably the most important thing our society is doing.