Jim Standen, who has served two terms as trustee on the Saanich School District’s board of education, said he believes an education coalition would be the best tool for delivering better education to this district’s children.
“If we are to achieve our stated goal of ‘success for each child and constant learning for all’, we must accept that local boards cannot deliver this promise alone. We must build a new, broader partnership — an education coalition,” he said.
Past practices, which have increasingly seen boards of education and the provincial government in battles for funding, aren’t working, he said. He believes that “us and them” scenerio has to end, and that they must work in partnership to solve the on-going problems faced by school districts across BC. He includes private schools in his vision.
Standen said he is proud of the board’s accomplishments in the past two years, and is confident that current programs will see students in the district continue to be successful.
“We have begun implementation of a technology plan that will see state of the art computer and technology supports provided to students while reducing costs going forward. We have also begun to think ahead to new ways of educating students to ensure that they graduate with the skills needed to be successful in the 21st century workplace.”
Over the course of his two terms as trustee, the district secured funds to build three new schools: Royal Oak, Kelset and North Saanich middle school. By sharing these facilities with the surrounding communities, some costs have been reduced.
Funding remains the top stumbling block for this and other districts in the province, and Standen said he would continue to push for a new, more equitable, provincial funding formula. The province sets funding for districts on a per-student basis, but as enrolments continue to decrease, the formula no longer allots sufficient funds to keep schools operating at the highest levels, he maintained.
“We place a lot of demands on our public K-12 education system. I would argue too many. We have to recognize that given the rising public expectations for services from government, there will never be enough funding to do everything we wish we could. Therefore we must continue the dialogue with parents, teachers and the community at large about our shared priorities going forward. I believe we can live within our means and still provide a first class education for our kids,” said Standen.