VPEC AGM

VPEC is having its AGM

The AGM will be at the Emily Carr Library Meeting Room on Saturday, December 1st starting at 10:00 am will run until noon.

The Emily Carr Library is located at 3500 Blanshard. Google Map to help out is here - it is located near Uptown, behind Save-On-Foods.

Hope to see everyone there!

VPEC Executive


Agenda as follows:

Annual General Meeting

Saturday,  December 1, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. -  noon

Emily Carr Library Meeting Room -  3500 Blanshard Avenue

Chair - Starla Anderson

Secretary - Niels Nohr

Treasurer - Deborah Nohr

Members-at-large -  Peter Milne, Dale Perkins

Regrets - Tara Ehrcke

AGENDA

1/  Motion to approve minutes from the January 14, 2012 AGM -

2/  Chair Report -  A letter was written in support of the Cowichan School Board trustees who were fired for not submitting a balanced budget; it was sent to media, then Minister of Education George Abbott, and BCSTA chair Michael McEvoy.  No responses were received.   A letter-to-the-editor was printed in the Times Colonist in support of Edith Loring-Kuhanga's motion to have a question period for the public at SD 61 Board meetings.

Motion to accept -

3/  Treasurer's Report - 

As of October 31, 2012:

            The Vancity service account  #1 balance = $694.30

            The Vancity service account #2 (VPEC Election Campaign) balance = $46.39

            Member shares balance = $5.75

• A deposit of $120. was made after the January 14, 2012 AGM from membership fees and a $50. donation by David Bratzer.   The deposit was made on January 27, 2012.
• There has  been $.01 in interest collected on the #1 account each month from February 1, 2012, totalling $.10.
• The cost of the Emily Carr Meeting room for the AGM is $39.20 - adjusting the balance of account #1 to $655.10 as of November 14, 2012. 
• The only other expenditure was a $50.00 Garden Works gift card given to Jessica Van der Veen in sympathy for the passing of her mother.  This was approved by email communication and purchased on April 5, 2012.

Motion to accept -

4/ Other Old Business -

• Future of the Website

5/  New Business -

• Motion  - That VPEC remain inactive until the 2014 School Board election.

                         - Niels Nohr

• Motion - That the balance of the VPEC Vancity accounts be saved to support candidates who share VPEC values in the 2014 School Board election.                 - Deborah Nohr

6/  Membership Sign-up &  Collection of Fees

7/  Election of new executive - The following have agreed to take executive positions but nominations are open:

Chair - Niels  Nohr

Treasurer - Tara Ehrcke

Secretary - Starla Anderson

Members-at-large - Peter Milne  (?),  Dale Perkins (?)   Others (?)

8/  Announcements

• Starla has accepted an invitation to be on the Board of Lower Island News - she will focus on seeking articles that address public education issues.  Please submit ideas to Starla and articles to editor Dale Young.

9/  Set a time/place for the next meeting

10/ Adjournment -

December 12, 2012 AGM

Annual General Meeting

Saturday,  December 1, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. -  noon

Emily Carr Library Meeting Room -  3500 Blanshard Avenue

Chair - Starla Anderson

Secretary - Niels Nohr

Treasurer - Deborah Nohr

Members-at-large -  Peter Milne, Dale Perkins

Regrets - Tara Ehrcke, Jessica Van der Veen

AGENDA

1/  Motion to approve minutes from the January 14, 2012 AGM - Niels called for the correction of a future meeting date in item #7 - 2010 should read 2012.  Niels moved approval of the minutes/Dale seconded.  Unanimous.

2/  Chair Report -  Starla wrote a letter in support of the Cowichan School Board trustees who were fired for not submitting a balanced budget; it was sent to media, then- Minister of Education George Abbott, and BCSTA chair Michael McEvoy.  No responses were received.  Starla also wrote an Op-Ed piece that was printed in the Times Colonist in July re. the importance of public activism in achieving government support for public education, and how the management role of school trustees has changed in the School Act.    A letter-to-the-editor was printed in the Times Colonist in September in support of Edith Loring-Kuhanga's motion to have a question period for the public at SD 61 Board meetings - the same day, the TC editorial focused on the same topic and said, "Just do it." Deborah moved approval of the report/Dale seconded.  Unanimous.

Deborah thanked Starla for her role as chair during the past year - all agreed.

Discussion followed re. the importance of keeping public school issues in the media.  Starla noted that one of VPEC's goals has been to improve transparency on the SD 61 School Board and that there has been movement in this direction:  votes are now recorded, minutes are posted on the District website, and giving time to the public to ask questions at Board meetings is not yet a dead issue.

3/  Treasurer's Report - 

As of October 31, 2012:

            The Vancity service account  #1 balance = $694.30

            The Vancity service account #2 (VPEC Election Campaign) balance = $46.39

            Member shares balance = $5.75

• A deposit of $120. was made after the January 14, 2012 AGM from membership fees including a $50. donation by David Bratzer.   The deposit was made on January 27, 2012.
• There has  been $.01 in interest collected on the #1 account each month from February 1, 2012, totalling $.10.
• The cost of the Emily Carr Meeting room for the AGM is $39.20 - adjusting the balance of account #1 to $655.10 as of November 14, 2012. 
• The only other expenditure was a $50.00 Garden Works gift card given to Jessica Van der Veen in sympathy for the passing of her mother.
• This was approved by email communication and purchased on April 5, 2012.

Niels moved approval of the report/Dale seconded.  Unanimous.

4/ Other Old Business -

• Future of the Website - Peter will take this on and will post links to  Deborah, Diane, and Tara's blogs.  Following Deborah's suggestion, he will also post VPEC's statement  of philosophy and  constitution on the website.    Appreciation was expressed by all for Peter's willingness to take this on.

5/  New Business -

• Motion  - That VPEC remain inactive until the 2014 School Board election.

            - Moved by Niels Nohr/seconded by Starla Anderson.  Unanimously                                 defeated.  Discussion highlights:   Besides print media actions, other avenues for             encouraging parents to become engaged in public school activism were explored.              Deborah suggested having VPEC speakers on Community television, and             speaking to local municipal councils.

• Motion - That the balance of the VPEC Vancity accounts be saved to support candidates who share VPEC values in the 2014 School Board election. - Moved by Deborah Nohr/ no seconder.  It was decided in discussion that flexibility is needed with funding-decisions and that future fundraising was a possibility.

6/  Membership Sign-up &  Collection of Fees - the five members present renewed memberships.   The consensus was to continue with a $10. annual membership fee.

7/  Election of new executive - The following have agreed to take executive positions but nominations were open:

Chair - Niels  Nohr

Treasurer - Tara Ehrcke

Secretary - Starla Anderson

Members-at-large - Peter Milne and Dale Perkins

Dale moved that the slate who have agreed to take executive positions should be instated.  Peter seconded the motion.  The motion was unanimously passed.

• As the newly elected chair, Niels will arrange a time with Tara and Starla to go to Vancity so that his and Tara's names can be added as signers on the VPEC accounts, and Deborah and Patrick's names will be deleted.  Starla will continue to be a signer so that there will still be three signing officers.

• Niels will also contact David Bratzer to thank him for managing the VPEC website this past year and to let him know that Peter will be taking over managing the website as of now.

8/  Announcements

• Starla has accepted an invitation to be on the Board of Lower Island News - she will be seeking articles that address public education issues.  Please submit ideas to Starla and articles to editor Dale Young.

9/  Time/place for the next meeting -

Niels has called for the  next VPEC meeting to be on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 10 a.m. at his and Deborah's home: 943 Hampshire Road

10/ Adjournment - noon.

Submitted by Starla Anderson

	January 14, 2012 AGM

Annual General Meeting

Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 1:30 - 3:30

Oaklands Community Centre - 2817 Belmont Avenue

Co-Chair - Starla Anderson, Secretary - Niels Nohr

Other Executive Members Present -   Peter Milne, Dale Perkins, Jessica Van der Veen

Regrets - Co-Chair - Deborah Nohr, Treasurer - Patrick Schreck

Other VPEC members present:  Michelle Milne, René Schwarz, David Bratzer

AGENDA

1/  Overview of Achievements    (15 minutes) - We're  most proud of the community outreach done through local media and popular blogs that focus on parenting and education (e.g. Janet Steffenhagen's), forums, and public presentations to SD61 trustees re. budget priorities.   The public has been made more aware of: the negligence of the provincial government re. lack of targeted funds for class size/composition; the folly of selling school properties to raise funds for operations; the need for more transparency, outreach,  and professionalism between SD61 trustees and the public; and  the need for fresh voices to be elected to the local school board.

2/  Looking ahead - New Directions  - Dale Perkins  (30 minutes) -  Dale's notes from our conversation arrived at five categories for potential direction: 

·        Do outreach with parents around school issues.

·        Form delegations to give input at School Board meetings.

·        Focus on Public Relations - continuing strategies used in the past.

·        Meet with trustees who are willing to hear from us.

·        Work on public forums.

After much discussion, it was decided that with few active members at the present time, it would be best to focus on no more than two of these areas:  Public Relations and Forums.  David Bratzer volunteered to take on management of the VPEC website.  René Schwarz offered to do video work for the website.

3/  Reports:   (15 minutes)

• 2010 Minutes - Starla Anderson - accepted by consensus

• Treasurer's Report - Patrick Schreck - not available.

• United for Public Education (UPE) - Jessica Van der Veen reported that UPE is well organized and working on ideas for how to influence the May, 2013 election outcome.  They are also preparing to host a forum on post-secondary funding for students.    Jessica agreed to continue her liaison work with UPE.

4/  Announcements:  (10 minutes)

• Monday's Board Meeting - Progressive Trustees bring forward motions re. transparency - Starla

• GVTA sponsored meeting for Parents at Oaklands Community Centre - next Saturday, January 21,  from 2:00 - 4:00   (See poster.)

• Bridging the Gap Education Expo? - Peter Milne  (This question was tabled.)

5/  Membership Sign-up &  Collection of Fees:  should $10. fee be raised? (10 minutes)  The fee was not raised but some members made donations on top of their fees.

6/  Election of new executive:                      (10 minutes)

• The election did not take place as we didn't have a quorum present.  Starla Anderson agreed to continue on as interim chair - no date was set for another AGM but it would likely be held in the fall, 2012.  Starla should be made a signing officer for the VPEC account at VanCity - Deborah and Patrick will need to meet with her at VanCity to arrange this.

7/  Set a time/place for the meeting of the new executive.   (5 minutes)

• Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 2:30; Starla's home at 305 - 1005 McKenzie Ave.

8/ Adjournment - 3:30

9/  Refreshments

Essay: Trustees should be able to focus on their jobs

Here is Starla Anderson's essay in the Times-Colonist. She's given VPEC permission to reprint it:


A Nanaimo Daily News editorial reprinted in the Times Colonist on July 4 asks readers a pertinent question about the recent firing of the Cowichan Valley School Board by the minister of education: "If boards cannot do what they were elected to do, why do we go through the charade of an election every three years to vote for a new board?"

Most citizens assume that school board trustees are elected to mediate the schooling needs and interests of their communities within the mandates of the provincial government. It doesn't occur to us that a school board's primary task is to manage school district finances within constraints over which they have little say.

The preamble in the 2012 School Act states that "it is the goal of a democratic society to ensure that all its members receive an education that enables them to become literate, personally fulfilled and publicly useful, thereby increasing the strength and contributions to the health and stability of that society."

The idealism in this statement provides inspiration to all who are committed to public school education, including those who choose to run the gauntlet of candidacy to become a trustee. And yet, if our 2012 School Act is compared with B.C.'s first School Act of 1872, we find the primary task of school boards to manage finances has not changed since, despite the addition of more than 170 pages of directives. In contrast to our current School Act's preamble, the 1872 Act's preamble is more honest in its limited vision:

"Whereas it is expedient that provision should be made for the establishment, maintenance, and management of Public Schools throughout the Province of British Columbia -"

Egerton Ryerson's influence on the writing of the Ontario School Act of 1871 shaped a centralized public school system that provided a model for B.C.'s School Act of 1872. This model has been pretty much intact since: Provincial governments delegate management powers to locally elected trustees and it is rare for trustees to attempt to negotiate finances with the minister of education. The three school boards that have made this attempt in the past 35 years have all been fired and replaced by "official trustees."

Idealism motivates most citizens who want to participate in shaping public education and anyone who has not read the School Act is unaware that fundraising has in recent years become part of a trustee's job description. The 2012 School Act outlines protocols for renting and selling buildings and property, holding local referendums requesting that citizens pay extra taxes for special projects and starting companies such as the one Saanich trustees have decided to organize to make up funding shortfalls by selling online courses overseas.

The nation-builders of the late 1800s would be baffled that the foundation that they laid enabled subsequent politicians and educators to build a complex public-school system that they couldn't have imagined, and then, in a decade of neglect, the system unnecessarily declined. The consequences of tax cuts made to corporations, small businesses and individuals since 2001 have not only created havoc in school districts, but have given us a shakeup that forces us not to take for granted the world-class public school infrastructure that took more than 100 years to develop.

The Cowichan school trustees who would no longer co-operate with the dismantling of their school district have awakened us all. Their words and actions honour the legacy of social reformer Amos de Cosmos and those 19th-century citizens whose campaign to bring schools to the colony of Vancouver Island was successful. After the opening of Victoria's Central School under the 1865 Common School Act, de Cosmos wrote in the British Colonist:

"The blessing of education has been presented to the poorest as well as to the richest child - We hope that rumour is falsifying - that the education appropriation will have to be reduced $32,000."

In this 21st century, it is up to all of us to communicate to government that we expect elected officials to keep our schools moving towards fulfilling the goals stated in their own 2012 School Act. And trustees should not have to concern themselves with raising funds for the viability of their school districts - that is the job of government.

Starla Anderson is a retired teacher and education consultant who lives in Victoria.

Supporting SD79 (Cowichan Valley School District)

Here is a Campaign Help Guide from the Chair of the Cowichan Valley School District, Eden Haythornthwaite: Campaign Help Guide May 12

Also, here is the letter sent to the Minister of Education by Starla Anderson on behalf of VPEC:
Cowichan SD79

There is a new petition on change.org calling for the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia

to deny Royal Assent to Bill 22 (the "Education Improvement Act"). It states:

The Bill erodes democratic rights and due process, for educators but potentially for all labour negotiations. It puts the government beyond the jurisdiction of the courts and thus denies citizens the opportunity to pursue recourse and to negotiate fairly with employers. The bill is totalitarian, unnecessary, and does not belong in a democratic country.

This petition is now closed for signatures (I imagine the goal was to submit it prior to the bill getting passed). It gathered over 3100 online signatures during the short time it was open. Here are a couple of the comments left on change.org:

Ed Berlando: "This Bill destroys what teachers have worked and bargained for these many years. The most important points are the cuts to students in our classrooms and the supports our special needs students must be able to receive. The unconstitutionality of it has been proven in the courts with previous attempts. Teachers have fought for students. This Bill does not simply cut to the bone, it scrapes out the marrow of our educational system in British Columbia."

Ashley Vince: "Bill 22 violates my freedom to speech and freedom of association. It will assess punitive financial damages to me if I use my freedom of association and freedom of speech with my colleagues. It once again removes my rights to discuss my working conditions. This last point was reinforced by the Supreme Court when they overturned Bills 27 and 28 as unconstitutional. This bill seems to act in contempt of court to this ruling."

Bill 22 was passed on Thursday.

Rally to support teachers!

There is a mass rally tomorrow, March 6th, in support of BC teachers. It starts at 11am at Centennial Square in Victoria (beside City Hall). A very large group will then march to the lawn of the Legislature. Please see this web site for the latest details.