ELECTION DEBATE
Should trustee candidates endorsed by the teachers union be invited into schools for voluntary lunch-time meetings with teaching staff during the municipal campaign?
Outgoing NPA trustee Carol Gibson doesn't think so. Gibson told the Courier she complained to former superintendent Chris Kelly when this happened during the 2008 race. She insists it's not appropriate and leads to the "politicization of public schools."
"The campaign trail in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»is complicated for school board candidates. It's directly influenced by the BCTF and the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Teachers' Federation, which explicitly endorses and supports their preferred candidates. Endorsement may include financial donations to a party and/or support for individual candidates. It also includes direct support in a variety of other ways, such as, an invitation from a union representative in schools to bring their partisan campaign message to teachers during the school day. This is not acceptable and should not be acceptable to parents or members of the electorate for several reasons, not the least of which is the politicization of public schools," Gibson wrote to the Courier in response to the Oct. 14 edi-tion of Class Notes that addressed the school district's general policy on what constitutes campaigning on school property.
Gibson argued it puts teachers who don't support union-endorsed candidates in an awkward position.
"Teacher participation in partisan political meetings on school property during the school day may be voluntary. However, teachers who do not voluntarily attend these partisan political meetings are not doing what is expected of a union member-supporting positions taken by their union. Non-attendance at such meetings can have negative consequences for the teacher who chooses not to attend."
Members of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Elementary School Teachers' Association met Tuesday-after the Courier's deadline-to decide which trustee candidates to endorse based on responses to a questionnaire. VESTA president
to a questionnaire. VESTA president Chris Harris told the Courier Monday the association hadn't received responses from NPA candidates. In past years, the union has endorsed COPE, Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and Green candidates. It spent $55,000 in the 2008 vote on its own campaigns and donations to political parties it endorses.
Harris maintains it's acceptable for teachers from individual schools to invite candidates to speak to them during lunch hour because it's considered a union meeting, which is permitted under the collective agreement. "I don't know if we'll do that this time with the local elections, but that has occurred in the past," he said, adding, "it's not like they're talking to parents or students.[teachers are] going to what, in effect, would be a VESTA meeting and they invite a politician and they come in and speak to them so they can give feedback to whoever."
Harris said there's no policy prohibiting NPA candidates from being invited. "There's nothing stopping that from occurring, but to be really honest with you, we asked all parties to give us answers to our questionnaire and the only party that hasn't been able to do that is the NPA, so I kind of question whether or not this is a real concern."
Harris rejects the suggestion there are consequences for teachers who don't attend voluntary meetings with endorsed candidates. "If there's a particular teacher that doesn't show up to a union meeting, there's no repercussions for that. There's completely no basis of fact in that," he said.
The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»School Board is looking at drafting an election policy to clarify what's considered appropriate and not appropriate on school property, but it won't be ready before the Nov. 19 municipal vote.
Superintendent Steve Cardwell said the district wants a policy that ensures a "fully transparent and equitable system."
"In any process we undertake, we would want to make sure that we fully consult with our partners. We are hopeful to have a comprehensive policy on this subject developed during this school year."
Twitter: @Naoibh
