Peachland Forum............BORING

[rotti]

Was it me or was the forum yesterday in Peachland the most subdued and boring in a long time. It seemed to me even some of the candidates where on the verge of falling asleep. I don't want to seem like I am against the older candidates but I sure noticed the energy difference between the younger and older candidates. I was not expecting much from Lee but I was impressed with his knowledge and speaking ability. I am still not sure about Eisworth, he comes across as a used car salesman and a bit too polished.

It should be an interesting next few weeks.

[Born_again]

It seemed to me even some of the candidates where on the verge of falling asleep.

One candidate did fall asleep. I should have taken my camera.

[shankari2]

Agreed, boring, boring, boring! Few questions, weak responses, poor organization for questioning.

[Trustee Moyra Baxter]

Agreed, boring, boring, boring! Few questions, weak responses, poor organization for questioning.

While I want to thank the organizers of the Peachland Forum, and all the volunteers who put away the chairs etc after the forum, I did find the format rather restrictive. There was no opportunity for a debate on issues, or to respond to comments made by other candidates. (And I always enjoy a good debate)

Perhaps if the format had been the same as in the past, that is, deal with each group of candidates separately, there would have been more debate. For example: hear from Trustee candidates. Ask them questions and then move on to either Councillor or Mayoral candidates. And so forth. It wouldn't have taken any longer in the end, and may have focused the questions.

It did seem strange sitting in a long row of seats with all the candidates for the other positions. And we had to put our water glasses on the floor - tables would have been good. We could have still stood up when we spoke.

The Moderator and the Time Keeper did a great job, and I think the sound system worked better than in the past, although I sometimes found it difficult to hear sitting behind the speaker at the microphone.

I hope people were able to get an idea of where all the cadidates are coming from.

[schoolmom]

A lot of people started leaving early so I guess they found it boring too. The candidates were all mixed up and I had trouble remembering what the first speakers said in their openings.

I see from the Peachland View that Lindsay Bell says she is a supervisor in the school district. Does she have a senior position at a school in the district? If she has then maybe she can solve the bussing problem.

Karin Cruikshank speaks about fund raising. Why has the present school board not tried this idea?

I did not really think Moyra Baxter's answer about having clout at the board told me much.

When it got to the council candidates everyone more or less said the same things. Only the wording changed a bit. Ernie Hurd was the only one to stand out from the crowd but not in a good way. He has more nerve than I would.

[shankari2]

[quote="schoolmom"]I see from the Peachland View that Lindsay Bell says she is a supervisor in the school district. Does she have a senior position at a school in the district? If she has then maybe she can solve the bussing problem.

A "supervisor", is, I think, a lunchtime supervisor, they are paid to supervise children at lunchtime. It is not a senior position, and carries little 'clout'!

[Trustee Moyra Baxter]

Karin Cruikshank speaks about fund raising. Why has the present school board not tried this idea?

I did not really think Moyra Baxter's answer about having clout at the board told me much.

I would like to respond to the issue of fundraising in the school district. As we all know, PACs already undertake a great deal of fundraising for their schools - this is ususally used for the “extras”, such as field trips or playgrounds. They should not have to fundraise for the essentials.
Some years ago, the Board decided to try and fundraise and actually hired a Fundraising Coordinator. Their job was to go after corporate donations as well as philanthropists. It was a dismal failure. We discovered that while people or corporations are willing to donate for health related fundraisers (Hospice, special equipment etc) they are not so keen to donate to public education.
Service clubs are generous: Lions’ Clubs and others have donated Smart Boards for classrooms and Rotary recently donated $50,000 for the Young Parents program at KSS. An anonymous donator provided several hundred thousand dollars for playground equipment at schools were PACs had not been able to fundraise.
However as we cut back millions of dollars worth of services every year – we have a 180 million dollar budget – our belief is that Government should fully fund Public Education. Although the government does increase funding every year, it does not cover inflation and the extra costs Boards are faced with.

As to the question about one Peachland Trustee having "clout" on the school board, I don't think I answered that very well, either.
Once elected, there are seven trustees, voting on all issues. On some difficult issues each of us tries to influence the others, and that means researching issues and putting forward a good argument on a certain point of view. I have the found the most recent Boards to usually be in tune on educational issues. One area were there was a disagreement was on the Trustee electoral Boundaries. The three trustees from outside Kelowna believed in regional representation, as did their communities, Three Kelowna trustees believed very strongly in having all trustees elected at large. One Kelowna Trustee decided that we should stay with regional representation. The vote was 4 to 3. I believe I influenced that decison. Now, while the boundaries have changed on the Westside, to be more fair in the number of voters, we still have Regional Representation on our Board. In my mind, having at large trustees would probably mean they all come from Kelowna.
I know I have influenced other decisions, too, and the fact that my fellow trsutees elected me Board Chair six times says a lot.

[schoolmom]

I guess I don't write very well because only one trustee candidate has answered my questions I asked a few days ago. Thank you Moyra Baxter for answering my concerns.

I now find that Lindsay Bell is what they call a part time noon hour supervisor which means she watches the children while they are outside during their break at lunch time. She made it sound to me like she had a high position with the school board. I don't think I will vote for her because that type of thing bothers me. What else isn't she telling us?