The Mirror asked each candidate for Trustee of School District 72 for their responses to the following questions:
1 What do you feel is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed by the next board of SD72?
2. What do you feel you can bring to the next SD72 board that no one else could bring because of specific experiences or expertise that only you have?
John Kerr:
1. From my experience as an educator, the most important issue that needs to be addressed by the next Board of Education for SD72 is the chronic underfunding of the district and of the provincial education system as a whole.
This manifests itself in a variety of ways from deferred facilities maintenance, classroom resources that are outdated or in short supply, technology that does not function optimally, and crowded classrooms where, despite the best efforts of our teachers, some children are not succeeding.
This is especially apparent with long wait times for assessment, and the inadequate support that many of our special needs learners have to face. The employees of the School District are doing all they can with what they have to work with, but the bottom line is that if the people of Campbell River want to see our children graduate from our school system at the end of Grade 12 and be ready for the opportunities that are available and the competition they are going to face, we have to invest in the resources that will set them up for success. To do less is to rob our children of their futures.
2. Since I am not aware of the experiences and expertise that the other Trustee candidates bring to the Board, this is a difficult question to answer. However, I have worked in education for almost forty years as a classroom teacher, resource teacher, school administrator, and Teacher on Call.
This has given me a strong perspective on what actually goes on in schools and classrooms and what it takes to make them work successfully.
In addition, as a director of CRTV, and Board President for fourteen years, I had experience in overseeing budgets, working with management and other Board members, negotiating union contracts, communicating with association members, and successfully dealing with contentious issues.
These are experiences and expertise which I would bring to the Board which, while not being unique to me, could enhance the function of the trustees on the Board of Education.