Clark appoints special adviser to school district
Former SFU president to report findings to minister by Sept. 30
Lillooet News, August 7, 2001
After months of conflict and turmoil, Education Minister Christy Clark has appointed a special adviser to "help the Gold Trail school board manage its budget properly and improve student achievement levels."
The minister has named former SFU president Bill Saywell as special adviser to the district.
Clark's announcement, made on the morning of July 31, was greeted with joy and relief by many in Lillooet.
Clark told the News her decision was based on three factors
- "the budget issue, student achievement
and the volume of calls from the community for ministry intervention.
They all made Gold Trail an obvious candidate for a special adviser."
After her July 2 meetings in Lytton with parents, teachers and CUPE representatives and the school board, Clark said she "got a real sense of how profoundly concerned everybody was about the challenges the district is facing.
"'School boards are accountable for improving student achievement in their districts and for managing their budgets," continued Clark. "Our priority is to work with the board to determine what options are available."
Saywell has a Sept. 30 deadline to report his findings to Clark and make recommendations to the board on achieving its goals for student performance, the financial decision making process and its relationship with the community.
The terms of reference provided by the minister ask Saywell to examine:
-the decision-making processes
employed by the school district to determine annual operating budget allocations
to programs and schools.
-the efficacy of the debt retirement plan established by the board.
-the levels of student achievement in the district when compared with
areas of similar socioeconomic composition.
-service levels in programs and schools.
-relationships with local governments.
-district expenditures on administrative and governance functions.
-the nature of educational services provided to students enrolled in Gold
Trail's distributed electronic learning program.
-decision-making processes used to determine the allocation of funds and
objects of expenditure for First Nations students.
-other matters arising from the inquiry as required by the Minister.
Clark described Saywell as an "unbiased and objective
third party who can come in and give some of these issues a fresh look.
He's not an insider in the district, he's not an insider in the ministry,
and he's not wedded to the K-12 part of the education system."
Some members of the school board had resisted the idea of appointing a
special advisor because he will be paid out of the school district's funds.
Clark acknowledged that Saywell is "not a bargain basement person and he's going to cost the district some money" ($12,000 to start, plus expenses).
However, she said bringing him in is a "real investment in the kids' future. We had a choice - the district could continue to flounder around or we […]
See GOLD TRAIL page 2
Gold Trail first district in B.C. with special adviser
[…] could bring in someone of Bill Saywell's quality, with his experience and expertise, and have him look at things. I saw this as the way to resolve a lot of concerns."
Clark also emphasized that Saywell has not been brought in as an official trustee to manage the school district.
"He will meet with the people he has to meet with, he will look at the documents he needs to look at and he will make his recommendations. He is a special adviser, not an officials trustee."
The minister stated there was no connection between the July 31 date of her announcement and the July 31 deadline for renewing school superintendent Pache Denis' contract.
Commenting that the timing was a coincidence, the minister said the issue surrounding the renewal of the superintendent's rolling contract "isn't part of the equation." Clark then added that, as minister, she did not want to pre-empt any recommendations that might subsequently be made by the special adviser.
Clark's announcement means the Gold Trail School District is the first in B.C. where a special adviser has been appointed. The legislation creating the position was proclaimed two months ago.
The Gold Trail school board has come fire from many quarters in recent months after running up a $3 million debt.
But Clark had a kind word for the trustees, whom she said "genuinely do care about the children's interests."
When she informed school board Chair Helen Keir of the decision to appoint Saywell, Clark said Keir "didn't seem disappointed. I think she understands the depth of the issues they've got to deal with. That's a credit to her."
Speaking to the News on Aug. 1, Keir said she was "taken aback" by Clark's announcement.
"I was surprised, but I can see some good coming out of it," said Keir. "I don't think there's any point in whining or that sort of thing, so let's see what we can get out of this process. If this is one more step we have to take, then let's make the best of it."
Keir said she had not yet been contacted by Bill Saywell
and added that the school board office in Ashcroft is closed for a couple
of weeks for summer holidays.
Noting that Saywell does not come from a K-12 background, Keir observed,
"Sometimes somebody from another view can see what you don't see
yourself.
Student achievement in the Gold Trail district has been the focus of much concern.
According to Keir, "We've come from a long way back,
and it is going up. Surveys like the Fraser Institute's don't measure
where you've come from, they measure where you are." There's no way
the schools in our area can improve to meet the criteria the Fraser Institute
has."
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NEWS
Community welcomes Clark's announcement
Local reaction was swift and positive - in some cases, overjoyed - to last week's announcement that Education Minister Christy Clark had appointed a special adviser to help the Gold Trail School District.
As word spread through town, the News spoke with several key players in the school district saga.
Lillooet Trustee Bill Sturn wrote to Clark several months ago, complaining about the "chaotic" state of the district's affairs and asking her to appoint a special adviser.
He told the News July 31 he was "very pleased" with the minister's announcement. "I'm very pleased that people in higher places seem to agree the board needs some help."
Sturn said the last few months have been "very
uncomfortable" for him, as he faced criticism from
other trustees for being so outspoken.
Sturn expressed his appreciation to SD 74 parents, particularly Jodi Kooistra, Lydia Koot and Dale Pilkington, for their support in what was "a very lonely battle at times. They were very helpful in this long fight. It was a lonely road, but I did receive a lot of support from the teachers, the parents, CUPE, Bill Ridley and Richard Smith."
Ridley said he was "thrilled" by Clark's decision.
Gold Trail Teachers' Association president Richard Smith described Clark's announcement as "good news for everyone in the district."
Smith said he wasn't sure what the special adviser's role entails, but he expressed hope that Saywell could help resolve many of the conflicts that are "dragging us down."
He also praised Saywell as someone "with credibility and heft. I expect he will bring a different perspective to things than the board's perspective. We'll find out."
Cayoosh Parents Advisory Council chair Jodi Kooistra has been a community leader in efforts to hold the school board and superintendent Pache Denis accountable for the district's ballooning budget deficit and clawbacks in Ministry of Education funding.
Kooistra told the News July 31 she was "relieved, grateful and excited" after hearing of Clark's decision.
"Apart from the Bridge River-Lillooet News, we couldn't get anyone in the media to listen to us. We couldn't get the trustees to listen to us. We couldn't get the school district administration to listen to us. Now, finally, the one person who was in a position to help us has listened to us," said Kooistra. "I'm over the moon."
A representative from the First Nations Education Council
was not available to comment on Clark's announcement.
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VIEWPOINT
Thanks for caring, thanks for listening
Finally, finally someone listened. Education Minister Christy Clark strikes us as being smart, straightforward, articulate, approachable and firmly focused on what matters most - students and their futures. Ultimately, she was the one person who could do something about our school district's woes. Thank you, Ms. Clark. for appointing a special adviser.
Thank you, Yale-Lillooet MLA Dave Chutter, our man in Victoria on this issue. Clark told us Chutter repeatedly "darkened my door' to ensure Gold Trail's concerns were at the top of her agenda.
Thank you, Richard Smith and Bill Ridley, for leading the teachers and CUPE in their resolve that we deserved better in this district.
Special thanks to the PACs and parents who fought for all of Gold Trail's students. There were times these parents cried tears of frustration. Last week, they wept tears of joy.
We may not like everything special adviser Bill Saywell recommends. But at least the public can trust that his recommendations are unbiased, not tainted by personal considerations and come from a respected educator and man of integrity.
Welcome to Gold Trail. Mr. Saywell.
W.F.
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