18 — Sunday, November 13, 1988 - North Shore News WEST VANCOUVER SCHOOLS even run for trustee positions ° PAMELA (MEL) CLARK Personal: A resident of the district for 17 years, Clark, 51, is masried with three children. An executive member of the district’s parents’ association and former chairman of the Hillside Parent's Group, Clark has served as representative to the school board and has pro- moted community participation in education concerns at the local and provincial levels. Issues: Wants to develop a strategy for dealing with fluctuations in student enrolment, ensure total program effectiveness and manage district resources responsibly. Will continue to lobby for an equitable share of provincial funding. Comments: Has taken the time to learn about the education system in this district and the province and is willing to invest the time to use this knowledge as a trustee. *® ELIZABETH FERGUSON Persenal: A former elementary school teacher and school trustee since 1986, incumbent Ferguson, 44, has been vice-chairman of the school board for the last year. Married, with two children in the school system, Ferguson moved to West Vancouver from North Van- couver 10 years ago. Issues: Wants to maintain the high standards of education in the district and continue responsible fiscal management. Says com- municating to the public the suc- cess of the school system is vital, along with the need for effective and responsible growth in the district. Comments: There is a need for cooperative not confrontational dealings with the teachers. @ MARGOT FURK Personal: With two children cur- rently in elementary school, in- cumbent Furk, 41, has lived on the North Shore for 38 years. A school trustee since 1981, Furk is a chartered accountant currently employed by the B.C. Pavilion Corp. Issues: Accountability can be im- proved with annual reporting to the community on the effectiveness of the education system and to parents of the achievements of their children. Stresses co- operative planning with municipal council and other organizations for facilities that maximize value for students and community. Comments: Will continue to sup- port policy initiatives that ensure public investment in education is wisely managed. * BARBARA HOWARD Personal: With previous experience as a security analyst and secretary, 52-year-old incumbent Howard has been on the West Vancouver School Board since 1985, serving as chairman in 1987-88. Married, she has lived on the North Shore for 25 years. Issues: There is a need to evaluate the success of the reorganized sec- ondary system, assess the overall impact of the teachers’ contract, refine the district supervision/ evaluation process, respond to student population shifts and review district assets. Comments: Promotes more equitable provincial funding guidelines and feels board should be prepared, if necessary, to press the Education Ministry for im- plementation of the Royal Com- mission On Education recommen- dations. * ROBERT INMAN Personal: A lifelong West Van- couver resident, Inman, 36, is owner/manager of a local building supply company. Married, and vice- president of the British Properties Homeowners Association, he has served on several North Shore recreation committees. Issues: Wants to improve the board’s working relationship with municipal council and to see a’ careful review of the Royal Com- mission on Education recommen- dations. Other priorities: preparing students to succeed in a changing society, reducing the share of education costs borne by residents, and greater public access to school facilities. Comments: The school board should include people who can bring varied but complementary skills and experience to a reasoned considera- tion of education. ¢ MICHAEL MACDOUGALL Personal: With a masters degree in education and an MBA, Mac- Dougall, 46, is the director of the Centre for Career Management for Price Waterhouse. A West Van- couver resident for 34% years, he served eight years as a school trustee in Ontario. Married, he has four children. Issues: Parents are the first and principal educators of their children, and our schools exist to help parents complete the educa- tion of their children. Comments: The ability to read and write with ease, clarity and percep- tion of thought are the greatest achievements an educational system can give a student. ° MICHAEL SMITH Personal: A petroleum sales agent, incumbent Smith, 42, is married and has lived on the North Shore for 33 years. He has served three terms on the school board since 1982, and has been chairman of the board’s Financial Planning Committee. Issues: Education is important to every resident of West Vancouver and the school board must ensure that schools are both effective and efficient. Comments: West Vancouver schools are well staffed and offer quality education to the children of West Vancouver. WN. Van Schoo! Board incumbents acclaimed THE FOUR available seats on North Vancouver School District 44’s board went to the four incumbents by ac- clamation, but the issues facing the candidates and the board as a whole over the next two years represent new challenges to each. School trustee and board vice- chairman Don Bell, 46, topped the polls when he was elected to the board for the first time two years ago. He had previously served 12 years on North Vancouver District Council, first as alderman, and then as mayor. Public affairs manager for Canada Safeway, Bell hoped to bring a business orientation to the school board and use his political experience to improve relations be- tween the board and district coun- cil. The challenge for the coming term on the board, according to Bell, will be to come up with a fair, balanced first contract with the teachers, recognizing the new respective roles of the unionized teachers and schoo! administra- tion. “This contract will have long- ranging effects and form an im- portant basis for the future,’’ Bell says. A school trustee for 29 years, Dorothy Lynas, 77, will lend her name to a new school being built in the Indian River area. Adequate provincial government funding for schools is a crucial question, according to Lynas, who wants the return of the commer- cial-industrial tax base that was removed in 1982. “Schools are the keystone of any community,’’ she says. ‘Society has no greater responsi- bility than that of preparing the succeeding generation to face the challenges of the future. Education must become a much higher priori- ty with our provincial gov- ernment."” Anne Macdonald, the 58-year- old widow of former alderman Judge Malcolm Macdonald, has chaired the board’s community relations committee. She is active with the local arts council, recreation commission and advisory planning commis- sion, as well as the UBC senate, Capilano College advisory com- mittee and Business & Professional Women’s Club. Two new elementary schools must go ahead io accommodate the growing number of students in the eastern part of the community, says Macdonald, who would also like to see a fine arts policy established for the school district and meet the needs of special education integration. “I would like more of the public to know more about our schools, teachers and students,’’ she says. Formerly a high school teacher in the district, Richard Walton, 37, continues to coach kids’ softball! while raising two daughters. Now a chartered accountant and division controller of an interna- tional retail company, Walton also stresses the importance of a suc- cessful contract negotiation with the teachers. Walton wants to see a more in- tegrated approach towards local enrichment programs for bright and highly motivated students, “4 would like us also te further pursue a higher degree of direct board input into the budgeting process,’’ Walton says.