Trustee welcomes government review of school district spending
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: September 01, 2009 11:15 AM
A government review of boards of education would do the Chilliwack school district good, said longtime school trustee Martha Wiens.
In Premier Gordon Campbell's throne speech, last week, it was revealed that the BC government would be reviewing all boards of education, as well as health authorities and crown corporations, to improve service and lower costs.
"I really welcome a review," said Wiens, a Chilliwack school trustee for 20 years. "I hope it reveals to us that we have to do things properly and not take advantage of our positions."
Wiens feels that boards of education, across the province, have been given far too much independence; they need to be more transparent.
"We've not always been good stewards," said Wiens. "I think we've had enough independence. We need the efficiency and effectiveness of a review ... I need to know that we're doing a good job. I need to be shown that we're doing things right."
Board chair John-Henry Harter, however, doesn't believe a government review would be time well spent on the government's part.
Every year, the school district conducts a public process for its annual budget, and, once nailed down, sends reports of the upcoming year's budget to the Ministry of Education.
"It is unclear to me how the government doesn't know what we're spending already," said Harter. "I don't think they'll find any more inefficiencies that we haven't already addressed. We are not a crown corporation. We are a democratically elected board. Our entire process is open to the public."
krobinson@theprogress.com
v2
