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Trustee looks back at term

Formosa offers advice to fresh board
Chris Bolster

Tough choices will be made, but ensuring top quality public education for School District 47’s students remains key, said Powell River Board of Education trustee Steve Formosa.

“That’s your moral compass as a trustee,” said Formosa in an interview with the Peak. “The new trustees will have some difficult decisions to make at times, but they should always be the best ones for the kids.”

The one-term school trustee made the decision not to run in November’s municipal election, choosing instead to focus his energy on travelling with his recently retired partner Eileen and spending time with their three infant grandchildren. He is the only trustee on the current board not seeking re-election.

Since the age of 25, Formosa has dedicated his life to public education, first as a science and math teacher, then as a school administrator and a trustee.

“It was the icing on the cake for me,” said Formosa. He found participating in the governance of the district to be extremely satisfying. “I got to see how the whole operation works and I actually felt like I was helping to direct it.”

Despite more than 30 years of experience, Formosa said becoming a trustee had a steep learning curve and he made his fair share of mistakes in the first six months of his term.

“I knew the boards of the past and had gone to board meetings in the past and closed meetings as a union representative,” he said. “You don’t get the full understanding of what happens, though, until you’re actually a member of the board.”

Governance is not the same thing as management, he said.

One of the first things new trustees learn is trustees personally do not have any power. While discussion in decision-making is encouraged, once a direction is established, the board speaks as a single voice, he said.

“This isn’t just a two-meeting-a-month position,” he added. “It’s a bigger job than it appears to be.”

He explained there are committees to participate with, schools to visit and concerns to hear from community members.

The last three years has not been without its frustrations and challenges. As he leaves the board he is concerned about what he sees as the provincial government’s lack of regard for the locally elected boards and feels the recent contract dispute with teachers illustrates how eroded co-governance has become.

“They ‘forget’ to ask us for input in a lot of decisions they are making,” he said. During the teachers’ dispute school boards were more or less observers, he explained, after BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) replaced its bargaining team, which included board representatives, with a single appointed negotiator. “We don’t have a lot of voice. Where’s the co-governance in that?”

He added that he felt the dispute also put school boards in an awkward position, one where boards felt it necessary to speak out against BCPSEA and the government. “That would be like a teacher’s local speaking out against the BCTF [British Columbia Teachers’ Federation],” he said.

Formosa is also concerned about cost downloading from the province. The ministry is aware of the money that school districts generate from ancillary programs and the sale of properties, he said. Increasingly, they are expecting local districts to pay more of the costs, he added, suggesting that funding education was not a top budget priority for the provincial government.

Formosa has tips for the trustees starting out.

“Be enthusiastic,” he said. “Have a passion for at least some component of the education system where you can find a niche. Get started learning about all of the opportunities for kids.”

He also suggested trustees listen and learn who their colleagues are and where their passions and hopes lie for the school district and community.

“I was fortunate to work with trustees that exceeded my expectations,” he said. “They were willing to give so much time, effort, expertise and wisdom for such little recognition or monetary gain.”

Formosa said the board has been helped tremendously by the district’s senior administration.

“We have been so fortunate to have our superintendent Jay Yule and secretary-treasurer Steve Hopkins at the table advising us,” he said, which was particularly important during a term which saw so much job action.

“Whoever ends up with my seat can look forward to a period of relative labour peace with the teachers’ contract.”