The Chilliwack District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) wants voters to know that they are not ParentsVoice BC.
DPAC Chair Katie Bartel said her group has been hearing from voters who are confusing the two.
“Parents Voice BC does not represent the collective and diverse parents in the Chilliwack School District, not do they have any affiliation with the Chilliwack DPAC, or any PAC or DPAC,” she said.
The Chilliwack DPAC works closely with the Chilliwack School District and Board of Education, to “advise the board on any matter relating to education in the school district.”
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According to Bartel, the DPAC executive is elected to represent the collective voice of parents and remain nonpartisan.
ParentsVoice BC, on the other hand, is a conservative political group. They have a handful of candidates running across B.C. with the stated goal to ‘take back our schools.’
“We believe the primary responsibility for children’s education lies with their parents, not the state,” the Parents Voice BC website says. “Further, parents and their community require and deserve full transparency about what happens in local schools.”
Bartel said the ParentsVoice BC candidates, Richard Procee and Elliott Friesen (Lewis Point dropped out) have made no effort to respond or engage with the Chilliwack DPAC, declining three invitations to talk to the Chilliwack DPAC executive.
“In ParentsVoice BC’s own words, they ‘support electing school trustees who will listen to parental concerns,’ yet their endorsed candidates in Chilliwack have made no effort to respond or engage with the Chilliwack DPAC, who are the actual legislated parent voice in the district.”
Bartel said Procee and Friesen did not participate in a recent DPAC-hosted school trustee candidates debate, and they did not respond to a questionaire by the Chilliwack Teachers’ Association (CTA).
“Being non-partisan, Chilliwack DPAC will not endorse specific school trustee candidates,” Bartel said. “We will, however, share which candidates have demonstrated that they value the legislated voice of parents in this district.
“We hope and expect to have a good working partnership with all elected trustees but are disheartened that some will not demonstrate that they value the Chilliwack DPAC in their candidacy.”
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