The school district has returned funds to New Westminster Secondary School’s musical theatre program after a public outcry – with some questioning why it took the money in the first place.
At the board of education’s Jan. 30 meeting, parents Jonina Campbell (a former New West trustee) and Jenn Vander Zalm spoke about funding that was raised on behalf of the musical theatre program at NWSS. Their presentation followed a Jan. 8 letter they’d sent out to stakeholders on the matter.
“As parents of students in the New Westminster school district, we write to you to inform you of two concerning developments in the district: 1 – the removal of close to $20,000 of funds from the NWSS musical theatre program into general school operating budget; and 2 – changes to the administrative procedures that oversee fundraising, charitable donation and corporate sponsorships, and the lack of transparency and consultation on these changes,” said the letter.
According to their letter, it became public knowledge in September 2023, via the New Westminster Teachers’ Union president, that close to $20,000 had been removed from a fundraising account without the consent of those who had raised the money, and not for the purposes for which the funds had been raised.
“This is not in accordance with school district Administrative Procedures 520 (AP 520) which states: Funds raised are expended in accordance with the purposes stated, and that those involved in the fundraising are informed of how the funds are to be expected,” said the letter.
Campbell and Vander Zalm said they had met with the high school’s principal, district secretary treasurer Bettina Ketcham and district superintendent Karim Hachlaf to ask that the funds be returned; they also questioned why the district made this decision in the first place.
“To this date, the funds, despite being taken against the district’s own ‘rules’ have not been returned,” they said.
In their letter, the parents of New Westminster Secondary School students wrote that the superintendent’s office is revising AP 520 without consultation with the many stakeholder groups that would be significantly impacted by changes to this policy. They said the policy would directly impact groups including parent advisory councils, school teams, school programs and the musical auxiliary.
“To our understanding, only the the NWSS PAC has been consulted,” said the letter. “Also, it does not appear that revised administrative procedure is available on the district website, nor is there any communication that the procedure is even under review. This lack of transparency and consultation is disappointing and erodes trust.”
Administrative Procedure 520 relates to fundraising activities and sponsorship in district facilities.
Concerns voiced
In addition to Campbell and Vander Zalm, who had been scheduled to make a presentation to the board about this issue, other community members attended Tuesday’s meeting to voice concerns about the matter.
That included Kathleen Carlsen and Shawn Sorensen, two of the four candidates who are running in the Feb. 3 school board byelection.
Hearing that the procedure is currently only a draft policy, Carlsen requested that the district make a policy to only follow through on changes once the policies have been discussed and approved by the board.
Carlsen also requested that all funds be returned to the fundraising account, saying the money should not have been taken in the first place because the policy has not yet been approved.
Sorensen also supported students and caregivers involved in the musical theatre program who had been impacted by the district’s actions. He said fundraising is a vital part of the arts, and highlighted the importance of keeping fundraised and allocated funds where they are meant to be.
Post-meeting response
The school district’s action concerning the musical theatre funding was lambasted by many folks on social media on Wednesday.
Later that day, the school district issued a statement about Administrative Procedure 520 and school-raised funds.
“The district understands discussions about the review of Administrative Procedure 520 and the transfer of funds from the New Westminster Secondary School musical theatre department have generated a lot of interest and concerns amongst parents and groups in our district,” said the statement. “After acknowledging the input we’ve received and upon closer reflection, the district will restore the NWSS musical theatre department’s funds in full ($18,400) instead of the previously stated sum of $14,400.”
The statement said the district appreciates “the passion” shown by the community. It then went on to “dispel some of the misinformation and misconceptions” surrounding these issue related to the transfer of the musical theatre program’s funding.
“Funds raised by schools for specific purposes will not be – and were never – used to cover school operational costs or other expenses unrelated to the purposes for which the moneys were intended,” said the statement. “The amounts were not transferred to the school’s general operating budget.”
According to the school district, it is currently working with NWSS school staff on a budget plan for the musical theatre department’s funds. It said parents with students in the department will have opportunities to share their thoughts and provide input, as was always intended, once the initial plan is fully drafted.
On the subject of Administrative Procedure 520, the district said fundraising is a big part of augmenting departmental programs but it must also make sure the procedures governing school fundraising and financial management are transparent.
“The board supports and has directed staff to review Administrative Procedure 520 to provide greater clarity into the processes and to revise elements that hinder its effective and efficient application,” said the statement. “The review for AP520 is still under consultation and the process is ongoing.”
The statement said the district understands the community’s desire for more consultation and invites PACs, DPAC, and parents involved in NWSS’s musical theatre department and other fundraising/supported programs or clubs to participate in the review.
“The board looks forward to learning how community feedback will impact the revised administrative procedure,” said the statement.
In a Jan. 31 Facebook post, Maya Russell, chair of the board of education, stated the board had heard from an NWSS musical theatre delegation about their fundraising account and AP520 at the previous night’s meeting.
“We take their concerns to heart, and board and staff have taken action to address those concerns,” she said. “AP520 is a draft still in consultation, and there will likely be many changes before a final version is adopted. AP520 seeks to address what was over $500,000 in fundraised dollars sitting in various school accounts, without being reported to PACs — while parents were still being asked to pay for fundraisers.”
Concerns remain
In response to the board’s statement, some community members suggested the district was “gas lighting” community members with its response and explanations to what had transpired and stated the board needed to apologize for taking the funds in the first place.
Some questioned why the funds were removed from the fundraising account when the policy was still in a draft form.
Concerns have also been raised about the need for the school district to consider the needs and circumstances of the musical theatre department when it comes to funding, as some of its productions can require considerable sums of money to produce.
Sarah Siegel, a local parent who has been critical of actions of some members of the New Westminster school board, voiced concerns about the issue on social media. She said school trustees Marc Andres, Danielle Connelly, Gurveen Dhaliwal, Elliott Slinn and Cheryl Sluis all asked tough questions about this decision, or expressed concern, at the Tuesday’s board meeting.
“Trustee Connelly offered a personal apology. But we still need an investigation into SD40. And we need it now,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We actually don't know that the theatre was the only group that had its funds seized. That's a huge concern. As is how and why this even happened in the first place.”
DPAC: Emotional labour
Laura Kwong, chair of the School District 40 District Parent’s Advisory Council, said NWTU president Kristie Oxley raised concerns about the issue at the board’s meeting in September 2023.
On behalf of DPAC, Kwong has spoken in support of parents at the board’s December meeting and at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We have always, as we always do, asked for consultation – like actual good-faith consultation, engagement with impacted groups, the parents and caregivers, and through the PACs, of course, on changes that affect us and on things that impact our students,” she said. “And so, this definitely is something that we have just been asking for consultation on.”
At the board’s December meeting, Kwong said she asked for a dedicated engagement session with groups impacted by the policy and parent advisory councils. She said DPAC learned this week that a session has been set up.
Kwong said DPAC has also questioned some of the amendments being proposed to the original Administrative Procedures 520 policy.
“There are a few provisions … that insert PAC oversight of budgets and spending of school-based fundraising groups, which are things like the musical theatre program, or sports teams or the music auxiliary or dry grad,” she said. “So I've also raised concerns about whether that's appropriate or not for PACs to be given, through this policy, that oversight role of the school-based fundraising groups.”
Transparency and accountability, as well as the need for engagement, have been among DPAC’s main concerns, Kwong said.
While Kwong is “very happy” the money is being returned to the musical theatre program, she said it took a lot of “emotional labour” by parents, caregivers and volunteers to make that happen.
“I don't want anyone to lose their job or be vilified or anything like that over this. But it makes me sad that it kind of came about in this way,” she told the Record. “I feel like there were a lot of opportunities to actually have some engagement very early on that were just totally passed up on.”
A recording of Tuesday’s board meeting is now available online.
