The New Westminster school district might bring along a lawyer when it meets with parents who have been complaining about a math teacher at New Westminster Secondary School.
A letter from superintendent John Woudzia said the district "may also ask our lawyer to be present as a resource to provide information and assist with any issues that may arise."
NWSS parent Kal Randhawa takes issue with the district's decision to have a lawyer present at the meeting she says is overdue.
"If the intent is for discussion only, this seems to be pointless for us to sit with the board and have a lawyer come out if no outcome or change will occur," Randhawa said in an email. "It also seems to be waste of taxpayers money to have a lawyer present especially when the labour-endorsed candidates defeated a motion to have a lawyer address the conflict-of-interest issues and later told media they (trustee (Michael Ewen) thought it was not a good use of tax dollars."
Randhawa and fellow NWSS parent Lisa Chao have been speaking to the media about what they believe to be an unusually high failure rate in classes taught by a certain teacher. They eventually submitted several appeals to address their concerns with the school district, after they felt stymied by the complaint process. The district sent the parents a letter informing them about the board's decision not to hear their appeals and instead opted to form a committee to discuss some of their concerns. Trustees James Janzen, Ewen and Casey Cook, along with the district's director of human resources and Woudzia will meet with the parents.
Randhawa doesn't think that Ewen - a teacher - should be on the committee.
"The apparent perceived conflict of interest by the teacher trustee, Michael Ewen, vice-chair has been completely ignored," she wrote. "No teacher trustees belonging to BCTF (British Columbia Teachers' Union) should be involved with issues resulting from teacher practices."
But Ewen doesn't see a problem with his dual role.
"There is not conflict of interest. I have no allegiance to the BCTF in this matter, and that's the end of it."
Ewen said he has been involved in disciplinary hearings for teachers during the more than 30 years that he's been on the school board.
"I've been involved in termination of teachers. It is not an issues. Teachers, when they sit on the teachers college sit in judgment over teachers. ... If they're saying that I'm biased, then they are just wrong there too, but if they are saying there's a conflict, there isn't."
Having a lawyer present would provide an opportunity to explain the legal advice the district has received, Ewen said.
The longtime trustee who is routinely accused of a conflict by school board critics, didn't want to duke it out with parents in the press.
"I find it fascinating that people want to communicate with the school district through the press," Ewen said. "I'm not prepared to do that. If she has a question for the board, she can contact the board, and we will answer her concerns."
The district wants to meet with the parents on May 14. The terms of reference for the meeting, the letter states, would be to discuss appeals under the School Act and board policy; proposed changes to board policy concerning processing appeals; board practices and framework regarding teacher evaluation and professional growth; processes around parent complaints about teachers; sharing information relating to parental complaints about teachers; and suggestions for improvement in board practices and procedures.
