Sacha Christensen

I’m running for School Board Trustee in SD61 to put our students first. Our Schools should reflect the change we want to see in our community, and our School Board Trustees should reflect the community it actually represents.

I’m running to protect the rights of our 2SLGBTQIA+ students, close the graduation gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners, ensure that inclusive education for students with disabilities is a guarantee, and expand supports for mental health and student enrichment.

As a former SD61 student, I know firsthand how our district can be a force for positive change in our community, and am keenly aware of where more work still needs to be done. We need trustees who aren’t afraid of frank discussions, and who will re-center our district’s decisions around the needs of our students. On October 15th, I hope I can count of your support.

Questionnaire Responses - click questions to open

1. How would you define the role of trustee? What is your personal connection to public education in SD 61? What is your motivation for wanting to be elected as an SD61 trustee?

School board trustees are the stewards of our community’s schools and students. They should uphold the ideals of public education, and ensure that students today will have a better school experience than those who came before them. As a former SD61 student, I have experienced firsthand how our district has succeeded, and am keenly aware of what work still needs to be done.

I am running for school board trustee because our district’s 5 year graduation rate for Indigenous students is below 50%, because we are still not fulfilling our legal obligation to provide inclusive education to students with disabilities, because we have the district and trustees fighting at the BC supreme court, and because we are still fighting over cuts to student programming. All of this while our current School Board is closer to retirement than being back in School.

We need a School Board who will put our students first. We need a fresh perspective who isn’t afraid of frank discussion and who will re-center our district’s decisions around the needs of our students. I am running to be that voice on our school board, and put our students back on the agenda.

2. SD61 has education agreements in place with the Four Houses. As a trustee, how will you ensure that barriers are removed so that Indigenous students have equitable access to education? How can we ensure that we are being culturally responsive to Indigenous students and their families?

SD61 is failing our Indigenous students. The 5 year graduation rate for Indigenous students in our district is 49%, a rate three times worse than non-Indigenous students. Our district needs to get serious about its commitment to reconciliation by both collaborating with our First Nations partners, and backing that up with real funding. This means actually listening to our First Nations partners to find opportunities to assist students when they are both in their community, and in school.

The District also needs to take a more active role both advocating for additional funding for our Indigenous students from the federal government, and finding opportunities to partner with the First Nations in our district for funding applications.

3. How would you address exclusion on the basis of disability, race, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity and other protected classes under the BC Human Rights Code in our schools and at the board table? How will you address barriers to accessibility in the school district? Do you believe that health and sexual education should be a part of students’ education in SD61? Why or why not?

As the saying goes, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. Our current board is unfortunately not remotely representative of our community, especially in terms of sexuality, age, ethnic background, and disability status. The first step is electing voices that actually reflect the community they’re charged with serving. The second is actively working and consulting with community members not represented at the board level,and taking their advice and concerns to heart in all decision making. As a young queer man who went to school in SD61, I can say my voice has never been reflected on our School Board, and if elected I would be more than happy to bring other unrepresented voices to our board’s decisions.

Health and sex education should absolutely be taught in schools. It is critical that our students have the resources and knowledge to remain safe when entering adulthood. It is also crucial that our schools provide sex and health education relevant to all students, regardless of sexuality or gender identity. SD61 will have on average over 3000 students from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at any given time, and depriving them of effective sex education is simply unnaceptable.

4. What does community and stakeholders/rights holders engagement look like to you? What steps will you take to ensure that the community as well as stakeholders/right holders’ perspectives are considered by the board when they are tasked with making critical decisions about the budget, student programming and staffing?

As someone whose full time job is driven by outreach and stakeholder engagement, I have proven experience ensuring that voices not always heard have a chance to get their say. As your School Board trustee I will take a proactive approach to community and stakeholder outreach. Any government thrives when they’re in touch with their community. This means actually going out into our community to meet with groups, not just expecting them to appear at public information sessions of the board.

5. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the school board? How do you plan to address these challenges?

*. Lack of support for Indigenous students, resulting in a massive gap in education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
*. Constant threat of cuts to student enrichment programs like Arts and Music.
*. Our District is still not fulfilling its basic legal requirement to students with disabilities by failing to provide them with inclusive education.

We need trustees who will put our students first, and will fight to close the gaps between students. As your School Board trustee I will work to mend the District’s relationship with our First Nations partners. I will work to engage in a more collaborative approach to governance, in the pursuit of closing the gap between our Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. I will work to advocate for more music and arts funding from the province by bringing together stakeholders, other districts, and most importantly students. I will lobby the province to amend the funding formula for schools.We must ensure that disability funding is reflective of the varied needs of our students living with disabilities.

6. This district has faced a deficit for the past two years that has resulted in critical staff and programming cuts.As a trustee, how do you plan on addressing looming deficits? What would you do differently than our current board? How do you think that trustees can best advocate to the province for more funding for education?

While no school board has complete control over its funding, school board trustees can and must take a more active role in advocating for their district. Instead of fighting, our school board should be working with our community groups, stakeholders, parents, teachers and students. As someone with concrete experience working with stakeholders and building cross jurisdictional coalitions, I have the experience to bring together folks to best advocate for additional resources for our school district.

7. Over the past two years, trustees have struggled to balance the SD61 budget and funding the arts has become a contentious issue among trustees. What is your philosophy about funding arts education for students? Do you believe that this is an “extra” for students or should arts be part of the core curriculum? Should arts education be reduced in elementary and middle schools in the district? How should arts education be funded in SD61?

Student enrichment programming like arts, music and sports are a vitally important part of both the student experience and our school community. Funding for arts and music should never be on the budget table, they should be recognized as an essential component of our schools. Unfortunately school boards are one of the few levels of government in Canada without control over their revenue streams. That doesn’t mean our district should keel over when cuts are forced to be made, it means our trustees must take an active role in advocating for additional funding. I’m running to put our students first. That commitment is not going to change,even when budget season comes around.

8. Over the past few years, parents and community members have observed conflict among board members, between board members and SD61 staff, and between board members and stakeholders/rights holders. What skills would you employ to bring a more collaborative tone to the school board? How would you handle differences of opinion among fellow trustees?

One of the beautiful things about local government is that it allows for greater collaboration between elected officials, regardless of political beliefs. As someone with experience working with stakeholders, often with varying and contrasting opinions, I believe I have the experience to help mediate our board,and ensure we keep the board’s decisions centered around putting our students first.

Disclaimer

As an organization representing all parents in the district, we do not endorse any candidates. This website was put together by VCPAC to showcase information provided by each candidate. All questionnaire answers are posted as received, without any editing. We encourage voters to contact the candidates with any questions they may have.