Endless growth major issue for Surrey Board of Education

Frank Bucholtz photo
The sun sets on the sign announcing that a new Maddaugh Road Elementary school will be built on 76 Avenue in Clayton - and be open by September, 2019. However, no contract has been awarded to build the school and it is highly doubtful it will open on the advertised date. Capital funding for new schools is the major issue in the election of new trustees to the Surrey Board of Education.

School board elections are an afterthought for the vast majority of voters. This is true even in Surrey, which has the largest public school system in B.C. and continues to grow rapidly.

The major issue in Surrey revolve around growth. As the city continues to approve development applications, schools gradually become even more crowded. The supply of new schools simply is not keeping up with the number of students showing up at the doors.

I can see this in my own neighbourhood of Clayton. This area has grown rapidly in the past 15 years, as East Clayton developed with apartments, townhouses and detached homes. Many detached homes actually contain three living units - the main home, a carriage house and a basement suite.

Four new schools have been built in that time. Adams Road actually serves what the city calls North Cloverdale, but is adjacent to Clayton. Hazelwood Grove and Katzie serve East Clayton, and the new Salish Secondary opened in September in what the city calls West Clayton. Clayton Heights Secondary actually opened before the rush of development in Clayton – it was initially meant to contain an overflow of students at Lord Tweedsmuir in Cloverdale. Development soon surrounded it on all sides.

The one longtime existing school in Clayton – Clayton Elementary – is located on busy 184 Street and the site is packed with portables. At one time, Clayton was a Grades 4-7 school and nearby East Clayton Elementary on 72 Avenue was for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. East Clayton was located on city property and was closed several years ago. It was then a child care centre for several years, and has now been demolished to make way for the new Clayton Community Centre.

Two new schools are supposed to open in Clayton. The existing homes on the properties have been torn down (almost a year ago) and signs have gone up, proclaiming that Maddaugh Road school (on 76 Avenue, formerly Maddaugh Road) will open in September, 2019 and Regent Road Elementary (on the former Regent Road, 74 Avenue) will open a year later.

However, there is no construction activity. The district hasn’t even awarded a contract for either school. The projects both went to tender, but the bids far exceeded the funding the district received from the province for the new schools.

While Education Minister Rob Fleming and Premier John Horgan have made a lot of noises about ensuring that Surrey gets funds for new schools more quickly, endless delays in building new schools is what is actually happening on the ground. The same thing is happening in other fast-growing areas, notably Grandview in South Surrey and the Panorama area near 152 Street and Highway 10.

The teacher shortage is also a serious problem in Surrey, as in other districts. Because Surrey is larger than other districts, the problem is more acute. The shortage is largely due to the former contract coming into effect once again, after a challenge that went to Supreme Court of Canada. Another factor is a large number of retirements. The expense of housing in Surrey and other parts of the Lower Mainland is also a factor, as some new teachers cannot find places they can afford to live in, and choose to go to districts outside the Lower Mainland, where there are openings and housing is more affordable.

A third issue on the minds of some voters is the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) resource material that teachers can use in the classroom. This has prompted parental concerns in some school districts, notably Langley and Chilliwack, where it has become a significant campaign issue. It has not received the same attention in Surrey.

There are 29 candidates for the seven seats on the Surrey Board of Education. All seven incumbents are running again, as is former trustee Charlene Dobie. Surrey First Education, which is loosely affiliated with Surrey First (which is running council candidates) has held the six Surrey seats over the past four years. The incumbents come from a variety of backgrounds and have done a good job in overseeing the district as trustees In particular, they have often made the case for more capital funding, more quickly. They have also built alliances with the business community to help make the case for more new schools.

Their connection to Surrey First does not seem to have helped them much in getting more information to and from council – liaison meetings between the two bodies have been rare, and should take place at least twice a year.

Of the six Surrey First trustees, Shawn Wilson now lives in Chilliwack, but is running again. Other incumbents are current chair Laurie Larsen, vice-chair Terry Allen, Garry Thind, Bob Holmes and Gary Tymoschuk.

Laurae McNally is the other incumbent. She is the longest-serving politician in local government. First elected as a trustee in Surrey close to 40 years ago, she has been elected in White Rock as the sole trustee for many years. She has a great deal of experience in dealing with planning and capital issues, and is very conversant with matters across the district.

McNally, a longtime White Rock resident, is being challenged by Surrey resident Sikandar Hayat. Both were invited to speak and answer questions at a candidates’ meeting on Friday in White Rock, but only McNally was present.

Other candidates for the six Surrey seats come from three other slates. There are also 10 independents running.

Dobie, outspoken parent advocate Cindy Dalglish, Sonia Andhi and Mary-Em Waddington are all part of the Surrey Students NOW slate. The Act Now slate is putting up candidates Aronjit Lagheri, Niovi Patsicakis and Dupinder Kaur Saran. Proudly Surrey, which is also running candidates for council, has as its trustee candidates Rina Diaz, Kapil Goyal, Dean McGee and Diana Ng.

The independents running are Lisa Alexis, Balraj Atwal, Jasvinder Singh Badesha, Sukhy Dhillon, Gordon Hepner, Martin Hilmer, Jasbir Narwal, Julia Poole, Amanda Smith-Weston and Adele Yu.

Four of the independents have been endorsed by two anti-SOGI groups, Culture Guard (operated by longtime culture warrior Kari Simpson) and the Let’s Vote Association, an organization made up predominantly of Chinese-Canadians. The endorsed candidates are Alexis, Narwal, Poole and Yu.