RE: Prince George parents call for school board transparency, Hanna Peterson, March 13, 2023
School support workers in School District 57 join parents and our teacher colleagues in expressing concerns with the firing of superintendent Cindy Heitman and the departures of school trustees Gillian Burnett and Betty Bekkering.
Prince George will miss their leadership in our public education system. Their departures have left school support workers deeply concerned and disappointed.
School support workers are proud of the work they do in and outside of Prince George classrooms. But the continuing instability of the school board and revolving door of superintendents are an unnecessary and troubling distraction from what matters most – delivering the services families depend on for our students to succeed.
We look forward to working with interim superintendent Pam Spooner to limit the impact these disruptions have on students. But the greater issue remains – our community needs and deserves stable, transparent, and accountable leadership from our elected trustees working together to strengthen our public schools.
Paula Bass and Brian Larsen
Paula Bass and Brian Larsen are school support workers for SD57. Bass is president of CUPE 3742, representing inside school support workers. Larsen is president of CUPE 4991, representing K-12 school maintenance and grounds workers.
