IN THE LANGLEY SCHOOL TRUSTEE RACE: Joel Neufeld

Joel Neufeld

RUNNING WITH CONTRACT WITH LANGLEY

Surrey first responder, age 36

Fort Langley resident who’s lived in Langley 8 years

I am first responder and a community volunteer for over 20 years. I live in Fort Langley and have a daughter in Grade 1.

I see the challenges young families face, and I want to be a voice to help improve their quality of life.

I am an advocate for schools keeping up with development. I understand the need for the school trustees to work with government and address problems that growth has caused in Langley.

We need proper sidewalks, access to recreational programming and to secure land for new schools.

There are many challenges our teachers face with lack of reserves, schools that are at capacity and some with no outdoor fields.

We need a team with a real plan to solve this.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/joel.neufeld.for.langley

Instagram: @Joel.e.neufeld

Website: www.contractwithlangley.org/the/right/team/neufeld

Phone: 604-308-8372

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Have you held office in past? If so, please specify: No.

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CLICK TO CHECK OUT OUR FULL ELECTION GUIDE ONLINE

Questions:

(These answers are presented as the candidates submitted them)

1. Do you agree with how SOGI material and other sex education is currently taught in the classroom, including LGBTQ2S content and sexual consent?

Yes.

2. Are class sizes too big?

Yes.

3. Should all students with diverse abilities or special needs be taught in regular classrooms?

Yes, with optional rooms for student and families that need a flexible space for non-traditional instruction.

4. Is the provincial government providing enough funding for public schools?

No.

5. Should the district set a deadline to switch to an all-electric bus and vehicle fleet?

Yes, as moving away from diesel will improve health outcomes, reduce carbon pollution and reduce operating costs.

6. Should there be more emphasis on STEM courses in schools?

Yes.

7. Should the district consider offering distance education for some students on a regular basis, based on what was learned during the pandemic?

Yes.

8. Should the district have a strategy to reduce the use of portables?

Yes.

9. Should there be more emphasis on Indigenous-based history and culture courses?

Yes.

10. Should new elementary schools be built larger, to accommodate more students and deal with continuing rapid enrolment growth?

Yes, with the rapid growth in both Langleys, we need to get creative on how we design and build our newest schools.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

How the questions were presented to each candidate

Langley Advance Times readers have repeatedly told us how much they value this important, straight-forward reference guide that helps orient them with the range of choices on the ballots – both at the council and school board levels.

Towards that end, we have attempted to make this package available (along with the following instructions) to each of the candidates in a timely fashion ahead of the Oct. 15 election.

Please read carefully before you start to fill this out.

To help voters in Langley make their choices on election day, the Langley Advance Times is asking local candidates 10 issue-based questions.

You must provide a ‘yes,’ a ‘no,’ or a ‘don’t know’ (Y, N, D) response to EACH of these questions.

Each question MUST be answered with yes (Y), no (N), or Don’t Know (D). This will be published in a grid in the Oct. 6 edition. Any questions not answered will be LEFT BLANK.

Candidates may also expand on ANY OR ALL of these questions (to a maximum of 200 words each). Please note any responses longer than that will be cut off at the 201-word mark.

Due to space limitations, we can only guarantee to run one of these answers in the Langley Advance Times print edition ahead of the election. You must CLEARLY indicate which expanded answer you want to see published in print. If you do not specify, we will choose. Any and all expanded answers provided will be published online at www.langleyadvancetimes.com.

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