Tony Ward
ACCLAIMED AS AN INDEPENDENT CITY TRUSTEE
Asset management technician , age 50
Murrayville resident who’s lived in Langley 50 years
As a father of two school-age children (in two different schools), I have a personal stake in providing good governance.
I am a 28-year Township of Langley employee having worked in a broad range of roles, and I understand diverse school district responsibilities and public accountability.
I strongly support French immersion, fine arts, fundamental schools, U-Connect, Montessori, Langley Environmental Awareness, as well as entrepreneurial programs that challenge students to cultivate their creativity and engage their peers.
Maximized resources and opportunities enable students to pursue excellence.
Trustees need to listen to parents throughout their child’s educational journey, as well as ensure open dialogue, transparency, and well-thought decisions.
Every child is precious; children are our greatest investment in our community’s future.
After all, community starts with kids.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064008964848
Phone: 778-512-3737
.
Have you held office in past? If so, please specify: Yes, Langley School Trustee 2018 to present.
.
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?
Don’t know. Although I am familiar with the material, I have never seen it taught.
2. Are class sizes too big?
No.
3. Should all students with diverse abilities or special needs be taught in regular classrooms?
Yes. All students need a space and place in their classrooms where the feel included. However, they also need a space and place outside of the classroom where they, and their unique needs, can be supported.
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?
No. We recently took possession of our new electric buses, and we are working through some unique technology and infrastructure challenges specifically with respect to charging these units.
Although it is very exciting to add electric buses to our fleet and see how they perform, it is way too early to presume that we know enough about how a whole scale electric conversion could be envisioned and implemented.
The next two to five years will provide us the opportunity to test these new additions and gather a range of data that could potentially support a business-, as well as an environmental-case, for further purchases.
When considering major organizational changes/shifts it is helpful.
6. Should there be more emphasis on STEM courses in schools?
Don’t know. Clearly the Langley School District supports and offers trade programs as well as science, technology, engineering, and math. Although, I have not heard that there is any deficiency in these areas, I am open the idea that we could put more emphasis on certain programs.
7. Should the district consider offering distance education for some students on a regular basis, based on what was learned during the pandemic?
Yes. We need to always consider distance learning and other strategies to improve educational outcomes for all students. Our primary consideration should always be what’s best for students.
8. Should the district have a strategy to reduce the use of portables?
No. We are doing the best we can. Neither staff, nor board members ever express a desire to add portables; we do it out of necessity. Our district is growing very rapidly and with our co-governance model with the Province we depend on them for funding to support full school builds to meet existing and future enrolment demands. However, for this same reason we need to be adaptable when, despite our advocacy to the Province, respecting our facility classroom needs, that we don’t end up with enough space in main school buildings for all classrooms. Hence the requirement for portables.
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. See my answer above with respect to portables.
CLICK ON OUR ELECTIONS 2022 TAB TO FIND A WIDE VARIETY OF RELEVANT STORIES
.
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.
.
Have a story tip? Email: news@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.