The installation of Trustee Cecelia Reekie last Tuesday as a member of the Langley Board of Education was an important milestone in the life of this community.
Reekie is likely the first person of aboriginal descent to sit on an elected body in Langley. This fact is of great significance to both aboriginal and non-aboriginal people, as it is another step in the long journey of ensuring that all British Columbians, regardless of their race, are seen as vital to our provincial life.
The significance of this was not lost on members of the Kwantlen First Nation, who performed a ceremonial opening at the installation, which took place at the beginning of the board’s January meeting.
Chief Marilyn Gabriel, who is a big believer in the value of education in giving First Nations people hope for the future, spoke of how proud she was with Reekie’s election. Reekie has been an active part of aboriginal advisory groups in the school district for some time.
The Kwantlen members who were present at the meeting sang a traditional paddle song to send the board of education on a symbolic journey to the end of their term. They noted that it is important to work as a team, when paddling in a canoe.
The same is true when you are a member of a board that has had numerous struggles over the past four years, over middle schools, declining enrolment, lack of school space in Willoughby and, most importantly, a $13 million deficit.
However, there is much to be hopeful about. Members of the board have taken the recommendations from the province’s auditor-general seriously, and have set in place a plan to pay the debt back over several years.
Trustees say they are much more committed to work together with one another, even when they differ sharply on the correct approach.
Reekie demonstrated her independence and wisdom in her first vote. Trustee Stacey Cody proposed that the board chairmanship rotate from month to month, until the end of the term. The two trustees who spoke against the idea, trustees Rob McFarlane and Wendy Johnson, were impoprtant backers of Reekie’s campaign.
But she did not vote the same way they did. Instead, she voted with Cody and trustees Alison McVeigh, Rod Ross and Steve Burton to rotate the chair.
This may be a small step, but it’s a step in the right direction. If the Langley Board of Education is going to make progress in solving the problems in front of it, trustees have to work together and remember that every decision taken needs to be followed through on by all members of the board — even those who voted “no.”
Reekie’s own life journey is also inspirational. Born into the Haisla First Nation, she was raised by adoptive parents John and Sharon Cashore. John Cashore is a much-loved former NDP MLA and United Church minister in Coquitlam. People in that community, no matter what their political stripe, have huge respect for him.
Both he and Reekie’s birth father, Cecil Paul, a Haisla grand chief who was also at the installation, have inspired her to work on behalf of others — and most importantly, on behalf of Langley school children.