Sheelah Donahue—experienced, committed and ready to get to work for our students.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) Candidate Meeting, March 5, 2025
DPAC provided the following questions to be answered within four minutes. It is impossible to fully address the questions within the time provided so these answers are very brief and only scratch the surface. In short, I'm running for re-election because public education is a cornerstone of our community and part of the foundation upon which our children build their lives. I can’t overstate how important this is to me—especially with an increasingly competitive post-secondary environment and globalized job market.
1. Connection to Our Community: How have you been previously engaged with the school district? (e.g., School PAC, attended DPAC meetings, attended Board meetings)
My journey will be a familiar one to those connected with their school communities. I first became active in Rockridge PAC and made my way to DPAC rep and DPAC chair — then I was elected to the school board. I missed only one meeting in nine years and since November, when it became apparent there would be a by-election, I’ve attended all Finance and Facilities, Human Resources, and board meetings.
2. What is your understanding of the role of Trustee, and how will you balance governance with the responsibilities of school district staff?
In terms of the role, which is set out in the School Act and local policy and procedures, trustees hire the superintendent, who is responsible for all operations. Trustees are also responsible for student achievement and passing a balanced budget, and disciplinary matters. School boards are corporate boards and although trustees make many decisions, not interfering in operations and creating a positive and collaborative board culture sets the tone for the leadership team and that has a positive cascade effect throughout the system. Some of my strongest governance skills include having a good relationship with the current board and leadership team, I handle differences of opinion respectfully and cooperatively, and I never lose sight of the reason we’re here—the students.
3. Day-to-Day Decision Making: How would you balance the diverse opinions of parents while ensuring district policies support all students?
It is very important to listen compassionately to parents, and then give appropriate advice. Where it becomes tricky is that the School Act prohibits trustees from intervening on behalf of individuals or special interest groups—DPAC is an exception—so it’s important to be up front with parents about the boundaries in the trustee role, and not give the impression that trustees have the ability to impact things outside their role—especially around human rights, legislation or government mandates.
4. Supporting Student Success: What do you believe is the most important factor in ensuring student success in our district?
Creating a culture that attracts top notch staff, and then keeping them, is really important. We must also provide students with a broad range of excellent academic programs that provide space to achieve at a high level, like IB, AP, and French Immersion, and includes well-executed supports for diverse learners, and ELL.
I’m proud to say I was on the board that approved the Cedardale IB program—the first of its kind in Canada.
Trustees are key decision-makers in all of this. It’s not always smooth sailing but the first priority must be “Is it good for students?” and then “how can we be even better”.
5. Financial Stewardship: Can you explain how the district’s budget is developed, and what you see as a financial challenge for the Board?
Over 85 % of the budget is salaries and benefits. For the remainder, there must be robust consultation with all stakeholder groups, especially parents and DPAC. This informs how the discretionary dollars are spent.
6. Addressing Challenges: Can you share a specific example of a challenge facing WVS and how you would approach it as a Trustee?
Challenges constantly emerge—I have worked through many during my time on the school board. The most persistent one is funding and there’s always a structural deficit. The international program helps a lot, trustees also approve academies and programs of choice to increase enrolment, and look at other means of generating local revenue. The bottom line, though, is tough financial times are here to stay and trustees must look for savings everywhere to avoid making cuts in the classroom.
7. Facilities Given that our school district has static enrolment and will not qualify for new school funding from the Province, how would you propose improving school facilities within the current funding model?
As far as new schools and provincial funding go, we’re never getting to the top of that list because of the way the current model is structured. However, the district could raise money for buildings by selling sites—although most are owned by the province. It’s not simple, and there are considerations—once you sell something it’s gone forever and the community depends on the sites for sports and recreation, There are innovative projects happening in other districts we could look to, along with opportunities for funding partnerships. It's also important that trustees are active regionally and provincially through the BC School Trustees Association (BCSTA) to advocate effectively for provincial change that benefits West Vancouver students.
8. Prioritizing the School District’s Future: What do you believe is the most important priority in the Board’s strategic plan?
The Strategic Plan has many important components and the importance of Vision cannot be understated. Trustees need to make data-driven decisions that will enhance personalized learning, educational excellence, and support systems for learners well into the future. We’re the envy of other districts for good reason and we need to keep that going, and I ask for your support so we can make that happen together.
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