Caregivers calling for the resignation of School District 27 (SD 27) trustees and administration say they feel unheard after their Jan. 27 delegation to the board of education was cut short.
Following months of campaigning for the district to change its response to violence and bullying in schools, the group Concerned Parents and Caregivers of Williams Lake (CPWL) was granted the opportunity to speak at the district’s first regular board meeting of 2025.
“The policy of ‘inclusive schooling,’ which allows repeat offenders to remain in mainstream schools, fosters a toxic climate of bullying and fear,” said George Hobi, the delegation’s appointed speaker.
Hobi was referring to policies set by the district and the Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC) on inclusive schooling. He believes these policies are leading to cases in which students with serious behavioural difficulties are not receiving the alternative schooling they may need and instead are being kept in classrooms lacking appropriate supports and causing disruption in learning.
Hobi’s own child has experienced recurring instances of bullying at Lake City Secondary School in Williams Lake.
In an email responding to the Tribune's request for an interview, SD 27 Superintendent Cheryl Lenardon said the district takes student safety and the creation of positive learning environments seriously.
"While student conduct is a reality in all public schools in B.C. it is not accurate to characterize the learning environment in our schools as toxic. School principals and the parent advisory councils they work closely with are not making these claims," Lenardon wrote.
Hobi went on to recount his and other caregivers’ experience with district staff and trustees as they try to stand for their children’s mental and physical safety in school, explaining they are sent in endless loops without meaningful improvements.
“We are ignored, stonewalled and stalled,” he said, adding the district “reacts even more aggressively” when the parents continue to push for change.
At about 14 minutes into Hobi’s delegation, Delainey interrupted Hobi as he began to name reasons why the CPWL was of the opinion that trustees are “disconnected from the community.”
“Mr. Hobi...I will warn you about making personal attacks against people...I think it’s a little bit inappropriate,” Delainey said. As Hobi went on with his statement, claiming one of the board members was “double-dipping” by holding two council positions, the trustees agreed to a recess.
“Mr. Hobi you’re out of line,” Delainey said, adding he was welcome to submit his speech for review. Delainey and Hobi spoke over each other as the recess was being called, Hobi pushing to be heard and Delainey insisting he had gone too far.
This was the second time Delainey cut into the delegation, the first instance as a reminder to Hobi that board bylaws meant only trustees can put motions forward and thus they could not immediately respond to what the delegation brought forward. This was following Hobi’s request to adopt three topics as permanent issues to be addressed on board meeting agendas. These are health and safety for students at SD 27, the district’s Statement of Financial Information and an opportunity for a question-and-answer session on all agenda items.
Currently, SD 27’s board of education bylaws only allow for public comments on agenda items following the board’s regular meetings, while some district boards in B.C., including District 28 in Quesnel, allow questions at the end of their meetings.
In an emailed response to the Tribune on why the delegation was cut short, the SD 27 trustees said the delegation surpassed its allotted time and the board did not get the opportunity to review any material from the delegation prior to the meeting, as was requested. While Hobi mentioned a presentation preceding his own lapsed longer than his, the trustees explained presentations are typically around 20 minutes as opposed to the 10 minutes allotted for delegations.
The trustees also said they would not “give space” for the harassment of staff, students or trustees. Nevertheless, the trustees wrote they were interested to learn more about CPWL’s Facebook group, how it collects data and how the group is working with their parent advisory council to address their concerns. But the trustees said the Facebook group was the extent of what they learned from the delegation.
“The delegation continues to demand the same information and does not seem satisfied with the answers being provided. Sometimes, the answers we provide are not what people want to hear, but that is the reality we face,” the trustees wrote.
Following the meeting’s adjournment, Hobi stood before the board once again to finish his statement, and did so despite trustee Linda Martens and Delainey warning they would call another recess.
“You’re going into an area that wasn’t on the agenda so at this point I would suggest either the speaker sits down, or we have to go into another recess because this is not acceptable,” said Martens.
Hobi stood his ground, and so did the caregivers of CPWL who attended the meeting, clapping as Hobi concluded his statement, which called for the trustees’ and district administration to resign due to the “ongoing crisis.”
“It’s another joke,” Hobi said in an interview with the Tribune following the meeting, saying he felt he hasn’t gotten a response to his requests stretching back to June 2024.
In their email to the Tribune, the trustees said they are working hard to make changes, but that cannot be done overnight.
“We want to be clear: we have heard this group's concerns and are actively working on them. That said, the data and feedback we receive from those on the ground, as well as from the ERASE program, do not suggest that there is widespread or alarming behaviour in our schools,” the trustees wrote.
Melissa Coates, a member of CPWL who is planning to run for the vacant role of trustee on the SD 27 board of education, also addressed the board following the meeting’s adjournment.
“As a mother it breaks my heart to share that my child continues to face bullying,” she said. She acknowledged that changes have been made since the district’s previous superintendent, Chris Van Der Mark, stepped down, but said more needed to be done.
“I would ask each of you trustees to consider what you would do if it was your child coming home in tears...our children deserve better,” she said.
After the meeting Coates told the Tribune her child is bullied every day.
“I’m sick of my kids coming home with this,” she said, adding she often wonders if it’s her “kid’s day today” as she hears about haunting stories of violence from other parents.
“This is all from our district not doing their job,” she said.
Kathy MacDonald, who herself attended school in the district and whose three grandchildren now attend schools in SD 27, said nothing has changed.
“It’s become acceptable,” MacDonald said about violence in schools. One of her grandchildren is leaving the district because of the bullying they face.
Another parent told the Tribune their child no longer fells comfortable approaching their teachers about the bullying and assaults they experience on a daily basis.
In their email to the Tribune, the trustees pointed to the anonymous reporting tool ERASE available to students and parents, and also noted a third-party review of the district’s culture climate is currently underway by Safer Schools.
“The district...is eagerly awaiting recommendations to improve safety in schools,” the trustees wrote, adding district staff had also run meetings at schools in Williams Lake so parents could voice their concerns. Coates told the Tribune the scheduling of these meetings was poorly communicated and there was no follow-up from the district afterwards.
All four of the caregivers are part of the CPWL and invite other parents to get involved. There is a Facebook page with 82 members for caregivers concerned about violence and bullying to connect with each other.
Along with these four parents, there were four members of the public attending the meeting online. Conservative MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin Lorne Doerkson was also present at the meeting.
You can read more about MECC’s inclusive schooling approach in its 2024 Inclusive Education Services manual, and learn more about the district’s policy on inclusive schooling here.
