Karin Kwan for SD61 Trustee

10/16/2022

As the election results continue to come in, I am beyond grateful for all of the wonderful conversations I've had, insightful and thoughtful questions I've received, and simple words of encouragement given to me. 💕

10/11/2022

We've seen a lot of cuts to student programs and services over the past couple of years in SD61. We all know it took private funds to keep the Elementary School strings program running for this school year and Custodial services in Elementary Schools were also severely cut with last year's budget. Other services/programs that have been proposed to be reduced are Youth & Family Counsellors, Career Centre Coordinators and Clerical Staff. SD61 has lost great EAs to other districts because we don't provide full time working hours for them so they have left for better jobs where they can make a decent, living wage.
The problem is two-fold.
1) The first issue is Provincial funding from the Ministry of Education. We have seen increases to maximum premiums for both federal CPP and EI programs. We have also seen the Provincial Employer Health Tax (EHT) come into effect as of January 1, 2019. All of these increases have seen no similar increases to per student funding - thus, any increases are taken from funding meant for students in SD61.
Below shows a synapsis of the past 5 years and how increases to CPP and EI may have affected SD61 (**please note - aprox employee count is taken from https://www.makeafuture.ca/bc-schools-and-districts/greater-victoria-school-district-no-61/) as well as what EHT would have cost the district over the past 3 years (**please note - salary expense is taken from SD61 Financial Statements).
2) The current Board of Education of SD61 is not willing to take enough risk with budgeting. Analysis (pictured below) has shown that over the past 6 years, the district has overprojected a deficit/surplus by almost $6M per year. This means that we are either under-projecting revenues or over-projecting expenses (or both) on average by $6M per year. If we build in more of a risk factor to our budgeting process, we wouldn't need to see ANY cuts to student programs/services. (**please note - all figures are taken from SD61 Financial Statements)

10/09/2022

  The Board of Directors and Coaching Staff of the Oak Bay Figure Skating Club Endorse Karin Kwan for School District 61 Trustee Karin has been an active member of the Board of Directors of the Oak Ba

10/05/2022

Happy World Teacher's Day!
Teachers: We see you and appreciate you more than you can know!

This UN article on teachers transforming education is a great read. I'd like to highlight a couple of quotes:

Without teachers, "it is impossible to provide inclusive, equitable and quality education to every learner. Teachers are also essential to pandemic recovery and preparing learners for the future."
“Yet unless we transform conditions for teachers, the promise of that education will remain out of reach for those who need it most”

Couldn't have said it better myself!
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129232?utm_content=buffer64733&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwAR201lvMjWSEM8TQtk056fpVouNBc1E73wtS_YmFcj0mwPHQEYPYkEkDdgI

Teachers are at the heart of education, and their valuable work must also lead to better salaries and working conditions, the heads of three UN agencies and a partner organization said on Wednesday.

09/30/2022

Truth and Reconciliation Call-to-Action #80: We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.

09/24/2022

I'm excited to announce that my website has been published! Please feel free to share 😄
www.karinfortrustee.ca

I am the mother of four diverse, talented, sometimes trying but always lovable kids, all of whom have either graduated from (2) or are attending (2) school in the Greater Victoria School District (no. 61) . I have a wonderful husband and partner who is admirably supportive of my community work. With...

09/22/2022

I met another school board trustee candidate tonight at the Victoria Labour Council meeting. First of all, thank you to the VLC for your endorsement and for welcoming me at your meeting. Second, Sacha Christensen for SD61 School Board Trustee, it was wonderful to chat and get to know you better and understand your reasons for running to be a school board trustee. You are a strong candidate. If anyone is interested, please check out Sacha's website to learn more about him and his campaign.

Public Schools are one of the most important pillars of our community. Our School District should be a reflection of the change we want to see, and our Board of Trustees a reflection of who they represent. Schools play a pivotal role in the development of our young students, and instill the sense of...

09/17/2022

I believe that arts education is an enormous contributor to teaching students essential skills. Through the arts (visual, literary, performing and culinary), students learn ways to express thoughts, knowledge, and feelings beyond just words. They develop essentials such as listening skills, better motor coordination, improved language abilities, increased emotional resilience, increased empathy, increased attention span and focus and teamwork. Achieving these skills builds confidence, self esteem and trust. If we want to prepare our students for a future that is still being invented, skills gained from arts education are essential. By devaluing arts education, we are failing the students of our district.

09/12/2022

Please help me get elected to the to the Greater Victoria School Board. Any amount is appreciated - thank you for your support!

Please help me get elected to the Greater Victoria School Board. It’s time to put Stud… Karin Kwan needs your support for Support Karin Kwan for SD61 Trustee

09/05/2022

I am the mother of 4 diverse, talented, sometimes trying but always lovable kids, all of whom have either graduated (2) or are attending (2) school in SD61.

I have a passion for public education. At the risk of sounding like an 80's Whitney Houston song, I do believe children are our future! It is beyond my comprehension that funding for education is a constant struggle. The quality of our future - healthcare, social services, politics, finance - depends on the quality of the young adults that exit our public education system.

I started my career in education at the age of 18, eventually obtaining a B.Ed at UVic in elementary education. I was a TOC for almost 8 years until I started a family and being on call became a strain with young kids. My affinity for numbers led me to do some book-keeping for friends and family while my kids were very young. This led to a career in accounting and payroll. I have recently transferred the skills from both of my previous roles into a career in HR as People Partner with a local technology company. I have been active in the community, sitting on the Executive of the Oak Bay Figure Skating Club as Treasurer, the Cedar Hill Middle School Music Parents Association as Treasurer and in my spare time, I help out with my daughter's soccer team. I also moonlight unofficially as a taxi driver between schools, the ice rink and the soccer field.