Dear Editor,

As a parent of three children in SD71, I have dedicated hundreds of hours to the issue of education in this school district and province. It doesn鈥檛 take long for one to realize that the decisions made locally are impacted by provincial polices, guidelines and government mandates on education.

With the election a month away, it was incumbent upon engaged parents and other stakeholder groups, to come together and organize an All Candidates Forum on Public Education.

Each candidate, from each party; from both the mid-Island riding and the Courtenay-Comox riding, was invited to participate. The Liberal candidate from the Mid-Island riding, Darren DeLuca, hasn鈥檛 even responded back, while Jim Benninger the Liberal candidate from Courtenay-Comox, and has regrettably declined.

One would think that the education of children would be a priority for any candidate. And I have to wonder, what is Jim Benninger or Darren DeLuca afraid of? Either they can stand up and say they support the past decisions of the Liberal government and they believe in the status quo, or they can say that they think some things should change, sharing with us their ideas, hopefully moving us forward toward a stronger public education system.

The bottom line is you were invited to a public education forum happening on April 27th, organized by parents, teachers, principals/vice-principals, the District Parent Advisory Council, trustees, and CUPE, and you are choosing to not participate.

What do you think that says to the voters in this riding? That you aren鈥檛 even willing to have a specific conversation regarding public education. Could be a fatal flaw as parents and grandparents stand with their ballots on May 9.

Jennifer Fisher

Comox Valley Families for Public Education