CANDIDATE PROFILE: Tyler Aviss

From a more personal perspective, I’m a guy who likes understanding how and why things work. That could mean tinkering with electronics, working on a vehicle, researching major events, or sometimes just asking a lot of questions from those who know things I don’t.

My professional background has primarily been in various fields of IT for both the public and private sector, and for the past decade I have specialized in IT Security (aka Cyber Security). I’ve also served on several strata councils, as a union steward, and in various other groups that focus on rational debate and dialog.

Running for trustee is something I have been considering for a while. I feel my experience and background have a fair bit of overlap with what one could expect from a trustee position in terms of meetings, budgets, negotiations and paperwork. That gives me something to offer but also room to grow. I want to be part of a board that can work together in building a future where our kids have the most opportunities for success.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing SD73 and how would you use your elected position to address it?

Rising inflation coupled with decreasing enrollment, in an unpredictable global economy.

Obviously, it’s an issue for everyone, but especially for institutions that need to serve the public and depend on tax dollars as their primary source of funding. A school district can’t go into debt, but it also needs to balance financial realities against the ability to provide quality education, facilities, and environment today and in the future.

We need to budget based on the number of students we have today, plus keep up with rising costs year over year. Kamloops is predicted to have significant growth in population over the next several years and schools aren’t something that can just spring out of nowhere when needed, so I want to make sure we have enough buffer to meet both the challenges of costs and capacity in the future. Gathering strong data on that growth is going to be important to planning the future, so we should look at reliable sources such as census info, housing data, immigration, and daycare or pre-K numbers etc.

I’m a bit of a data guy, so getting reliable numbers and information from as many sources as possible is something that’s fairly close to my heart.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing students and how would you address it?

Uncertainty and pace of change.

We’ve all been hearing about “unprecedented times” for years now, but for kids those times can be formative years of their lives.

Today, some of the most important skills are abstract, often involving situational/problem analysis rather than memorized formulae or rules. That doesn’t mean we should throw out core education, but we also need to provide an environment where the more abstract skills can be learned, as well as preparing for emerging technologies such as AI.

It doesn’t just stop at the classroom. I would like to better engage not only our current students but keep engagement with grads/alumni. Middle-aged folks like myself have learned a lot of lessons in life, but recent grads are experiencing a whole new world compared to when we were that age. It’s important that we be willing to learn from their experiences too.

What are your thoughts on communication between SD73, its schools and the region’s residents? As a trustee, would you speak to your votes and decisions on the record?

As a member of the public, I like being informed on how my representatives are working on issues that matter to me. However, as somebody who has been in similar positions to the board, I recognize that there are limits on what members can – or should – be speaking to unofficially or individually.

Many discussions may be subject to information that cannot be disclosed for legal/privacy reasons, etc., and providing half-information could have negative consequences. Conflicting opinions are also natural but – as we’ve seen in other levels of government – having private debate spill over into public forum can undermine a board or council’s ability to function. Having the board speak and act cohesively is important, and I don’t believe that having individual decisions on record would support that.

As far as official communications from the board as a whole, I do support ensuring that minutes, etc., are able to provide information on not only what decisions are being made, but also – where possible – the overall basis for those decisions. In terms of public meetings/engagements, full board attendance over the past several years also seems to be spotty, and I would push to ensure that members are meeting their duty to the public in that regard.

Following a term highlighted by allegations of bullying and harassment by its former superintendent and a $2.2 million budget shortfall, how would you use your position to bring stability to the school district?

Safety in our schools – including from bullying and harassment – should always be a paramount concern. Allegations of harassment happening at administrative levels are a very serious thing, and personally I have little tolerance for bullying.

In this case, the specifics of what occurred, the time-period involved, and what process was followed are not clear, so I can’t speak specifically on what should or should not have happened.

What I do know is that the individual concerned is no longer with the district, and the current superintendent – Mike St. John – has a long and positive history in education. Should I be selected as trustee, I would look forward to working with him.

Regarding the shortfall, I understand that this was primarily driven by a revenue source being double-counted. This is something I’d expect that everyone involved will be triple-checking against in the future. The subsequent year’s budget had a fairly significant surplus, but there were also cuts leading up to that. In my experience, unexpected fluctuations can often be offset over by having sufficient contingencies (especially a “contingency fund”), as well as by having a mature and regular review process to catch discrepancies early.

Why should residents give you their vote?

Those that know me can attest that I will speak up on matters of importance, but that I am also able to listen and – perhaps more importantly – to learn from those around me so that we can find common ground and the best solution.

by CFJC Today

CANDIDATE PROFILE: Tyler Aviss

Our Community