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Vernon-Jarvis, Janyk acclaimed as trustees

Long-time school volunteer and active parent stands as second school trustee

Chris Vernon-Jarvis, long recognized as a passionate believer in Whistler’s schools and education, declared he would be the community’s second school trustee Monday.

On Friday, as the deadline for trustee candidates to file papers closed, there was concern that no one would take up the challenge to be Whistler’s second trustee, alongside Andrée Janyk who agreed to serve a fourth term.

The deadline was extended to Monday.

With no other contenders Janyk and Vernon-Jarvis are acclaimed to the positions.

Vernon-Jarvis, a father of six, three of whom are still attending Whistler’s schools, delayed out of concern that the work he was doing on the Whistler Secondary School Planning Council would suffer. But in the end he decided to take on the commitment.

"I am not doing this out of anger or a need to shake anything up or anything like that," said Vernon Jarvis, a founding member of the School Planning Councils at both Myrtle Philip elementary and Whistler Secondary School.

"I am doing it because I felt it was important to continue on the path we are on. My concern was that that momentum would be lost if there weren’t anyone to present the case as well as (out-going school trustee Don Brett) has.

"I’m not saying that I can do that, but I am saying perhaps at least we have someone who has been involved with kids’ education for the last 10 years in Whistler.

"We have an opportunity to continue making Whistler schools, which are good, into something really special."

The relationship between the Howe Sound School Board and Whistler’s elected school trustees has come a long way since he moved to the resort town years ago, said Vernon-Jarvis. He wants to continue to foster that and help the board recognize the unique characteristics of each school in the district.

"One of my goals would be to develop the schools individually," he said. "It is very much a bureaucratic thing to provide aims for the whole district, and I think that is great and it is necessary. We must all be on the same page if we are to make progress. But in doing that we seem to have lost some of the individuality."