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David Swanky, a school trustee, is interviewed on the Positivity Podcast. He discusses the role of a school trustee and the responsibilities involved, such as determining the plan for public education, budgeting, hiring staff, making policies, and advocating for improvements. He enjoys connecting with students and staff but also faces challenges in supporting changes to make schools more inclusive and equitable. David shares his favorite places to eat in Chilliwack and how he likes to spend his spare time biking and camping. He appreciates the beauty of Chilliwack and the work being done to improve the community. Welcome to Episode 2 of the Positivity Podcast, a podcast that shines a light on the beauty of Chilliwack and those who live and work here. We're the Stress Connoisseurs podcast crew. I'm Avery, and my co-presenter today is Keenan. Today we will be interviewing our school trustee, David Swanky. Welcome David Swanky. Hello. How would you like to be referred throughout this interview? Just David would be great. Okay. Before we get to our main question, we're going to ask a few get-to-know-you questions, if that's all right. Sure. We know you're a school trustee, but do you have any other roles or jobs that if you do, would you mind telling us about them? Sure. So, I suppose first I'll just acknowledge I'm the parent of two, so there's a lot of time and attention dedicated to my kids. I do a certain amount of work in consulting and governance and communications. I also have a couple roles with the BC School Trustees Association and supporting boards and trustees throughout the region and the province. And I'm involved with a couple of local boards, including the Fraser Valley Child Development Center and Chilliwack Restorative Justice. Wow, that's a lot. Now for our questions. Can you define the role of a school trustee in a kid-friendly way? Sure. Yeah, I can do the best I can with that. I think that if I'm putting it in sort of plan language, I think a big part of the trustees is to come together as a board and then to work as a board to try and determine, you know, what is the plan for the district for public education? What are the values and priorities that inform that plan? And then everything else follows from that. So, how is money being spent? So, what is the budget? How is money being spent to support the plan? Who is hired to implement that plan? So, it could be at the district level, that's the superintendent. At a school level, that's the principal, but it's the hiring of that person. And then what policies or decisions need to be made to support that plan? And finally, where is advocacy needed for the plan? If there's something that's lacking, how do you advocate to improve it? Wow, that's a good explanation. What is the best part of your job? I really enjoy the work. I think just that work of policy and strategic planning I really enjoy. And I really believe in appropriate planning and working proactively can result in real benefit. But I think often the part I enjoy most is just the opportunity to connect directly with students and with staff in schools. Public education has evolved a lot from my own experience, and so it's really wonderful to step into schools today, see the opportunities that there are, the successes many students have, but also be grounded in the fact that there's still work to be done. There's still improvements to be made. So, I think a lot of it is just that human-to-human interaction. I can see why that would be a highlight of your job. Can you share with us some of the more challenging parts of your job? Yep. I think it's working to support change in those areas where we need to improve. So, as I said, you know, I really believe public schools do work for good and do good work in our community. But that doesn't mean that there isn't room to ensure that they're kinder spaces, that they're more inclusive spaces, and that they aren't more equitable in the support they provide. So, I think working to make those changes within the limits of both people's time and the finances available is probably the biggest challenge. I can see why that's challenging. Can you tell us about some of the bigger responsibilities of your job? Sure. Yeah, and I'll break it into two pieces. I think there's sort of the, like, legal definition of responsibility. It's the things I mentioned. You know, it's how is money being spent, who is being hired. I think the less, like, legal responsibility is a really interesting one and is really important. And that's, you know, how are you communicating the plans and the priorities to the broader community, and how are you explaining the importance of the decisions when they're made? As an example, you know, a board requests new playgrounds for specific schools every year in the hope that they'll be funded by the province. But it's important for the board and for individual trustees to communicate, you know, what the decision was and to provide reasoning for it. Why did some schools get the request for a new playground and others didn't? Wow, that's a big responsibility. I never thought of it like that. Switching gears a little from your job to Chilliwack and the place we call home, what are some of your favorite places to eat in Chilliwack? Oh, man. I'll give you the most recent place, because they never let me down. Hugo's Mexican. I don't know that I could choose a favorite. Yeah, that, yeah, that would, choosing favorite restaurants are also hard for me to do. We're just going to switch over to another, switch over to Avery for the next set of questions. Sure. We're curious about how you spend your spare time. What would you be doing on a sunny day or weekend in Chilliwack? Do you have any favorite hobbies to do on your free time? Whenever I can, I like to go biking. Definitely, I'm not a mountain biker. I always wish I was, but I'm definitely somebody who likes to get on their bike and get outside. I really enjoy playing with my kids. I'd also, I do certain amounts of camping with my family, so I think those opportunities to just get outside and maybe, you know, go Chilliwack Lake or Manning Park or whatever it is, I always really appreciate it. That's what my family does a lot, too. Chilliwack has exploded in population recently. How long have you lived in Chilliwack? Yeah, I think just under nine years now. So I actually, I think I can safely say my family is part of that growth. Yeah. We've only lived here for six years. How have you been liking Chilliwack? Chilliwack's been a good home to us. We love it. That's good. Now we know a little bit about you and your jobs and your journey in Chilliwack. Are you ready for the main question? Sure. This is the essential question we ask all our guests. What do you most appreciate about the city of Chilliwack, the city we live in? It's hard to answer without acknowledging the geography. I think we live in just like a really beautiful corner of the province. And so it's, yeah, it's hard not to be thankful for that. I know I look at CM every day and I think how privileged I am to live where I do. I think the one piece that I'm also often reflective of is I mentioned schools and the work in schools to make them kinder spaces, more inclusive spaces, spaces that are more equitable in the work and the support they provide. I'm so appreciative of the people in our community doing that work and the opportunities I have to interact with them. And I think the work to, I think, really improve and take ownership of, take pride in Chilliwack. I think that's definitely something that I appreciate every day. And I see it and have the privilege of seeing it in the interactions I have with so many in our community. Well, that just about concludes our episode today. Thank you for joining us, David. And thank you for listening to our episode of our podcast today. Thank you.
