Trevor Barry for SD61 Trustee for Saanich (GVSD electoral area)

IN PROGRESS (web page under construction - also see: summer engagement)

Think of this as a "dynamic document", which will be moulded and crafted based on all the consulting, door-knocking, and other engagement I have with stakeholders, experts and other local voters, along the way. If the font is a lighter shade, it is particularly unpolished - thanks for understanding.

You can also read the 🍎🎷 "Trusty Trustee Trevor" page 🏐✏️ to learn more about me.

Quick Highlights

My campaign tagline is “Open The Books” 
 📖 literally 
 🧮 make the budget transparent 
 📚 >📱
 📰 fresh leadership to restore trust 

#1 priority is music education programming 
 🎶 middle school year-long ensembles 
 🎤 jazz, choir, etc 
 🎻 strings in elementary 
 🪊 this all protects provincial funding locally in high schools 🎭 and community arts economic development 
 🚫 avoid exploratory-only

#2 priority is climate action & leadership 
 🤓 leverage existing climate & energy science resources for the classroom 
 🌎 leverage existing professional network of local experts 
 🚌 work with municipalities on TDM & sustainability strategies 
 🏫 lean into the data for capital asset portfolio planning, environmental investments 

“Trevor the Trusty Trustee” 

⚽️ 3 kids in the system this term 
✅ 15+ years living in Saanich & leading local societies, volunteering, boards, committees
👨‍🏫 professional government experience + chair of SCAN, President of NQ community association, treasurer of Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils
🥎 little leagues, community coach, scouts, festivals, fundraising, music lesson teacher, etc. 

Policies

Please find the heading below for the topics you are most interested in:

Music Education 🎷

• Priority #1 - protect existing middle school programming (incl. jazz band & choir) 
  • maintain instructional hours for three years, i.e. Sep'27-Jun'31: 
  • ensuring continuity of teachers and programs, ensemble team dynamics & enrolment retention (progressing into high school)
  • reliability for parents and students, sustainability planning for timetable development and spillover supports for other high school block-funding
• Actions
  • Motion to provide direction to superintendent:
    …to present budget options that do not include reductions in music instruction, unless a fulsome report is tabled publicly providing analysis of trade-off considerations
    …to avoid downgrading ensemble instruction to the exploratory model (which also ensures exploratory maintains space for other meaningful skillsets that - unlike music - are outside the core curriculum).
  • Engage VCPAC on viable ways to leverage PAC fundraising efforts & crowdsourcing volunteer hours, while respecting equity of opportunity across the district.
• Other Priorities & Actions
  • Business Partnerships with not-for-profit organisations 
  • e.g. community group rehearsal space + coaching in return
  • e.g. leveraging the liability coverage of PAC activities to reduce insurance costs on community partners (e.g. ensemble rehearsals, private/group lessons, etc.)
  • Greater student exposure to higher-level music performances (e.g. hosting/attending lower-level schools; field trips to UVic/symphony) as well as older student volunteers coaching and mentoring younger musicians.
  • Build a new, larger seated theatre facility at Reynolds - ideally as a joint venture with the District of Saanich, re: Quadra McKenzie Centre community meeting and event space.
    • There may be CRD Arts Funding and other capital grants for partnership collaboration
    • Reynolds (and QMC) are conspicuously anomalous in not having sufficient performance hall amenity serving their growing community

Climate literacy in classrooms 🌎

• encourage use of Climate Action Kits (newly created resources curated by Librarians)
  • by multiple teachers back-to-back at the same school 
  • reservation system available to middle and secondary students
• followed up by classroom engagement by sustainability professionals/academics 
  • use Aarav's Lambrick Climate Summit as a model across the district 

Climate Action (corporate) 🏫

• SD61's Climate Accountability Reporting, such as the provincially-legislated Carbon Neutral Action Reports, should be more accessible to the public, and used as resource material in the aforementioned climate action kits
• SD61 should better support (and seek support from) Saanich, Victoria and other climate and sustainability programs across the region (e.g. bike racks, bus shelters & waste diversion) including having the facilities portfolio (school buildings) not only participate in the CRD Benchmarking program, but also: 
  • SD61 should use their energy-management software to populate EnergyStar Portfolio Manager platform data-sharing,
  • allowing for annual public disclosure of performance metrics under via the "Building Benchmark BC" map tool,
  • and, eventually, real-time facility-by-facility consumption data
• These and related initiatives could provide insight into
  • Facility-by-facility accountability (e.g. ekWh/m2)
    • normalised for set-points due to facility rentals, etc.
    • normalised by FTE and other demand variables
  • pre- and post- major renovations: to discover best practices for cost-savings
• Organics Diversion: purposefully located receptacle bins for lower contamination (in spite of risk of lower participation).
• Transportation Demand (TDM) strategies
  • e.g. Work with lower-island athletic associations on travel schedules that mitigate vehicle reliance on higher-walkscore populations, simultaneously reducing outbound trips during afternoon peaks.
  • e.g. Parking management (e.g. PAC motivation enforcement) and as potential revenue stream opportunity
  • e.g. cash-in-lieu of free parking for staff 

Budget Transparency, Democratic Accountability ⚖️

• Prepare a deliberate and intentional recruitment strategy and selection criteria for hiring the next Superintendent, and HR direction for senior management talent.
• School District Budget (if not school budgets) should be provided line-by-line as open-source machine-readable CSV (spreadsheet) files for academic research and public scrutiny. Let sunshine be the best disinfectant.
• Standardise the practice of SBO staff providing information notes and reports to Trustees and the public - akin to municipal governments - replete with Pros/Cons, Cost-Benefit analysis, trade-offs, cross-jurisdictional research, etc. Recommendations should be argued with accompanying evidence. 

What about the wards? 🗺️

• Whereas the current changes in 2026 provide a disproportionately low and unfair representation to the Saanich population;
• And whereas one-member electoral areas are essentially "SMM wards" that political science suggests will equilibrate and devolve into divisive first-past-the-post partisanship;
• And whereas plurality-at-large systems offer more opportunity for a diversity of voices and collaboration between them;
• And whereas the current changes in 2026 were brought in by an unelected, democratically unaccountable, provincially-appointed trustee, and done without any meaningful parent- or public engagement;
• And yet also whereas incumbent politicians, elected under a given system, are never motivated to make changes to the system;
• And also whereas the morphing of two (out of nine) trustee seats to be specifically accountable to residents of the two land-based First Nations, while imperfect and still colonial, offer a valuable opportunity for piloting "Reconcili-action" and on the advice of said Nations;
• And whereas the Province and the School Board as authorities and institutions have a long road ahead to rebuild trust with parents and the community;
• And whereas this coming term, with Trevor serving, will be the one great opportunity to meaningfully engage the community on governance reform; 
• THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: 
  The School District and the Ministry will engage the SD61 electorate community and stakeholders on variations and options for a sustainable new governance model;
• AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT (Trevor will campaign on)
  The SD61 School Board trustee election model move back to a plurality-at-large system to elect seven (7) trustees of equal non-FN resident representation, and additionally maintain the two (2) trustees that are each elected from the respective wards (electoral areas) of the Kosapsum and Songhees First Nations.

Police & Safety 

• Whereas this issue left the community bereft of leadership, caused severe damage to public trust in the system
• and whereas institutional efforts to regain trust and help return the system into good repute is in dire need
• and whereas debate on the role and impact of police in schools is deeply fraught with challenges to social cohesion
• and whereas advocates on all sides are pointing to and citing the model introduced in the New Westminster system;
• Therefore, be it resolved that Trevor & Trustees provide direction to the Superintendent for SBO staff to adapt and adopt a new approach to SPLO programming based on the leadership example in NewWest schools (SD40). 

AI, screens, tech devices; plus other policy items:

Thanks for your patience as I continue to canvass our community and reach out to stakeholders.

More details coming soon. Meanwhile, feel free to peruse my summer brainstorming archive.