OK, Let's Vote — Joyce Brinkerhoff School trustee questionnaire — trustee-v1-2026-09-21 SD23 — Kelowna Submitted September 22, 2026, 19:09 Pacific; reviewed September 24, 2026. Published with the candidate's explicit authorization. Answers below are the candidate's own statements, not independently verified outcomes or recorded votes. Original wording retained except normalized whitespace and the marked privacy redaction. Private contact and technical identifiers excluded. 1. What experience and perspective would you bring to the school board? 1. I was on the SD#23 school board 2011-2014. Since then, I have continued to serve on multiple community boards and have completed numerous board trainings. I am confident in the role and will be able to add value as a team member. My husband John and I raised 4 children in Kelowna and now have 12 grandchildren living here. Between them and those served by the service agencies I volunteer with- I have LOTS of experience in knowing the value of children as our delight today and future tomorrow. 2. What are your three main priorities for the district, and what progress would you want voters to see in your first year? Our immediate priority will be to create an effective board with those newly elected to serve our community. The District's Strategic Plan is currently in the last stages of approval and my priority for the upcoming year is to see it implemented throughout the school system. As a board we will also need to assess the impact of funding cuts to this year's budget and to prepare potential options for addressing funding challenges in preparation for next year. 3. How would you assess whether students are learning and thriving, and what would you do at the board level if outcomes are falling short? Confidential information must be respected to protect others - however, it should be limited to exactly that and no more. Openness and transparency is vital to build and retain trust with the community. Board members WILL disagree even with the best of intentions but we can be respectful while moving to places to where we adopt a unified way forward. 4. When needs exceed the available budget, how would you decide what to protect, change or defer? Please explain a trade-off you would be prepared to consider. I would look for alternate means to accomplish priorities - modify to a lesser cost and/or creatively look for more income. Decisions always need to be child-focused -creating the greatest benefit for the most students without losing the emphasis on valuing the individual child.. Sacrifice and living with less can be important areas for growth – - especially if seen as opportunity and not detriment. i.e. to balance the transportation budget a number of middle school children have to transfer school buses and wait an extra 45 minutes daily - that is inconvenient but does not diminish their value. 5. What would you prioritize to improve access to learning and support for students with disabilities or diverse learning needs, and how would you measure progress? The rapidly increasing complexity of the support needs in the classroom is the biggest day-to-day challenge. Adding to the challenge is when parents, teachers and advocates have very different ideas about what "inclusive education" should look like. My thought is that the Board should establish data-driven evaluation frameworks (what is or is not working?), promote whole school learning environments ( the answer is usually 'in the room' so make the room bigger!) and secure staff capacity and sustainability (if teachers are supported they can confidently be role model and determine best ways of supporting). 6. What board policies or oversight would you prioritize for student safety, belonging and well-being, including responses to bullying and discrimination? Our district has excellent policies regarding student safety and can be summarized in the District Purpose posted online: "To educate students in a safe, inclusive, equitable, and inspirational learning environment..." 7. How would you work with local First Nations and Indigenous families on Indigenous student success and the district's education responsibilities? [A family detail was omitted to protect third-party privacy.] In my previous term on the Board I saw how closely SD#23 works with local First Nations and this has had a huge impact on Indigenous student success. 8. How would students, parents/caregivers and staff meaningfully influence board decisions, including people who do not usually attend meetings? As a trustee, I will prioritize open dialogue and meaningful collaboration with parents, educators, and the community to ensure our policies always reflect the highest standards of safety, care, and academic success for all children. I would also encourage more regular times of meeting with the District Student Council 9. How would you approach school space, maintenance, transportation or other capital and service pressures in your district? Which choices can the board make, and which need provincial support? The local school board operates in co-governance with the provincial government. Because the government 'controls the purse strings', boards are limited in our choices in many areas. However, governments are subject to voters and can be (and must continually be) influenced thereby! Advocacy efforts are vital! 10. How would you oversee the superintendent and monitor the strategic plan while respecting the boundary between governance and day-to-day school operations? The superintendent is the chief advisor to the Board but as the sole employee of the board, is accountable to the Board. Boards (in collaboration with partner groups) establish policies and strategic planning -The What and the Why? The superintendent then works with his employees to figure out the 'How?' with whom? and with what resources? Boards need to respect the superintendents autonomy but also the responsibility to have regular evaluation of the superintendent's effectiveness in implementing Board policies and goals. 11. How would you keep decisions transparent and remain accountable to the public, including when you disagree with colleagues or must protect confidential information? Confidential information must be respected to protect others - however, it should be limited to exactly that and no more. Openness and transparency is vital to build and retain trust with the community. Board members WILL disagree even with the best of intentions but we can be respectful while moving to places to where we adopt a unified way forward. 12. What interests or affiliations should voters know about, and how would you identify and manage potential conflicts of interest? My interests and affiliations are pretty much aligned with the District activities - and a number of the service groups when I volunteer are already part of SD#23 committees. In my leadership of Global Citizen Events, we have supported SD23 initiatives for many years. I also sit on several Kelowna Community Resources working groups such as United Against Racism. Should conflict of interest arise, I would recuse myself. Additional material: Is there anything else voters should know, or a public source supporting your answers? If you already completed the general questionnaire, you may identify an existing answer you want retained instead of repeating it. No answer supplied.