Williams Lake City Councillor comments on potential controversial School Board changes

Williams Lake City Hall in December. [Photo by My Cariboo Now Staff]

Williams Lake City Councillor Sheila Boehm encouraged the public to stand up for their voices to be heard and to keep meetings public.

During Tuesday night’s Williams Lake City Council Meeting, Councillor Boehm addressed a letter from the Concerned Parents of Williams Lake (CPWL), who expressed deep concerns over the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District’s Board of Trustee’s proposed decision on December 15, 2025, to prevent members of the public from attending Board of Trustees meetings.

“I have huge issues with closing off open meetings and as elected officials, I think we’re elected to hear from who we’re elected by,” said Boehm in the Council Meeting.

“I would not want our council chambers to be closed off to the public, so I have a hard time with any other entity allowing it.”

Boehm, who was a School Board Trustee for several years, recounted how not allowing the public to speak at meetings was one of the reasons why she chose to run to be an elected official.

“I went to a school district meeting where I was not allowed to speak, and I actually heckled from the audience because I was not allowed to speak. I ran to be a school trustee, and the first thing I asked for was for meetings to be opened to the public, not to be shut off.”

The proposed changes to Board meetings would see the public no longer able to physically attend school board meetings. The public would have to attend via teleconferencing through Microsoft Teams. The Board Chair would also approve the members of the public to enter the meeting.

All delegations to the Board of Trustees would only be allowed to make a delegation through teleconferencing. All delegations would continue to seek approval as per the Procedural Bylaws.

Another proposed change was to the Procedural Bylaw, which would remove the members of the public’s ability to comment on Board agenda items. Instead, the public would have to submit comments, questions, and responses on agenda items before 2:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. The Board Chair would then be able to choose which comments and questions they will read out in the meeting.

In its letter to Mayor and Council, CPWL says the proposed changes by School District 27’s Board of Trustees “only serve to further drive a wedge” between the public and the School Board. The CPWL also stated that the changes would give the board “ultimate power” to pick everything meeting-related, and the changes “thwart what little opportunity there was for the public to engage in meaningful dialogue with the board.”

Boehm supported CPWL’s letter and agreed with some of its statements, and encouraged more members of the public to use the Board’s proposed decision as a reason to “get active” and run for elected office, to make changes.

“There needs to be more people running, because as it was changed back to the old ways, and now even more restrictions are being offered, I feel people need to run,” said Boehm.

“I cannot condone this action of potentially closing off meetings. I would not condone it if we [Council] locked our doors, and I will not condone it to any public meetings that should be open to all attending.”

City Councillor Angie Delainey, who is also the Board Chair for the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District’s Board of Trustees, chose not to say anything on the matter during the City Council meeting.