---
title: "New Vancouver School Board passes motion to open up its meetings"
description: "The new board voted at its November 9 meeting to send a package of governance changes to committee, including letting the public ask questions online and keeping meeting recordings for five years."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/vsb-governance-transparency-motion-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-13T16:49:09.416Z"
---

The new Vancouver School Board passed a motion at its November 9 meeting to send a set of governance changes to committee, the first significant procedural vote since the board was elected on October 17.

OneCity trustee [Steve Cardwell](/candidates/steve-cardwell), a former Vancouver School Board superintendent, introduced the motion. It passed, sending a package of proposed changes to the board's Policy and Governance Standing Committee for review and recommendations, The Tyee reported on November 13.

## What the motion proposes

The changes cover how the board runs its public meetings:

**Who can speak and how.** The proposals would allow the public to submit questions in person and online, in addition to the current written-only process.

**How long recordings stay up.** Meeting recordings would be kept online for five years instead of the current one year.

**How the agenda is set.** The proposals would restrict the Agenda Setting Committee to scheduling only, removing its current power to block trustee-submitted agenda items. The advance notice window for trustee items would drop from four weeks to two weeks.

**What happens during meetings.** The proposals would require more detailed minutes from public meetings, allow in-person attendees to record meetings on their own devices, and let trustees use props during meetings if the board chair approves.

## Context

Cardwell told The Tyee he had watched for years as a gallery observer and felt the board's processes "were not open, were not transparent, were not democratic."

A similar push happened two years ago. Former OneCity trustee Jennifer Reddy proposed comparable changes in November 2024. Her motion moved things partway: agendas now release one week in advance. Changes to restrict private meetings or extend recording retention beyond one year did not pass.

## The board's makeup

The board elected October 17 includes four COPE trustees, three OneCity trustees, and two Green Party of Vancouver trustees. [Suzie Mah](/candidates/suzie-mah) is the only returning member from the previous board.

The other COPE trustees are [Melanie Cheng](/candidates/melanie-cheng), [Gwen Giesbrecht](/candidates/gwen-giesbrecht) and [Derrick O'Keefe](/candidates/derrick-o-keefe). OneCity also has [Krista Sigurdson](/candidates/krista-sigurdson) and [Rory Brown](/candidates/rory-brown). The two Green trustees are [Julie Strilesky](/candidates/julie-strilesky) and [Alisha Masongsong](/candidates/alisha-masongsong).

## What comes next

The Policy and Governance Standing Committee meets on November 18 to begin reviewing the proposals. It will bring recommendations back to the full board. Residents who want to follow the process can check the board's meeting schedule at the Vancouver School Board website.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.