Seven candidates vying for four Penticton spots on the School District 67 board of trustees in October's municipal election were on stage Tuesday night at a public forum. 

The event, run by a panel of local journalists, took place at the Penticton Lakeside Resort, and saw the candidates fielding questions while an audience of over 50 members of the public looked on. 

Two of the candidates, Shelley Clarke and Barbara Sheppard, are incumbents. Teresa Hebert is also running, who was a trustee prior to 2014. The remaining four, Derek Hurst, James Palanio, Tracy Van Raes and Dan Walton, are newcomers.

A variety of topics were covered, but one that kept popping up was school closures. The current board voted to shutter three schools, Trout Creek Elementary, West Bench Elementary and McNicholl Park Middle School, back in 2016, though as of now only the latter has actually closed. 

"School enrolment has been sagging. If we're closing schools, I don't really think that's going to help the cause of helping young families," said Dan Walton, the youngest candidate at 29, who does not currently have children but said he hopes to have some in the future.

"Of course there's been constant up and down in terms of per-student funding," said Derek Hurst, who is the operational manager at Bad Tattoo Brewing Co.

James Palanio said there needs to be more work done to increase enrolment in schools before taking the step of closing doors. He denied his opinion on school closures would be swayed by the fact he is the current president of the British Columbia Real Estate Association, though he agreed a loss of schools changes real estate prospects.

"It will affect values, certainly," Palanio said. 

The panel also addressed upcoming marijuana legalization, with most candidates saying the school board will be handling pot as they do any other substance which is illegal for minors to consume, like alcohol or cigarettes. 

"We may have to go back to the policy this term, to change the wording somewhat," said incumbent Barbara Sheppard.

Shelley Clarke, also an incumbent, was a strong advocate when a question came up about the standard Grade 4 reading and math testing known as the Foundation Skills Assessment. She pointed to it as a way to identify and help students that could be struggling, and said it has been useful in her experience. 

"It's always a very valuable instrument that we use for our Aboriginal students to see how they're doing, and see where we need to put our money to help our special needs students," Clarke said. 

Another topic that came up was the current practice of the board electing one of its representatives as the official spokesperson to speak to the media and public about SD 67 decisions on behalf of all the members. Some candidates find the practice doesn't promote clear communication between the board and the community. 

"The lack of communication in this school district is appalling," said Tracy Van Raes, who has children in the district and who is the marketing and communications manager with Total Restoration.

Teresa Hebert, who has 21 years of experience as a trustee, fielded a question regarding the overall age of the board, asking whether she thinks it's time to step aside for new blood. 

"So, I'm too old to do this any longer?" she asked the moderator, to laughs from the audience. "I think that it's important to have people of varying ages on the board. I would hate to see all trustees with 21 years experience on the board, and I would certainly hate to see all people with zero years of experience on the board."

The forum was the first of three events hosted by the Penticton Herald at the Lakeside resort. On Wednesday at 7 p.m. the candidates for mayor will be interviewed, followed by council candidates at the same time on Thursday, all open to the public.