NPA school board hopefuls expressed regret about missing an all candidates debate last week at a near-comical press conference today.

On Nov. 6, the Non-Partisan Association drew criticism from some teachers and parents for skipping a debate hosted by the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) at Bayview School.

NPA school board candidate Heather Holden said there was no time to fit the event into the party’s busy schedule. “We have at least five things going on every night,” she said.

Holden added shortly after: “It was regrettable that nobody was there to represent us.”

Coalition of Progressive Electors school board candidate Bill Bargeman – who attended the press conference as an observer – said the NPA missed one of the only all candidates debates in the municipal campaign.

“I find it incredibly disrespectful,” Bargeman said. “It had nothing to do with conflicts, they just didn’t show up.”

NPA school board incumbent Carol Gibson said the format of the debate gave COPE and Vision Vancouver school board candidates – who are running on a shared slate – more speaking time than the NPA.

“COPE and Vision each got to have a response and we only got one,” Gibson said. “In that sense, the process was not fair.”

Gibson said the NPA decided not to participate after the debate’s hosts declined a request to change the rules. “We drew a line in the sand,” she said. “Maybe it was the wrong line.”

The discussion took place during an NPA press conference about the party’s school board platform that at times bordered on comical.

As the candidates spoke about the need for fiscal responsibility, parental involvement and school safety, English secondary school teacher Shelley Sullivan held a sign that read “10,000 overcrowded classes; when will they learn?” above their heads.

NPA media liaison Michael Meneer opened up a red umbrella with the party’s insignia to block the sign from view. When Sullivan moved out of Meneer’s reach, several NPA candidates opened their own umbrellas, despite a conspicuous lack of rain.

NPA school board chair Clarence Hansen expressed annoyance at the protester.

“I think it’s really quite pathetic what were seeing here today,” he said.

Sullivan belongs to the Vancouver Secondary Teacher's Association, a local union that recently endorsed eight COPE and Vision school board candidates. She said she's not connected to either party's campaign.

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for the Hook.