The Editor,

Re: "Trustees will vote today on three Delta academies," the Now, Jan. 31.

Public schools in Delta benefit greatly from publicity that appears in local newspapers, but I wish to correct an impression created by your recent story.

It's frustrating because the Delta Board of Education tries so hard to be transparent and involve the general public in all of our planning.

We have regular open board meetings, publicized far in advance, and an extensive process to garner public input for our budget deliberations.

Normally, very few people attend these meetings. (Salutations to those who do) So to be accused of making important decisions by voting behind closed doors is very ironic.

Our academies provide a unique opportunity for students to pursue their passion within the school context and have been very popular, but there are legitimate concerns that some people have. We would never make a decision like that behind closed doors.

The decision will be made at an open public meeting and our next public meeting is on Feb. 14 at 7: 30 p.m. at the board offices on Harvest Drive, Ladner. Visitors are very welcome.

We don't make decisions blindly. It is always incumbent upon trustees to do some background work. The purpose of Tuesday's meeting was to receive information on the proposals, so we know what it is we're talking about when we come to having a public discussion.

Simon Truelove, Trustee, Delta Board of Education