Digital literacy emerged as a recurring theme at last Tuesday’s SD73 school trustee candidates’ forum, as 15 of the 16 candidates addressed student well-being and the limitations of artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom.
While B.C. has many guides and resources on cellphone and AI use, few policies apply to all schools within the province. With reports showing the connection between screen time and a decline in mental health in youth, knowing the candidates’ views on social media and AI use might help students and the community with the upcoming election.
This forum was held at the Henry Grube Education Centre and organized by Manu Sharma, an SD73 District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) member and the event coordinator. It was moderated by Castanet’s news director, Tim Petruk.
Although two audience questions were addressed at the end, the first three questions were prepared by Castanet’s newsroom.
Student Well-being
“What does student well-being mean to you, and what action would you like the next SD73 Board to take to improve it?” Petruk asked first.
The first candidate to answer was Shahriar Behmanesh, whose response recognized that schools need to provide a conducive and safe learning environment.
This argument was later supported by other candidates, each adding different perspectives. Some mentioned the next SD73 Board should encourage students to connect with the community and teachers, and utilize the creative opportunities in the classroom so youth can access self-defined success. Others pointed out the resources needed for teachers to stay healthy for themselves and their students.
On Apr. 12 of 2024, the B.C. Government took precaution against cellular device use at schools to reduce distractions in classrooms and support focused learning environments—it fosters online safety and promotes provincial consistency.
Later in his answer, Behmanesh also mentioned mandatory social media education for kids in grade six and seven.
Sean Campbell was the next candidate to address the issue after Behmanesh.
“Digital media is so much more than social media,” said Campbell. “How are you supposed to learn when you have a shorter attention span and higher anxiety?”
Campbell later proposed building on students’ critical-thinking and evaluation skills so they can learn to navigate the digital world.
The Mental Health Research Canada released a report on Apr. 2025 that demonstrated how youth that reported longer hours of personal screen time presented higher symptoms of anxiety, depression, psychological distress and reports of suicidal ideation.
Katherine Gulley, Cole Hickson and John O’Fee also addressed the topic.
“Focusing on social emotional skills, problem solving, social confidence… that will help them navigate things like social media,” said Gulley.
O’Fee later added, “How are we going to get these kids engaged in getting away from the device and become more engaged in their school, community and family?”
Jo Kang and Aaron Krausert, suggested a different approach, emphasizing the connection between school life and home life.
AI Limitations
Digital literacy emerged once more when the moderator asked, “Where should SD73 schools draw the line on AI use, and what kind of guidance should be given to teachers?”
“AI is a superhero for some people, and it’s a supervillain for others,” Bonnie McBride said. “We have to broaden our scope and team when we look at [AI limitations].”
Heather Grieve, Troylana Manson and Jimmy Johal emphasized the role of experts in informing decisions about AI use. Krausert referred to social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who has discussed AI and its potential effects on young people.
“As some people have put it, social media came for our relationships, but chatbots are coming for our attachment system,” said Haidt in an interview for The Atlantic. The social psychologist became a New York Times bestseller with The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewriting of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, where he wrote about how social media was affecting youth mental health by moving from play-based childhoods to phone-based ones.
Through “coordinated actions across research, policy, behaviour and culture,” Haidt’s fiscally sponsored non profit organization named The TAG Movement, where educators, policymakers and young people are brought together to restore healthy development grounded in play, independence and real-world connection.
Manson added that evidence-based policy is needed to identify where AI use should be limited. Grieve, meanwhile, said the board should draw the line when AI “becomes a hindrance to learning instead of an enhancement,” and guide educators toward best practices.
Campbell, Gulley, Hickson and Tyler Aviss supported a middle ground in which students would be equipped with the tools to navigate AI safely.
In addition, Deb Piggin mentioned teachers’ discretion regarding AI use in the classroom, matching Campbell’s answer, where earlier had compared the difference of AI’s productivity when students use it for STEM courses and English courses. The first served them to get to that critical thinking point faster, while the second caused them to not have that productive struggle.
Behmanesh, who answered toward the end of this round, “heavily discouraged” the use of AI despite expressing optimism about the tool at the beginning of his answer. He suggested that schools should move away from digitalization as quickly as possible and encouraged writing on paper.
“I understand that if I give assignments, they are going to be AI generated.” O’fee shared how he is moving towards class assessments in his university courses.
Other candidates suggested specific ways to limit AI use.
Gulley also noted schools should implement provincial laws around AI; O’fee adding that artificial intelligence is now an international matter, so there must be an agreement on laws for it.
Kang mentioned age restrictions for elementary students and Karpuk drew the line on kindergarten instead, adding that for 12 graders “it’s a tool that they need to be able to use.”
Blenkhorn, on the other hand, focused his answer on plagiarism.
After Castanet’s three questions, two audience questions were randomly chosen from a bin that was placed at the entrance of the hall next to pens and paper available for all participants.
Today voting starts at 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. in the selected locations. For more information on who can vote, what to bring, and where is the closest location, click here.