“I see my role as a member of a board of directors for a large non-profit with an annual operating budget of over $500M.  Trustees are expected to make decisions in the best interests of the Board, and not necessarily just for their local electors. The responsibilities are clearly outlined in the Education Act, both for individual trustees, as well as for boards as a whole.  Individual trustees have no power or authority.  Only the board, through board decisions, can take action.”

Why do you want to be a school board trustee?

I have always been a strong supporter of the public education system.  As an immigrant, I recognize that one of Canada’s strengths is its support and protections for minorities – and in one way or another, we are all minorities – whether it’s our political views, our family composition or our background, among others.  A strong public education system is the foundation of a strong democracy, a strong economy and strives to provide all with the foundations for opportunities in later life.

What’s your background and experience, and how do you think that’s relevant to the job?

I’ll start by arguing this is not a ‘job’.  I think it is basically a volunteer “calling”.  You may not be aware that the Ministry has proposed regulations that would cap the honorarium for trustees at $9000/year, which is a significant reduction from the current $12,074 for UGDSB trustees.  The time required to perform the role to my personal standards, including visiting schools, attending events, responding to community members etc, preparing for meetings and reading materials, doing research, is not reflected in the honorarium.

My family immigrated to Canada when I was a toddler.  We immigrated for better opportunities, especially for my brothers and I, the children, in Canada.  I was the first in my family to go to university, and became a teacher for 17 years, and then a school administrator for another 17 1/2 years in other boards.  I think my family’s and my own experiences as a struggling immigrant family, learning English, and my experiences in school systems provides me with both a variety of life experiences and specific understanding of how large organizations function.  I have been responsible for large budgets, hired staff, and have also been responsible for a large Employment Ontario program.

I am a current Trustee for Wards 2,3,4 and the current Chair of the Board.

How do you see your role as a trustee? What are your main responsibilities?

I see my role as a member of a board of directors for a large non-profit with an annual operating budget of over $500M.  Trustees are expected to make decisions in the best interests of the Board, and not necessarily just for their local electors. The responsibilities are clearly outlined in the Education Act, both for individual trustees, as well as for boards as a whole.  Individual trustees have no power or authority.  Only the board, through board decisions, can take action.

I think the public may have a different perception of what a trustee’s role is.  Here is the portion of the Education Act regarding individual board members

218.1 A member of a board shall,

(a)  carry out his or her responsibilities in a manner that assists the board in fulfilling its duties under this Act, the regulations and the guidelines issued under this Act, including but not limited to the board’s duties under section 169.1;

(b)  attend and participate in meetings of the board, including meetings of board committees of which he or she is a member;

(c)  consult with parents, students and supporters of the board on the board’s multi-year plan under clause 169.1 (1) (f);

(d)  bring concerns of parents, students and supporters of the board to the attention of the board;

(e)  uphold the implementation of any board resolution after it is passed by the board;

(f)  entrust the day to day management of the board to its staff through the board’s director of education;

(g)  maintain focus on student achievement and well-being; and

(h)  comply with the board’s code of conduct.  2009, c. 25, s. 25.

It is important to remember that our board responsibilities includes all of Wellington and Dufferin Counties.

Like many governments and boards, school trustees are facing a budget crunch. Without an increase in provincial funding, how do propose to ensure that your board balances student needs with fiscal prudence?

Ontario regulation 179/26, which came into force on June 17 of this year, severely restricts the authority of Trustees over budgets.  The CEO presents the budget, and trustees can do one of several things – approve the budget as is, make suggestions for changes which the CEO must consider, not approve the budget, or do nothing.  If the  board does not approve the budget, it goes to the Minister to make a decision, and their decision is deemed to be approval by the board.

School boards have not had any control over revenues since 1997, and any control over expenses is severely limited by collective agreements, class size regulations and other things, all provincial decisions.  There is almost no “wiggle room”.

However, school boards are REQUIRED to present balanced budgets.

The only real influence trustees have is through relationships with provincial contacts and local staff – working together is, I think, more important now than ever.

How will you support teachers and education workers as they begin contract negotiations this fall? How will you support parents concerned about labour disruption?

Once again, trustees were completely removed from anything to do with collective agreements through Bill 101.

Once again, relationships I and other trustees have with local MPPs and with our staff are the only way we can influence negotiations.

The only support I can provide to parents is to answer questions honestly, though there is little to no information at present.  As trustees are no longer involved in negotiations (as we were in the last round of negotiations through our provincial organization), we may hear about progress around the same time the public does through the media.

Guelph is a rapidly growing town, how will you ensure that the school system is able to grow and accommodate the new students and the changing demographics?

As our Long Term Accommodation Review shows, our Board enrollment is relatively flat.  There may be some enrollment growth in certain areas, offset by declines in others.  Anecdotally, I hear from families that many communities are too expensive for family housing, leading to families moving to less expensive communities. It’s the “drive until you qualify” phenomenon.

That being said, we do have some capacity issues we need to deal with. Trustees approve a Capital Priorities list, which is submitted to the Ministry annually.  Board submissions from across the province are evaluated, and decisions on which project to fund are made by the Ministry.  I am happy to share that in this term we have had several large projects – Two Rivers Secondary School, an addition at Rickson Ridge PS, and a new elementary school in Centre Wellington, Grand River Public School.  We also have a planned project just getting started in Mansfield, Dufferin County.

Boards also deal with capacity issues through boundary reviews and other tools.

Absenteeism seems to be a growing problem in Ontario high schools, what are the ways that you can support teachers and administrators to assure that students are getting the proper instruction?

The Ministry imposed changes to provincial assessment and evaluation policies to include attendance and participation in report card marks for secondary school students. I believe, based my my experience as a teacher and school administrator, that early identification and intervention are a key tool.  Schools must identify who and why individual students are missing school, and then address those issues as best they can with limited resources.  This is also a key component for improving student achievement

School safety is a big concern, from behavioural issues to school resource officers. How can schools be safe places for learning while also not making it feel like kids are learning in a security state?

We need appropriate supports and services in our communities, as well as in our schools to support all needs – mental health, physical health, behavioural and others.  There has been a slow erosion of community supports and services over decades.  Schools are not a health care system – we do not have the trained staff or other resources to support some of our higher needs students, yet without appropriate community services and partners it becomes difficult to serve some of our students and address their behaviours. Not all community services and resources are available in every community or perhaps not at all.

After considerable community consultation, the Board ended the SRO program in a previous term.  The Ministry has mandated that if a Police Service offers a program, boards must participate.  I have worked in systems and schools with and without a SRO.  I hope moving forward we can work collaboratively with all local Police Services to meet the needs and address potential concerns of our students and families.

If you get elected to be a trustee, and considering the increase in provincial influence, do you think you will serve a full four year term?

Yes, absolutely – that is my intent.  However, I cannot predict what decisions the Provincial Government will make in the future.  I expect a significant reduction in honorarium.  I expect significant changes to our responsibilities.  I am able to attend meetings in person, but I know for some, depending on work, family and other commitments, and home location, that is difficult.  There may come a moment when the satisfaction of knowing one is doing good, what is right, what is improving the system no longer outweighs the time commitment and effort, and the frustration of having reduced influence.

Let’s say I don’t have kids, and thus no proverbial “skin in the game” when it comes to my local school, why should I care about who’s my school board trustee?

Just think – everyone you interact with, employees, employers, salespersons at a store, contractors working in our home, police, we want them all to be educated. That starts with a strong public education system.  I have an aging parent which reminds me, that at some point, I will be depending on a caregiver.  I want that person to be an expert in their field, to be able to communicate, to treat me and my family with dignity, and to be able to support their own family.  That starts with a strong public education system.

Is there anything else you want to tell voters as they make their decision?

I think I have demonstrated throughout this term that I understand systems, can work with anyone on shared goals, and can disagree and still work together with others  I believe I have the relationships and skills to work towards a better education system in this new reality.