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With every municipal election, candidates present their platforms and voters discuss who they think would be the best mayor and city councillors.
However, we hear crickets as to who the best trustees would be.
School board trustees are elected officials, dealing with massive budgets involving taxpayers’ money, looking out for student success and well being and helping school boards carry out their duties under the Education Act.
So why don’t more people run to be trustees, and why the apparent lack of interest among voters?
“For some reason, it doesn’t draw the same interest from the community, from the taxpayer, and so maybe not as many put their names forward. I think that they should,” said Mario Turco, Algoma University chancellor and former Algoma District School Board director of education.
“I think that it’s a very important position. I think that trustees play a very crucial role in providing a governance role and I think it’s a good check and balance to make sure the right decisions are being made,” Turco said, speaking to SooToday.
“I always valued their input and valued their participation and I listened to them because they represent the public,” Turco said.
“I’d like to see more interest from the general public,” Turco said, urging voters to pick a trustee for their respective wards.
“I’ve wondered, because we elect school board trustees at the same time as we elect municipal leaders, if they get overshadowed, but we do get people to step forward who are passionate about public education and those are the people we need,” said Lucia Reece, current ADSB director of education.
“It’s not on the radar for most voters,” said Bill Murphy, a former Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board trustee.
That’s not good, said Murphy, who served as a trustee with the H-SCDSB from 2012 to 2018.
“Some people have more of a direct connection to their neighbourhood school than they do to their ward. So much of the community depends on trustees’ active and intelligent participation in the school board. A school board is so important to the community, so you want strong leadership representing the taxpayer on the board,” Murphy said.
School board budget money comes partly from municipal property taxes and partly from the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Where city councillors question, make comments and debate at great length at budget time, school board trustees approve budgets with very little discussion or questions put to senior administrators at board meetings.
But that doesn’t mean trustees are merely putting a rubber stamp on the amount of money contained in a budget, said Reece.
They do indeed have a say, she said.
“There is a process there and there are decisions to make.”
“Ultimately they tell us what the priorities are and that can include creating or revising policies or new programs, and we have to allocate those dollars. Trustees do have a say in terms of deciding,” Reece said.
“Technology is an example. When we were budgeting and trying to make sure we had adequate access to technology we had to make sure we were going to be able to do what we wanted to do, so there is a significant portion of that budget that we do work through with trustees.”
“Trustees, at the end of the day, provide direction for the board, what policies need to be developed and reviewed and the allocation of financial resources is big,” Reece said.
“That’s a really important piece. One of my favourite expressions I use with trustees is ‘we don’t plan a budget, we budget a plan.’ We have to discuss how we allocate dollars to make that plan happen. That’s a really important conversation.”
All of that gets overshadowed when mayor and council candidates are running at the same time, Reece said.
If a constituent has a problem with the school system, he or she can contact the trustee for their ward.
“Absolutely,” Reece said.
“Trustees won’t be the actual problem solvers but they work as a liaison and help the public navigate and how to get concerns handled. If it’s a school-based concern we want people going to the school first, but if it escalates, that's where trustees can help and make sure they get people’s concerns to the right person.”
“We’re intermediaries,” said Gladys Wiggins of Elliot Lake who served as an ADSB trustee from 2006 to 2018.
“The parents that called had complaints so I was kind of the front runner as far as this town is concerned and if needed I would direct them to a superintendent that looked after that particular concern or I would try to resolve it on my own.”
Apart from passing budgets and assisting constituents with their concerns, trustees also:
- Help in establishing the board's multi-year strategic plan
- Set goals for student achievement and well-being
- Monitor the board’s progress in achieving its goals
- Create good working relationships within the board and community
- Make decisions on the busing of students
- Decide if a school should close, if necessary
- Assist in implementing public health measures (a big job during this COVID era)
It’s a responsible office to hold, and not an easy job.
“The most difficult times were when we had to close some schools. That was very difficult. I didn’t like that. I don’t like to see children placed on buses for long distances. There were other issues dealing with sex education. Those things were difficult,” Wiggins recalled.
Despite the challenges, Wiggins and Murphy said they enjoyed their years as trustees.
“I loved it. I got a fresh appreciation for the superintendents and the director of education and the work that they have to do. It made me feel good that I knew and understood what they were going through and tried to direct them as well,” said Wiggins, who also served as ADSB vice chair.
“I enjoyed it. There were lots of good things and lots of good people doing terrific work. Teachers get into teaching because they love kids and I saw that again and again, and it’s rewarding to be a trustee and be an impactful part of the community. There’s no end to the amount of good work you could do,” Murphy said.
With that, Murphy is encouraging people to run for trustee seats in future elections and for voters to get interested and involved.
“I would like to see voter engagement on all fronts, including the school boards because of their impact on the community.”
“Our culture seems to be losing faith in the democratic process and if we don’t have a democratic process, what do we have? As weak as it may seem, and as discouraged as people get, the alternative is having no vote and no say. That, to me, is scary.”
“I believe in democracy. I believe in community participation. The less they engage the more bureaucracies will do what they want to do, and that is not healthy for any community,” Murphy said.
“We need to get people engaged,” Reece said.
“People need to know the important role that education plays in the lives of our students sitting in the classrooms today and we want to hear from people. We’ll be asking questions like ‘how do our parents feel about virtual learning?’ These are big conversations to have so we need people to be engaged and going to the polls and electing people that are going to advocate for student achievement, well being and equity because that’s a real driver in every community.”
The next municipal election will be held Monday, October 24.
See the list of trustee candidates in the North Bay area here.
