Ann's Thoughts on Trustee Suspensions and Public Education
The issue around the Lansdowne South land sale is not the buyer, or the project itself. The issues lies in how the Board is conducting its business. The Board acted contrary to School Act and Roberts Rules of Order, which governs the Board's processes to conduct business when it did not allow the unlawfully suspended trustees to vote at Board meetings.
The issue around the suspension is not whether the suspended trustees did something wrong. The issue is that the Board did not follow good governance and was heavy-handed in its suspension of the two Trustees. The Board could have chosen to remove Trustees from committees, from in camera meetings, even from setting foot on school property, or they could have made the Trustees engage in restorative justice practices to change behaviour and bring people together. What they could NOT do was take away their right to vote given to the them by the electorate.
Elected Trustees should act in a way that maintains the public's confidence in the system. They do this by being transparent in how they operate and engage with the public they serve. Bylaws and policies clearly set out the contract between the District and the public on how it operates and how the public can navigate the system to engage, advocate for their students, or bring forward concerns or ideas on topics before the board. When a Board is repeatedly seen ignoring, bending, or acting against its own bylaws, or worse the School Act, the public, especially those relying on the public education system to provide their child the best possible opportunities for future success, loses confidence in the system.
Lost confidence in the system has further-reaching consequences. When we see greater numbers of families choosing private or home-school options, the funds available in the public system become diminished. Because the system is funded on per pupil model, quality programming relies on peak enrolment.
The combination of these issues brings a much larger, more serious issue to light that EVERYONE should be paying attention to. I strongly believe that public education must have public representation to ensure the system continues to evolve to meet the needs of students to have success in their adult lives in a world that is ever-changing. If Jordan Watters and a majority of the SD61 Board are able to act contrary to the School Act without any consequences, with the support of the Minister of Education and Child Care, what confidence will the public have in Boards of Education across the province and in the public education system itself? Does the desired end result justify the silencing of dissenting voices or different opinion? I am already hearing from parents who are voicing concerns and wanting to know what consequences this Board will face when they have spent tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on legal fees in order to take away the votes of elected officials, when this act was determined to be in violation of the School Act by an independent judge.
In the upcoming election, please vote for Trustees who will uphold the School Act, the Bylaws of the Board and will provide leadership which is not divisive or confrontational. Vote for Trustees that will follow due process, and who will work collaboratively with their colleagues and partners at the table to seek consensus to make decisions that put children first.
--Ann Whiteaker, SD61 Trustee
The issue around the suspension is not whether the suspended trustees did something wrong. The issue is that the Board did not follow good governance and was heavy-handed in its suspension of the two Trustees. The Board could have chosen to remove Trustees from committees, from in camera meetings, even from setting foot on school property, or they could have made the Trustees engage in restorative justice practices to change behaviour and bring people together. What they could NOT do was take away their right to vote given to the them by the electorate.
Elected Trustees should act in a way that maintains the public's confidence in the system. They do this by being transparent in how they operate and engage with the public they serve. Bylaws and policies clearly set out the contract between the District and the public on how it operates and how the public can navigate the system to engage, advocate for their students, or bring forward concerns or ideas on topics before the board. When a Board is repeatedly seen ignoring, bending, or acting against its own bylaws, or worse the School Act, the public, especially those relying on the public education system to provide their child the best possible opportunities for future success, loses confidence in the system.
Lost confidence in the system has further-reaching consequences. When we see greater numbers of families choosing private or home-school options, the funds available in the public system become diminished. Because the system is funded on per pupil model, quality programming relies on peak enrolment.
The combination of these issues brings a much larger, more serious issue to light that EVERYONE should be paying attention to. I strongly believe that public education must have public representation to ensure the system continues to evolve to meet the needs of students to have success in their adult lives in a world that is ever-changing. If Jordan Watters and a majority of the SD61 Board are able to act contrary to the School Act without any consequences, with the support of the Minister of Education and Child Care, what confidence will the public have in Boards of Education across the province and in the public education system itself? Does the desired end result justify the silencing of dissenting voices or different opinion? I am already hearing from parents who are voicing concerns and wanting to know what consequences this Board will face when they have spent tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on legal fees in order to take away the votes of elected officials, when this act was determined to be in violation of the School Act by an independent judge.
In the upcoming election, please vote for Trustees who will uphold the School Act, the Bylaws of the Board and will provide leadership which is not divisive or confrontational. Vote for Trustees that will follow due process, and who will work collaboratively with their colleagues and partners at the table to seek consensus to make decisions that put children first.
--Ann Whiteaker, SD61 Trustee