Election Day!

Polls open at 10 am today (close at 8pm). If you are unclear about where to vote, click here to find out. If you are unclear about which Trustee to vote for, read Rox's blog entries below or follow this link to read about the candidates (our ward is 12/14).

Get out to vote! It takes minutes to get it done, you provide an excellent example for your kids, you exercise your most fundamental democratic responsibility, and (best of all) you earn the right to complain about elected officials for the next 4 years.

Role of a Trustee

The following is an excerpt from an excellent article by Laura Shutiak for a group called Artics (Association for Responsible Trusteeship in Calgary Schools). In it, she examines the role of a trustee on the CBE board, shows examples of real transparency, and points out some of the differences in our trustees.

In mid-September, a few parents took to Twitter to thank Calgary Board of Education Trustee Joy Bowen-Eyre for helping them secure additional bike racks at their school. A picture of bikes stacked neatly by the school door accompanied the thank yous.

Why shouldn’t you pat your trustee on the back when you think he or she has been responsive to an issue?

Well, because securing resources for an individual school, whether it’s a computer, basketballs or bike racks, isn’t the job of a trustee.

Now, we don’t actually know what impact Bowen-Eyre had on this decision, if any. We also don’t know if there were other, more needy schools that missed out because of politics.
But, doesn’t it show there’s problem in the system when the principal couldn’t secure needed facilities for his or her school? Instead of handing out kudos, perhaps those parents should be demanding answers.

So, what is the role of a trustee? - Click here for the entire article.

Meet A Trustee Candidate

In 26 days municipal elections will be held in Calgary. We will be voting for a Mayor, 14 Councillors, 7 Public School Trustees and 7 Separate School Trustees - are you ready? Don't let the voting booth be the first place you see their names.

Since this is a school related blog, this post will be about the Public School Trustees in our area. There are seven trustees on the board, each representing two wards. Wilma Hansen is in Ward 14. Our present, long time trustee Carol Bazinet has announced her retirement from the board.

There are three declared candidates for Wards 12/14. They (and their websites) are:

Amber Stewart

Christina Steed 

Malik Amery

The Council and Parent Association will be meeting on Wednesday, October 16 at 7pm in the library. One of the candidates, Christina Steed, has asked to chat with us during the first part of our meeting. Plan on coming out and listening to Christina and asking her some questions about her candidacy.

Find out about all the candidates in our ward by reading their websites and sending them questions. The CBE Board of Trustees makes decisions daily that directly affect our children's education so your participation in this process couldn't be more important.