School trustees warned of conflict on bus vote

When Calgary’s public school board meets today to debate raising busing fees to a $670 per family maximum, it’s unclear how many of the seven trustees will vote on the proposed 60 per cent hike.

A 13-page legal opinion obtained by the Calgary Herald suggests Calgary Board of Education representatives who have to pay school fees for their children may be in a conflict of interest in voting on both the planned increase and the overall board budget.

"Given the board’s projected $61.7-million accumulated shortfall for the next operational year," reads the leaked memo from the Calgary firm of Macleod Dixon to CBE lawyer Rod Peden, "it becomes difficult to see how a discussion on one line matter would not have an impact on a decision with respect to another line matters (sic) which may make it difficult, if not virtually impossible, for a trustee to participate in the general budget discussion, due to the interrelatedness of the issues, particularly in the instance where any decision could ultimately affect their spouse."

Larry Leach, president of the Association for Responsive Trusteeship in Calgary Schools, said he’s concerned the legal opinion is sidelining three of the board’s seven trustees during critical budget votes that may see hundred of teachers’ jobs eliminated.

"If being a parent recuses you from voting on the biggest item a board deals with," said Leach, "that’s going to send democracy into a tailspin."

Since the April 12 memo was circulated to trustees, Carol Bazinet has absented herself from budget-related discussions because her husband is employed by the board and because her children ride the bus to a CBE school.

Rookie representatives Sheila Taylor and Joy Bowen-Eyre have also abstained because they are parents who would be affected by fee changes.

While trustee Pamela King has a child in Grade 12, she has not declared a pecuniary interest and withdrawn from discussions.

If four of the seven trustees abstain or are absent at a meeting, the board would no longer have the necessary numbers to make decisions.

CBE officials are working on options to allow the three abstaining trustees to participate in budgetrelated debates by severing fee and staffing items, but Taylor said in a written statement that she is concerned she will need to continue to abstain because of the legal opinion.

"Although I don’t like the legal advice, I am not in a position to ignore it," Taylor said.

"There has been a lot of confusion in the public and statements have been made that I misinterpreted the legal advice given to the board. I hope that confusion is now erased."

While the CBE refused to publicly release the legal opinion, chairman Pat Cochrane had said Taylor’s decision to abstain was a personal decision.

"I had a child in the system and I still voted on the budgets," Cochrane said in an April 21 interview.

"We haven’t told anybody that they can’t vote because they have kids in the system."

Board officials did not reply to written requests Monday to speak with Cochrane in light of the fact the memo was leaked.

With the bus fee hikes for children in kindergarten to Grade 9, CBE officials plan to run the transportation system on a full cost recovery basis by asking parents to pay the entire $8.8-million shortfall not covered by provincial grants.

A board report predicts there will be public intolerance and a rise in non-payments as a result. While the CBE won’t say how many parents don’t pay for busing now, a Herald analysis of mandatory fees for instructional supplies suggests as much as 5.5 per cent of the levied amount goes uncollected.

As the board contemplates increases, anti-poverty activists are also demanding the board raise the fee waiver limit. As proposed, a family of four making as little as $26,397 would be forced to pay the $670 maximum, some 2.5 per cent of their gross income, so their children can ride the bus.

That same family would also need to pay up to $264 for instructional supplies.

The board says it doesn’t deny bus service or instructional materials to children of parents who refuse to pay.

Most schools also charge elective fees. If a child takes music, parents have to pay an instrument fee of up to $85. At the high school level, some physical education courses require fees of up to $170 to cover the cost of off-site activities.

Normally, parents are also asked to pay for yearbooks, graduation ceremonies and their child’s participation in school teams and clubs.

The board is also proposing a 5 per cent increase to the noon-hour supervision fee charged for most children in kindergarten to Grade 6 who remain at school over lunch, despite what the leaked memo warns is a "significant risk" the CBE could be found not to have the legal authority to demand the levy. Only those children who are eligible for bus transport and whose parents pay the busing fee would be exempt from the planned $295 fee.

Education Minister Dave Hancock said proposed legislation will result in clearer regulations over what boards are allowed to charge parents for public education.

"There’s a line that should be indelible," Hancock said.

"Every child gets to go and every child gets to have what they need to have in terms of the material to do it."

He said he had received a copy of the CBE legal opinion anonymously and would be asking department lawyers to review the document.

At this meeting, trustees will also be asked to approve a report on their compensation that would give them $600 per year to cover cellphone bills, reserved parking stalls at the new headquarters and laptop computers on loan.

The report -submitted by remuneration committee chair and veteran trustee George Lane -does not recommend a pay hike for board representatives, given the board’s currently constrained resources.

But it says an increase would not be out of line, given the fact the CBE is 25 per cent bigger than the province’s second largest board, Edmonton Public School District.

The total pay, allowances and expenses for all seven CBE trustees last year was $422,000, only slightly higher than the $419,000 paid to the nine representatives on the Edmonton’s board, the report notes.

Calgary Herald