EDMONTON – Classrooms are full, parents are stressed, and questions continue about the education system and the impact of cuts. With a civic election approaching, School Board Trustees will be tasked with addressing these issues and many more.
“We have lobbied hard for adequate, predictable, reliable funding, and I think the root of most of our problems is that that hasn’t happened,” admits Cindy Olsen, the current Catholic School Board Trustee for Ward 73, who is running for re-election.
“We’ve already cut our administration as much as we can cut. We’re doing barebones administration. Our dollars are going into our classrooms, we have no surplus, and with the funding we got, with the cuts that we got, we’re going to be experiencing large classroom sizes.”
So, given the provincial budget, and the impact it’s had on individual school boards, what can trustees do?
“I have never promised that I will be able to lower classroom size,” says Olsen. “I have never promised that I can fix all the shortfalls… What I do promise is that I will listen, I will advocate, I will take initiatives on my own.”
“My biggest job, I believe, is to get the parents and the community engaged, because I believe strongly that politicians – provincial, school trustee, and civic politicians – it’s the constituents who are our bosses.”
She adds that while school boards must continue to advocate for the funding they need, they should also be looking at what they can do with the funding they have.
“I guess the brighter side of some of these cuts is that it really has allowed us to be innovative and to look outside of the box, and we’re looking at some wonderful partnerships.”
Looking outside the box is something that Orville Chubb is passionate about. He’s running for Public School Board Trustee in Ward C.
“You can always do more with more, but the question is what can we do with the resources that we have?”
Chubb also feels the maintenance deficit schools are facing is a big issue. And believes one solution is creating partnerships with outside organizations to help school boards save costs.
“I think that there are some opportunities to partnership with organizations in the community that could make better use of some of the under-utilized school buildings so that they’re not as much as a drain on the resources.”
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While overall funding for education is decided by the province, Chubb stresses the importance of spending resources wisely.
“This is where taking care of the business of education is important because it affects the resources and opportunities that get delivered in the classroom.”
“People don’t realize that Edmonton Public Schools has almost a billion dollar budget annually.”
Candidate Ray Martin feels more pressure must be put on the provincial government to provide adequate funding.
Martin is running to be the Public School Board trustee in Ward D.
After 14 years in the Alberta legislature, Martin understands the challenges of pushing for change on the provincial level, but he believes that change can happen.
“The economy depends on well educated citizens.”
“Let’s not kid ourselves, there isn’t the amount of money that you can find, that you can shift around a little bit, that’s going to make a major impact,” he says. “The money has to come from the provincial government.”
He says he sees “deterioration” in the education system.
“It’s still a good system but the pressure is going to be very severe when we’re losing staff the way we’re doing.”
Olsen believes the solution must be a joint effort. She is calling on parents and the community to become even more active in the education debate.
“I truly believe government – democracy – is by the people, for the people, the people have to become engaged. And it’s through the people that we can make change, through the stakeholders, the constituents, the three levels of government, collaboration and partnership.”
To see a full list of candidates running in the October 21 municipal election, click here.
Edmonton Public School Board Trustee candidates:
WARD A
Cheryl Johner
WARD B
Michelle Draper
WARD C
Orville Chubb
Tina Jardine
Susan Ketteringham
Karen Pheasant
WARD D
Elizabeth Johannson
Ray Martin
WARD E
Ken Gibson
Bridget Stirling
Lorraine Wheatley
WARD F
Michael Janz
WARD G
Sarah Hoffman
WARD H
Robert Agostinis
Nathan Ip
Mike Lanteigne
Weslyn Mather
WARD I
Leslie Cleary
Edmonton Catholic School District trustee candidates:
WARD 71
Patricia Grell
WARD 72
Michelle Davis
Cindy Olsen
WARD 74
Debbie Engel
Brad Lohner
WARD 75
John Acheson
WARD 76
Marilyn Bergstra
Tom Solyom
WARD 77
Roger Riashy
Laura Thibert
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