When schools are closed, parents are often left feeling “tricked” and suspect school boards made their decision in advance, said a Sudbury woman running to become a Rainbow District School Board trustee.
Anita Gibson said she wants to become a trustee partly to change the accommodation review process, which led to board's 2010 decision to close her neighbourhood school, Long Lake Public School.
Tyler Campbell, the incumbent running against Gibson, told those attending an Oct. 14 debate for Rainbow trustee candidates there's no doubt the board has faced a “lot of tough choices” over the past decade.
“We set out on a bold course starting in 2005 where we decided that we would start with capital planning and look at school renewal for all of our schools in order to reduce surplus space so we could invest those savings into front-line programming for children,” he said.
Gibson said if she's elected, she wouldn't necessarily oppose closing schools, but said she'd do a much better job of communicating with parents.
“Tyler mentioned the decisions started being made in 2005,” she said.
“Our process ended in 2010. The decisions had already been made. Plans had been written. The public is left feeling tricked and left out, and a trustee may end up being little more than an apologist for an unpopular board decision if they aren't interacting enough.”
Schools in Chelmsford, Dowling and Levack may face accommodation reviews next.
“If elected, my commitment will be to the people of those communities, not to a business plan or the director of education's consolidation policies,” Gibson said, adding she'll be at every meeting to guide them through the process.
She said she's just one of many Ontario parents running in the election because they're disenchanted with the accommodation review process.
Her husband, Dylan Gibson, and John Hamalainen, a parent with similar concerns, are also running in the Oct. 27 election.
“This movement is bigger than Sudbury,” she said. “It's happening everywhere. People are not happy with the way the accommodation review process ... has been unfolding in their communities.”
The debate also included Rainbow board trustee candidates Jessica Joy, Doreen Dewar, Larry Killens and Gord Santala. Several candidates have been acclaimed.
About 20 people showed up to watch their mostly polite sparring on education policy, with discussions ranging from EQAO math results to mental health interventions to school bus transportation.
Although for the English public board, ironically the event was held at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Rainbow property could have been used, but organizer Kirk Dopson said he was hampered by board rules, including one requiring him to include acclaimed candidates in the debate.
The Gibsons were banned from certain board property in 2012 (see previous Northern Life articles on the subject), but this wasn't a consideration, as they have permission to attend election debates on Rainbow property, Dopson said.
Transparency and the need to engage parents — perhaps by live-streaming trustees' meetings — was another major focus of the debate.
Dylan Gibson — who often videorecorded the meetings before he was issued the no-trespass order — said this is an issue “near and dear to his heart.”
He said most board meetings start during the supper hour, and it's difficult for parents to attend. Watching meetings online would make things easier, Dylan said.
With the price of technology dropping all the time, cost isn't an excuse, he said.
“If you were to vote for me as trustee, I would advocate for an open, transparent process that begins from opening up the boardroom to let the public watch in today's 21st century,” he said.
Joy said she's also in favour of live-streaming because of the convenience factor — especially for those living in outlying areas — as well as reaching out to parents through social media.
“I'm very disappointed that the school board doesn't have a Twitter feed or an active Facebook page,” she said.
While Dewar said she'd be open to exploring the use of the board's existing video-conferencing technology to broadcast board meetings to schools, she questioned the subject's importance.
She said there's 12 schools less than 15 minutes from the board office, and yet attendance at meetings is low.
“From personal observations and experiences — I have checked with the public — they're not real keen on attending meetings.”
