LETTER

School Board Elections & community engagement

 

With the recent announcements in the healthcare sector, it is now more important than ever that members of the English-speaking community get involved. It is up to us to act and not just to complain.

In education, school board elections will take place on November 4, about one month after the provincial election. The same need for community engagement is true here.

School boards are our community’s last existing minority language right and we must be active to preserve it. It took a massive and cooperative effort to fight Bill 86. No one person could have done it alone. What that battle showed us is that if we don’t fight for this precious right we risk losing it. For that, we need strong political leadership.

Without such leadership there is no action. For example, there is still no Assistant Deputy Minister for the English sector; the school board elections are proceeding despite the timing; new programs are being instituted over the protestations of teachers, administrators, and boards with little consultation; shifts in the power structure of the boards continue with both Administration and Parent groups wielding more authority over elected representatives. Even the changes to the school tax structure was negotiated two years ago and is not the result of current political efforts.

Some of the English school boards have suffered through several years of political unrest, turmoil internally, disruptive squabbles with employees, the public, and the media. There seems to be a lack of clear, coherent leadership. Boards individually and through their collective association have been unable to achieve very much since they were able to put down Bill 86.

Our self-proclaimed “open and transparent” boards seem more closed than ever. A recent example is the appointment of a Commissioner at one of the Boards. In the past, that appointment process was clearly transparent. All those vying for the position were known, meet-the-candidates debates were webcast and included and encouraged questions from the public via a live on-line blog. None of that this time.

Recycled school board politicians and chronic complainers are not the answer at the next election. New people, new attitudes, fresh ideas, clear focus on the students, staff, local communities, and the entire English community is of prime importance. The process to become a candidate is relatively simple. It is critical that members of our community step up in all English boards across the province, get involved, run for office, and win.

The elections are coming, and good candidates are a must. We can sit around and complain, or we can get involved and make a difference. Let’s make a difference!

Marcus Tabachnick
Montréal